There were several important legislative changes which were published over the course of May 2025. Below is an overview of the key updates across different areas.
The Expired or Expiring Emphyteutical Concessions (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 published last month, introduce a revised structure governing Government land granted by way of emphyteutical concession, introducing new concession terms and eligibility criteria. Alongside these new Regulations, the Development Notification (Amendment) Order, 2025 was published which regulates Greening projects by Government agencies, Local Councils and other entities appointed through them, as was the Order for the Notification of Development on Specified Locations, 2025, which establishes a streamlined notification procedure for development in zones administered by INDIS Malta Ltd or Malta Enterprise.
The Company Service Providers Act (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025, and the Company Service Providers (Exemption) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 published on the 16th May 2025, brought fee and exemption revisions to the CSP regime. Also published on the 16th May, the Rent Subsidy (Amendment) Regulations, 2025, provides financial support measures for businesses acquiring or leasing industrial premises. Meanwhile, the Companies Act (Forms) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 addresses reporting by companies to the Registrar of Companies in relation to the appointment of auditors and legal and judicial representatives in terms of the Companies Act.
Three pivotal Acts were published throughout May, namely, the Company Service Providers (Amendment) Act (Act No. X of 2025), which redefines regulatory thresholds for CSPs; the Various Financial Services Laws (Amendment) Act (Act No. XI of 2025), which introduces key amendments affecting the Trust and Trustees Act, the Financial Markets Act, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Act and other legislation; and the Various Laws relating to Cannabis Activities (Amendment) Act (Act No. XII of 2025), which amends various laws relating to cannabis activities.
Two bills are currently in progress in addition to the bills mentioned in our previous legal update for April 2025. The Various Laws relating to the Establishment and Jurisdiction of the Commercial Code (Amendment) Bill (Bill 133 of 2025), establishes the Commercial Court as a court separate from the Civil Court, First Hall and grants the Commercial Court jurisdiction to hear cases of a commercial nature or related to commerce, including cases related to intellectual property rights and to merchant shipping as provided in this Bill. Additionally, the Constitution of Malta (Amendment) Bill (Bill 134 of 2025) proposes amendments to the Constitution of Malta in relation to the justice sector.
At a European level, the European Council endorsed the Commission’s proposal to shorten the settlement period for transactions in transferable securities. The objective is to shorten the settlement cycle on securities trades, such as transactions in shares or bonds, executed on EU trading venues from two business days (the so-called ‘T+2’) to one business day after the trade date (‘T+1’).
Further to this, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a number of guidelines and consultation papers throughout May, including technical advice for the Listing Act, and a Consultation Paper on draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) under the ESG Rating Regulation.
Locally, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) published a Guidance document entitled “Key Red Flags in Financial Statements and other Non-Financial Information: Insights from the FIAU”. This document aims to guide readers in identifying key money laundering red flags frequently encountered by the FIAU in a company’s financial and non-financial information. The FIAU also highlighted a new draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) that defines when crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) have to appoint a central contact point.
In the financial regulation sphere, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), in addition to the Circular published by way of notice of issuance of the amended versions of Banking Rules BR/14 on Outsourcing and BR/24 on the Internal Governance of credit institutions, published a Circular further to the communication issued on 24 June 2024 regarding the upcoming changes in supervisory reporting requirements driven by the EBA-led transition to the XBRL-CSV reporting format.
In relation to gaming, the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) communicated recent changes to the System Audit, System Review, and Compliance Audit procedures following feedback received from External Audit Service Providers. Moreover, on the 14th May 2025, the MGA published the results of its first ESG Code of Good Practice data collection exercise. Other regulatory updates include the Malta Business Registry’s updated statutory filing fees and reporting forms, further aligning its processes with broader legislative amendments.
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