Distributing a product

Market shares

Malta does not have any natural resource wealth or any heavy industry: the country thus depends entirely on imports to meet its requirements of basic products, industrial products as well as consumer goods. Though Malta is a small market, it is characterised by the active presence of a multitude of trade companies, often family-run businesses but very competitive towards each other. These companies generally undertake import and distribution of goods at the same time. A few specialist importers also exist and they constantly keep on trying to expand their field of action by extending their product ranges. Retail outlets exist at the national level: a few supermarkets certainly exist and the distribution sector is going through a rapid modernising phase but large-scale distribution has not yet completely emerged in Malta.

Organizations in the retail sector

Association of General Retailers and Traders - Malta

We can identify professional tradeshows on your sector.

Market access procedures

International Conventions

Member of World Trade Organisation
Party to the Kyoto protocol
Party to the Washington convention on International trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora
Party to the Basel convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their disposal
Party to the Montreal protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer
Wassenaar arrangement on export controls for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies
Party of the International coffee agreement 2001

International economic cooperation

Malta is member of the European Union and Eurozone.

Non tariff barriers

There are no particular non-tariff barriers. However, in conformity with the EU legislation, licensing requirements are needed for the following:

-Common Agricultural Policies (CAP) (needed for imported foodstuffs).

-Trade Services Division Licenses (DTI)

-Ministry of Rural Affairs and Environment Licenses (for goods such as meat, poultry ,eggs which should undergo a veterinary checking at arrival)

-European Union License (for the import of depleting ozone substances and products). 

Customs duties and taxes on imports

As a full member of the European Union, Malta imposes customs tariffs on imports from non-EU countries. Rates of duties are contained in the Import Duties Act which may be accessed at: http://docs.justice.gov.mt/lom/Legislation/English/Leg/VOL_8/Chapt337.pdf

Customs classification

Since its accession to the European Union on May, 1st of 2004, Malta has adopted the EU Common External Tariff. Consequently, trade with Malta is totally free from customs duties, provided that the country of origin of the goods is one of the other EU Member States. Nevertheless, textile imports in Malta will undergo customs duties until 2009.

 When the country of origin of the goods exported to Malta is not part of the European Union, customs duties are calculated Ad valorem on the CIF value of the goods, in accordance with the Common Customs Tariff (CCT).

Duties for non-European countries are relatively low, notably for manufactured goods (4.2% on average for the general rate), however textile, clothing items (high duties and quota system) and food-processing industry sectors (average duties of a 17.3% and numerous tariff quotas, CAP) still know protective measures.

In order to get exhaustive regulations and customs tariffs rates regarding their products, exporters shall refer to the TARIC code and its database, including all applicable customs duties and all customs trade policy measures for all the goods.

For further information, please consult the information document published by the European Commission about the impact of EU enlargement on customs policy.

Import procedures

The EU "Taric" contains all references to the relevant import and export laws and regulations, including commodity codes for 65,000 products. It can be accessed at: http:/www.europa.eu.int/comm/taxation/_customs/ddsen/home.htm

 

 

Imported goods in Malta should be accompanied by the Single Administrative Document (SAD). The supplier's invoice should also be joined for customs clearance.

As part of the "SAFE" standards advocated by the World Customs Organization (WCO), the European Union has set up a new system of import controls, the "Import Control System" (ICS), which aims to secure the flow of goods at the time of their entry into the customs territory of the EU. This control system, part of the Community Program eCustomer, has been in effect since January 1, 2011. Since then, operators are required to pass an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) to the customs of the country of entry, prior to the introduction of goods into the customs territory of the European Union.

Importing samples

Samples can be entered in the country with the same documentation procedure as other goods. For customs clearance, the samples must be accompanied by a commercial invoice stating 'samples without commercial value".  

For further information

Malta Customs

We can indicate you which are the customs duties applied to your product.

Find out the local taxes that apply to your product.

Organizing goods transport

Main useful means of transport

Malta being an island, goods transportation operates by sea ; the maritime infrastructure of Malta are well developed and convenient.

For movements within the country, road transport is the best solution. 

Ports

The Maltese public transport authority
Malta Maritime Authority
Malta Freeport
Port of Valletta

Airports

Malta International Airport

Sea transport organizations

Ministry of Infrastructure Transport and

 

 

Communications
Malta Maritime Authority

Air transport organizations

Department of Civil Aviation

Road transport organizations

Malta Transport Authority

Rail transport organizations

no railways in Malta

Get a ballpark figure for transportation costs for your product in this country through a shipping estimate.

Identifying a supplier

Type of production

Key industry profiles for Malta are: pharmaceuticals and healthcare (mainly generics ; attractive because of the possibility to develop generic drugs in advance of patent expiry), ICT and electronics (software development), call centres (attractive because of the multilingual workforce), transport and logistics (maritime transport because of the location) and financial services (positive legislation towards the financial sector).

Business directories

Yellow Pages of Malta
White Pages of Malta
METCO

Manufacturers associations of the main industries

Malta Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce

Trade Agencies and their representations abroad

the Malta Chamber of Commerce

Enterprises federation

Malta Federation of Industry

Standards

National standards organizations

MSA

Integration in the international standards network

As Malta is member of the European Union, EU legislation in terms of standardization is applied in this field. The organisation responsible for defining technical standards is the Malta Standards Authority (MSA).The MSA is an affiliated member of the European Standardisation Committe and a member of the International Standard Organization (ISO), of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), of the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Classification of standards

Malta being part of the European Union, all products sold in the country are regulated by specific EU legislation (EU's General Product Safety Directive) as well as to possible additional national requirements. An important feature of EU standards is CE marking which is necessary for products which may pose a healthy or safety risk.

Online consultation of standards

A catalogue of Malta's standards can be found on the Malta Standards Authority website.

Certification organizations

MSA

Find out the standards and labelling requirements that apply to your products.

Intellectual Property

National organizations

The organization responsible for the protection of brands, industrial drawings and patents in Malta is the Industrial Property Registration Directorate.

Regional organizations

Malta is member of the UCC (Universal Copyright Convention) since 1968.

Malta signed the Convention of Paris for the protection of industrial property, the Convention of Berne for the protection of literary and artistic works and also the Universal Convention of authors' rights.