There were several important legislative changes which were published over the course of February 2025. Below is an overview of the key updates across different regulatory areas.
Malta’s maritime sector saw important developments with the enactment of the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2025 on the 4th of February 2025, ensuring that Maltese shipping laws are aligned with international regulations and enhancing the competitiveness of Malta’s ship register. Moreover, the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Amendment) Rules, 2025 were published, enhancing seafarers' rights, mandating social connectivity onboard, and ensuring annual reporting of seafarer deaths to the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
In the transport sector, on the 4th of February 2025, the Passenger Transport Services (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 were published, updating regulations on road transport activities. In addition to this, the Motor Vehicles (Carriage of Goods by Road) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 were published, ensuring compliance with EU directives on road transport activities.
On the 7th of February 2025, several amendments were made to investment-related regulations, establishing a new regulatory framework for special limited partnership funds as collective investment schemes. On the 18th of February 2025, the commencement notice to the Promotion of Gender Balance among Directors of Listed Companies Regulations, 2024, was published, commencing the enforcement of gender balance on corporate boards with effect from 28th December 2024. On the 14th of February 2025, the Index of Inflation for the Year 2024 was established, representing an increase of 1.65% from 2023. On another note, the Urgent Family Leave (Amendment) Regulations, 2025, effective from April 2025, introduces a split of urgent family leave into equal deductions from annual vacation leave and sick leave.
Four bills are currently in progress in addition to the previous bills mentioned in our previous legal update for January 2025. The Company Service Providers (Amendment) Bill (Bill 124 of 2024) aims to strengthen the regulatory framework for company service providers. The Criminal Code (Amendment No.2) Bill (Bill 125 of 2024) provides a more defined role for the Attorney General in relation to inquests while maintaining judicial independence. The Medicines (Amendment) Bill (Bill 126 of 2024) addresses changes within the authority overseeing medicinal regulations to improve efficiency in auditing and oversight. The Various Financial Services Laws (Amendment) Bill (Bill 127 of 2024) aims to amend several key financial services laws to align with recent EU directives and regulations, thereby enhancing Malta's financial sector.
In the financial regulation sphere, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published the Legal Entity Identifiers Survey Results which reveals that financial firms overwhelmingly support the continued use of the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) as a standardised reporting mechanism. Meanwhile, the ESMA Guidelines on Product Supplements were published to harmonise regulatory oversight on supplementary prospectuses across European jurisdictions. In another major development, the Revised Transparency and Volume Cap Regimes under MiFIR were introduced, reducing the reporting burden on market participants and ensuring more efficient financial data management. Additionally, on the 12th of February 2025, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) issued a Circularintroducing a new compliance standard for credit institutions in line with EU regulations.
Digital trade and taxation saw notable advancements through the introduction of an Electronic VAT Exemption Certificate, with the aim of streamlining VAT procedures across EU Member States, with full implementation set for July 2031. Moreover, environmental sustainability initiatives were reinforced with an extension of the Construction Waste Recycling Tax Exemption, ensuring that businesses engaged in recycling construction waste continue to benefit from tax incentives until the end of 2025. Furthermore, the Malta Tax and Customs Administration published Guidelines in relation to Fringe Benefits for Beneficial Loan Arrangement.
In relation to gaming and anti-money laundering (AML), the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) Regulatory Strategy for 2025 introduced a more risk-based approach to compliance, with a strong emphasis on player protection and betting integrity.
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