There were several important legislative changes which were published over the course of February 2026. Below is an overview of the key updates across different areas.
On the 6th of February 2026, the Index of Inflation for the Year 2025, was published, establishing the index of inflation for the year 2025 at 1035.93. This represents an increase of 2.36% from 2024. Additionally, on the 13th of February 2026, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Regulations, 2026, were published. The scope of these regulations is to transpose and implement Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No.537/2014, Directive 2004/109/EC, Directive 2006/43/EC and Directive 2013/34/EU, as regards corporate sustainability reporting.
In addition to the bill mentioned in our previous legal update for January 2026, three bills are currently in progress. The Traffic Regulation Ordinance (Amendment) Bill (Bill No. 163 of 2026) aims to transpose the derogation under Article 3 of Directive 2009/103/EC into the Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 65) and to make provision for the requirement of a third-party risk insurance cover for motor vehicles used in a motorsport event or similar activity, including races, competitions, training, testing and demonstrations. The Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) (Amendment) Bill (Bill No. 164 of 2026) aims to transpose into Maltese law certain provisions of Directive (EU) 2021/2118 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2021 amending Directive 2009/103/EC relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles and to the enforcement of the obligation to insure against such liability. Additionally, the Various Laws relating to the Establishment of the Family Court (Amendment) Bill (Bill No. 165 of 2026) aims to establish the Family Court and to also provide for consequential amendments in order to strengthen the Family Law reform.
At a European level, on the 11th of February 2026, the European Council published a press release stating that it has formally approved new customs duty rules for items contained in small parcels entering the EU, largely via e-commerce. The new rules address the fact that such parcels currently enter the EU duty free, leading to unfair competition for EU sellers. This agreement abolishes the threshold-based customs duty relief for parcels valued at under €150 entering the EU. Customs tariffs will therefore start applying to all goods entering the EU once the EU customs data hub – under discussion as part of a broader fundamental reform of the customs framework – is operational. This is currently expected in 2028.
In the financial regulation sphere, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has published a supervisory briefing on the representativeness obligation linked to the active account requirement (AAR). The briefing sets out ESMA’s supervisory expectations for how counterparties should comply with and report on the AAR representativeness obligation. It provides guidance and promotes supervisory convergence for the supervision of counterparties subject to the AAR, an issue which has attracted particular scrutiny. On the 25th February 2026, ESMA published its draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) setting out new and revised clearing thresholds (CTs) under EMIR 3. The proposed thresholds ensure continuity in the coverage of systemic risk in over‑the‑counter (OTC) derivative markets while avoiding unnecessary complexity and additional compliance burdens for market participants.
Additionally, on the 19th February 2026, ESMA launched a consultation proposing amendments to its Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) guidelines on the delay in the disclosure of inside information. The proposals align the guidelines with the disclosure regime as amended by the Listing Act, ensuring that issuers face fewer administrative burdens while benefiting from clearer requirements. Further details on the revised MAR Guidelines can be found on our recently published article here,
Locally, on the 11th February 2026, the Malta Financial Services Authority issued a Circular setting out a revised Banking Rule BR/01 on the Application Procedures and Requirements of Licenses for Banking Activities under the Banking Act, and an amended Banking Rule BR/24 on the Internal Governance of Credit Institutions Licensed under the Banking Act (hereinafter the “Rules”). Both Rules came into effect from the date of the Circular.
On the 13th of February 2026, the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (“FIAU”) announced that the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (‘AMLA’) has launched open public consultations on three draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS): draft RTS on customer due diligence (Article 28(1) AMLR); draft RTS on criteria for identifying business relationships, occasional and linked transactions and lower thresholds (Article 19(9) AMLR), and draft RTS on criteria for identifying business relationships, occasional and linked transactions and lower thresholds (Article 19(9) AMLR).
On the 17th February 2026, the Malta Gaming Authority published the results of a Thematic Review into how online B2C licensees implement self‑exclusion and other responsible gambling safeguards. The Review identifies any systemic weaknesses and clarify regulatory expectations relating to player protection, whilst highlighting areas performing well as well as opportunities for licensees to strengthen their practices.
In relation to taxation, on the 2nd February 2026 the Malta Tax and Customs Authority (“MTCA”) published an update regarding the introduction and integration of Non-Customs certificates with the Transit NCTS P6 via the EU CERTEX. On another note, on the 23rd February 2026, the Commissioner for Tax and Customs notified all Financial Institutions (FIs) falling within the scope of CRS and FATCA regulations, as per S.L. 123.127 Cooperation with Other Jurisdictions on Tax Matters Regulations (Cooperation Regulations), that a new Self-Compliance Questionnaire (SCQ) for CRS and FATCA purposes has been released and is now available for compilation by in-scope FIs, these being Reporting Maltese Financial Institutions (RMFIs) and Maltese Non-Reporting Financial Institutions (NRFIs) as defined. This questionnaire is part of MTCA’s ongoing compliance monitoring of the due diligence and reporting requirements as outlined in the Cooperation Regulations.
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