Further to the announcement made last week by the Prime Minister of Malta of the first set of economic measures aimed to support businesses in Malta impacted by COVID-19, the Commissioner for Revenue and Malta Enterprise have published application forms for the following measures:

  • Deferment of tax payments due in March and April, relating to provisional tax, employees tax, social security contributions and VAT; and
  • Cash grant for companies investing in new teleworking infrastructures.

Tax deferral scheme application

The tax deferral measure is primarily aimed at the tourism and hospitality, entertainment, transport and manufacturing sectors, however, any other sectors which can prove that are being affected by COVID-19 may also be eligible for this scheme.

Companies which have failed to comply with their tax obligations (submission of documents or returns and payment) falling due by 31 December 2019 will not be eligible to benefit from this deferral scheme.

Applicants will be allowed the possibility to pay the deferred tax (except for VAT), in four equal instalments between May and August, which tax would otherwise have been due in March and April. VAT, on the other hand, will be settled in two equal instalments in the following two quarterly returns. No interest or penalties will be charged in respect to taxes deferred under this scheme.

The deferment applies only to tax payments. This means that any tax return due should still be filed by the normal due date.

The tax deferral scheme application can be submitted through an online form by a director or legal representative of the company, a tax practitioner appointed to act on behalf of the company or the sole proprietor, where the business in question is a self-employed business.

Applications must be submitted by not later than 15th April 2020.

Teleworking Support Application

A cash grant is being provided to all undertakings irrespective of the size or sector in which they operate, for expenses incurred to invest in teleworking hardware or software required in order to implement any new teleworking agreement with employees. The grant is limited up to €500 per teleworking agreement, and up to €4,000 per undertaking, subject to a cap of 45% of eligible costs, incurred after 15 February March 2020.

Eligible costs are the following:

  • Purchasing and/ or leasing of computer hardware which are considered portable, including installation and setting up of connective software;
  • Communication solutions (hardware/software) that allows different users to connect to their place of work (such as VPN technology).

The application must be submitted to Malta Enterprise, along with all supporting documentation, by no later than 8th May 2020.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.