The Maltese Company Law
Maltese company law is in conformity with EU directives. Main legislation is the Malta Companies Act of 1995. Shipping companies are regulated by the Merchant Shipping Act.

Types of companies in Malta
By Far the preferred Vehicle used, the limited liability Maltese company is a separate legal personality and, as the name implies, offers shareholders limitd liability to the capital invested in the company in Malta. This company can take the form of a private company, or a public company.

Composition of the Maltese Company
The minimum number of shareholders for public and private companies in Malta is two, but a private limited liability company in Malta may also be formed as a single-member company.
The sole shareholder and sole director of the Maltese Company cannot be corporate entities, and the objects clause restricted to one main activity.

Partnerships
There are 2 types of partnerships allowed under Maltese company law. also offers the possibility of having a partnership, with either the ‘Partnership en commandite’ being a partnership with at least one unlimited partner and other limited partners and the ‘Partnerships en nom Collectif’, being an unlimited partnership.

Malta Company minimum Capital required:
The minimum authorised and issued share capital for a Maltese company is as follows:
• private companies - €1,165 with at least 20% thereof paid up.
• public companies - €46,590 with at least 25% thereof paid up.

Currency
The company’s share capital may be denominated in any currency. Malta does not impose any exchange control restrictions and this facilitates the use of Maltese corporate vehicles for international business. Exchange risk is further minimised by the fact that the company’s income tax is paid in the same currency of the share capital. Any tax refunds are also given in the same currency.

Malta Company Registration
The registration of a company is done by submitting the necessary documentation to the Registry of Companies. The documentation include:
1. The Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&A).
2. identification document of the subscribers, and;
3. proof that initial share capital has been deposited

The M&A must be signed by the subscribers or their legal representatives. Thus one can set up a company in Malta without actually having to physically come to Malta. Once all the documents are submitted to the Registry of Companies the Maltese company registration is done within 24 hours.

Malta Company Registration Fee
A registration fee is payable to the Registry of Companies and depends on the amount of authorised share capital. The fee ranges between a minimum of €350 and a maximum of €1,750 circa.

Malta Company Annual Fee
An annual registration fee is also payable to the Registry of Companies with the minimum fee being €165 for Malta companies having a share capital not exceeding €11,645 and the maximum fee being €979 for Malta companies with a share capital of €1,164,686

Fiduciary services
Malta has a fully fledged trustee regime and hence shares in Maltese companies may be held by licensed trustees in a fiduciary capacity for and on behalf the subscribers.

Directors and Company Secretary
Companies must appoint at least one director and one company secretary. The director may be a corporate entity but the company secretary must be an individual. As a rule, a sole director cannot occupy the post of company secretary as well unless the company is a single member company and has an ‘exempt’ status.

General Meetings
The general meetings need not be held in Malta but may be done via a telephone or video conference. Moreover, a Maltese company may opt not to convene a general meeting if all the shareholders are in agreement and sign the necessary resolutions.

Annual Return
Companies must submit an annual return upon each anniversary of the company’s registration date. The annual fee is payable together with the annual return.

Annual Accounts
After the financial year end, audited financial statements must be laid before and approved by the general meeting of the company and eventually submitted to the Registry of Companies. A company may opt for a financial year end other than 31 December as long as the first period is not less than
six months and not more than eighteen months. The time allowed for the submission of accounts before the general meeting is ten months after the financial year end for private companies and seven months after the financial year end for public companies.

Form of Accounts
Audited financial statements must be prepared in accordance with the Companies Act.

Continuation of Companies
Maltese law allows companies to change their domicile in and out of Malta. Companies moving their domicile to Malta must come from a jurisdiction which allows this. This possibility enables companies to freely move from one jurisdiction to another without the need of going through liquidation
Process. Companies wanting to move their domicile to Malta must submit certain documentation to the Registry of Companies. The Maltese Registrar then issues a provisional certificate and such certificate is converted into a ‘Certificate of Continuation’ upon the presentation of evidence that the
company has ceased to exist in the foreign jurisdiction.

Contact us for more information as well as for a quote. We will happily guide you through the Malta company formation process and also advise you on the solutions that would best suite your needs!. info@CompanyinMalta.com. Or +356 21 378722

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