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L.S. 364.19 Regoli dwar Ħelsien mit-Taxxa fuq l-Income u mit-Taxxa fuq Dokumenti u Trasferimenti fuq Ċerti Trasferimenti ta’ Proprjetà

RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX AND FROM DUTY ON DOCUMENTS AND TRANSFERS ON CERTAIN PROPERTY TRANSFERS [ S.L. 364.19 1 SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 364.19 RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX AND FROM DUTY ON DOCUMENTS AND TRANSFERS ON CERTAIN PROPERTY TRANSFERS RULES 26th November, 2021 LEGAL NOTICE 461 of 2021, as amended by Legal Notice 11 and 204 of 2022, 363 of 2024, 93 and 284 of

  2. The title of these rules is the Relief from Income Tax and from Duty on Documents and Transfers on Certain Property Transfers, Rules.
  3. In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires: "competent authority" means a board or other entity designated or appointed by the Minister for the purpose of these rules; Citation. Interpretation. Amended by: L.N. 11 of
  4. "duty on documents and transfers" means duty chargeable on sales and other transfers in terms article 32 of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act;  Cap.
  5. "income tax" means tax chargeable on property transfers in terms of article 5A of the Income Tax Act;  Cap.
  6. "Planning Authority" means the planning authority established under the Development Planning Act;  Cap.
  7. "property" means immovable property situated in Malta; "transfer value" means the market value at the time of the transfer or, when property is transferred under an onerous transfer for a consideration that is higher than the market value, the consideration for that transfer; "transferable unit" means property having an identified delineated boundary and includes a defined airspace or area of subsoil. 3.

(1)Subject to the other provisions of these rules, no income tax and no duty on documents and transfers shall be payable on the first seven hundred and fifty thousand euro (€750,000) of the transfer value of any transfer to which rule 4 or rule 5 applies that is made on or after 12th October 2021 but not later than 31st December 2026: Relief from tax and from duty on documents and transfers. Amended by: L.N. 363 of 2024; L.N. 93 of 2025; L.N. 284 of 2025. Provided that no relief from income tax and from duty on documents and transfers shall be allowed in terms of this rule where the transfer is made to a person who requires a permit by the Minister for the purposes of the Immovable Property (Acquisition by NonResidents) Act or who would have required such permit had the     Cap. 246. 2 [ S.L. 364.19 RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX AND FROM DUTY ON DOCUMENTS AND TRANSFERS ON CERTAIN PROPERTY TRANSFERS property acquired not been situated in a special designated area: Provided further that in the case of a transfer made on, or after 1st January 2025: (
  1. a)no relief from income tax and from duty on documents and transfers shall be allowed in accordance with this rule if the property that is transferred consists of immovable property intended for the storage of goods or materials; (
  2. b)when the property that is transferred consists of a garage, relief from income tax and from duty on documents and transfers in accordance with this rule shall be allowed only if that garage is transferred by means of the same deed together with residential property and to the same person to whom such residential property is transferred, and is a garage attached to or underlying that residential property or a garage situated in the same block of residential apartments of which that property forms part or a garage of not more than thirty square metres (30m2) situated within five hundred metres
(500m)of such residential property or block of apartments.   Cap. 364.
(2)The relief mentioned in sub-rule
(1)shall be allowed only as long as all the parties entitled to it declare that they wish to claim the relief and the notary who publishes the deed makes a record of that declaration in the deed, and as long as the notice of the transfer referred to in article 51 of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act is delivered to the Commissioner by not later than 31st January 2027.       Cap. 123. Cap. 364.
(3)When the transfer value of a transfer referred to in subrule
(1)exceeds seven hundred and fifty thousand euro (€750,000), the income tax and the duty on documents and transfers on the excess shall be chargeable at the rates that apply in terms of the relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act and the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act, and for the purpose of determining the said rates that portion of the transfer value that is relieved from tax on income and from duty on documents and transfers in terms of these rules shall be deemed to constitute the first part of the transfer value. Vacant property. Amended by: L.N. 11 of 2022. 4.
(1)This rule applies to any transfer of property that satisfies all the following conditions: (a) the property transferred is a building and its construction was completed at least twenty
(20)years before the date of the transfer; RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX AND FROM DUTY ON DOCUMENTS AND TRANSFERS ON CERTAIN PROPERTY TRANSFERS [ S.L. 364.19 3 (b) the property transferred is vacant on the date of the transfer and has been vacant for a period of at least seven
(7)continuous years immediately preceding that date; (
  1. ba)the parties to the deed of the transfer or any of them produce a Planning Authority site plan of the property with an indication of the boundaries of the site as plotted by the Planning Authority and an indication inserted by an architect of the distance of the property from the nearest street corner; (
  2. c)the transferor declares to the notary who publishes the deed of the transfer that the conditions mentioned in paragraphs (
  3. a)and (
  4. b)are both satisfied and that declaration is confirmed by an architect’s report relating to the date of the completion of the construction of the property and a report by ARMS Ltd (a limited liability company with registration number C46054) relating to the period for which the property has been vacant and/or such further or alternative documents and evidence as the Commissioner may determine by means of guidelines published for the purposes of article 96 of the Income Tax Act and article 22A of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act and the notary makes note in the deed of the said declaration and documents;               Cap. 123. Cap. 364. (
  5. d)the reports and evidence mentioned in subparagraphs (
  6. ba)and (
  7. c)are delivered to the Commissioner on such form and in such manner as he may approve together with the notice of the transfer referred to in article 51 of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act.      Cap. 364.
(2)When there is a transfer to which this rule applies, and the owner subsequently transfers a divided part of the property in question, the latter transfer shall not be treated as a transfer to which this rule applies. 5.
(1)This rule applies to any transfer of property that satisfies all the following conditions: (
  1. a)the property transferred is situated, at the time of the transfer, within an urban conservation area; (
  2. aa)the parties to the deed of the transfer or any of them produce a Planning Authority site plan of the property with an indication of the boundaries of the site as plotted by the Planning Authority and an indication inserted by an architect of the distance of the property from the nearest street corner; Property situated within an urban conservation area. Amended by: L.N. 11 of 2022. 4 [ S.L. 364.19 RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX AND FROM DUTY ON DOCUMENTS AND TRANSFERS ON CERTAIN PROPERTY TRANSFERS       Cap. 552.    Cap. 123. Cap. 364. (
  3. b)the parties to the deed of the transfer or any of them declare that the condition mentioned in paragraph (
  4. a)is satisfied and that declaration is confirmed by a certificate issued by the Planning Authority and, or such further or alternative documents and evidence as the Commissioner may determine by means of guidelines published for the purposes of article 96 of the Income Tax Act and article 22A of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act and the notary makes a note in the deed of the said declaration and the documents;      Cap. 364. (
  5. c)the documents and evidence mentioned in subparagraphs (
  6. aa)and (
  7. b)are delivered to the Commissioner on such form and in such manner as the Commissioner may approve together with the notice of the transfer referred to in article 51 of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act.
(2)When there is a transfer to which this rule applies, and the owner subsequently transfers a divided part of the property in question, the latter transfer shall not be treated as a transfer to which this rule applies. Forfeiture of the relief from income tax and from duty on documents and transfers. Substituted by: L.N. 11 of 2022. 6.
(1)The relief from income tax and from duty on documents and transfers mentioned in rule 3 shall be subject to the condition that, at any date after the transfer, but not after the date when the property is transferred again inter vivos or causa mortis: (
  1. a)the property is not demolished; and (
  2. b)the property is not subjected to structural alterations or additions as a result of which it is divided into more transferable units than the number of transferable units that comprised the property at the time of the transfer; and (
  3. c)no permit is issued by the Planning Authority, upon an application made by the owner who benefited from the said relief, for the demolition of the property or for works described in paragraph (b); and (
  4. d)no transfer is made of any divided part of that property.
(2)If the condition mentioned in sub-rule
(1)is in any way breached, the relief from income tax and from duty on documents and transfers granted by these rules on the said transfer shall be forfeited and the total of the amount of such income tax and duty that was so relieved shall become payable to the Commissioner forthwith.
(3)The person who acquired the property at the time that the RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX AND FROM DUTY ON DOCUMENTS AND TRANSFERS ON CERTAIN PROPERTY TRANSFERS [ S.L. 364.19 5 relief from income tax and from duty on documents and transfers was allowed shall be liable for the payment of the amount mentioned in sub-rule
(2). 7.
(1)Subject to the other provisions of these rules, no duty on documents and transfers shall be payable on the first seven hundred and fifty thousand euro (€750,000) of the transfer value of any transfer to which rule 8 applies that is made on or after 12th October 2021 but not later than 31st December 2026. Exemption from duty on documents and transfers. Amended by: L.N. 11 of 2022; L.N. 363 of 2024; L.N. 284 of 2025.
(2)The relief mentioned in sub-rule
(1)shall be allowed only as long as the notice of the transfer referred to in article 51 of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act is delivered to the Commissioner by not later than 31st January 2027.
(3)When the transfer value of a transfer referred to in subrule
(1)exceeds seven hundred and fifty thousand euro (€750,000), the duty on documents and transfers on the excess shall be chargeable at the rates that apply in terms of the relevant provisions of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act, and for the purpose of determining the said rates that portion of the transfer value that is relieved from duty on documents and transfers in terms of these rules shall be deemed to constitute the first part of the transfer value.       Cap. 364. 8. This rule applies to any transfer that satisfies all the following conditions: Property developed in conformity with approved criteria. (
  1. a)it is a transfer to a person who does not require a permit by the Minister for the purposes of the Immovable Property (Acquisition by Non-Residents) Act or who would not have required such permit had the property acquired not been situated in a special designated area; (
  2. b)it is a transfer of property that is developed after the date of the transfer and the development is approved as provided in rule 9; (
  3. c)evidence of the approval referred to in paragraph (
  4. b)is produced to the Commissioner by not later than three
(3)months from the date on which it is issued, together with such information and further evidence as the Commissioner may require: Provided that duty on documents and transfers on a transfer to which this rule applies shall be payable at the time of the transfer without reference to these rules and the relief from the said duty allowable under these rules on that transfer shall be given effect to, subject to the other provisions of these rules, by means of a refund of the amount so relieved once the conditions in this rule have been satisfied.    Cap. 246. 6 [ S.L. 364.19 Approval of the development. RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX AND FROM DUTY ON DOCUMENTS AND TRANSFERS ON CERTAIN PROPERTY TRANSFERS 9.
(1)Approval of the development of property for the purpose of rule 8 shall be sought by the developer from the competent authority.
(2)The competent authority shall grant its approval when it is satisfied that the application has been made and the development has been completed in conformity with such guidelines as it may publish and as it may update from time to time.
(3)Subject to the terms of reference of the competent authority, guidelines published by it for the purpose of these rules may include guidelines on: (
  1. a)the procedure relating to the application, including the information and documents to be submitted; (
  2. b)conditions on the architectural design and other features that the development must conform with; (
  3. c)other conditions that are considered necessary for the proper implementation of the measure announced in this respect by the Minister in the speech on the budget for 2022. Application for refund. 10. An application for a refund of the duty on documents and transfers that was paid on a transfer to which rule 8 applies shall be made by the person who paid the said duty in such manner and on such form as the Commissioner may approve. Forfeiture of the relief from duty and payment back of the refund. Amended by: L.N. 11 of 2022. 11.
(1)The relief from duty on documents and transfers on a transfer to which rule 8 applies shall be subject to the condition that, unless otherwise expressly allowed by the competent authority, the developed property is not, at any date after the approval of the development, but not after the date when the property is transferred again inter vivos or causa mortis: (
  1. a)demolished; or (
  2. b)subjected to structural alterations or additions that result in material changes to the architectural design approved by the competent authority; or (
  3. c)divided into more transferable units than the number of transferable units that comprised the property at the time that the approval of the competent authority was granted.
(2)If the condition mentioned in sub-rule
(1)is in any way breached, or if there is a breach of any condition imposed by the competent authority for the approval of the development, the relief from duty on documents and transfers on the said transfer shall be forfeited and the amount that was refunded in accordance with rule 8 RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX AND FROM DUTY ON DOCUMENTS AND TRANSFERS ON CERTAIN PROPERTY TRANSFERS [ S.L. 364.19 7 shall be paid back to the Commissioner forthwith.
(3)The person who is the owner of the property at the time that the approval of the development is granted shall be liable for the payment of the amount mentioned in sub-rule
(2).
  1. Notwithstanding the other provisions of these rules, when a transfer to which rule 4 or rule 5 or rule 8 applies is also a transfer to which article 32C of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act applies, the relief from duty on documents and transfers shall not be available under these rules in conjunction with the relief available under the said article 32C but shall be available only as provided in these rules or only as provided in the said article 32C depending on the election made by the transferee by means of a declaration to the notary who publishes the deed of the transfer and recorded in that deed. Transfers to which article 32C of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act applies. Cap.
  2. 13.
(1)When a person acquires property under a transfer to which one of these rules applies and that acquisition is also an acquisition that qualifies for relief of duty on documents and transfers as provided in article 3 of the Exemption of Duty in Terms of article 23 Order, he shall submit legal evidence that no other property had been acquired by him inter vivos before and that evidence shall be submitted to the Commissioner together with the form or other means provided by the Commissioner for the purposes of article 51 of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act by not later than 31st January 2027. Transfer mentioned in article 32
(4)(a) of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act. Amended by: L.N. 93 of 2025; L.N. 284 of 2025. S.L. 364.12;
(2)A person who fails to comply with the provisions of subrule
(1)shall not forfeit, solely by reason of that failure, the benefit under these rules, but that failure may be considered as a breach of a condition for the grant or other benefit that may be given under any law, rules or scheme to persons who make an acquisition mentioned in sub-rule
(1): Provided that the notary publishing any such subsequent deed of transfer shall not be liable for any tax not so collected by reason of the said failure or breach on any subsequent deed and the other party to the deed shall not be liable for any such breach by the said person and may continue to benefit from the said exemptions granted under this rule.
(3)This rule is without prejudice to all the terms and conditions of any law, rules or scheme mentioned in sub-rule
(2). 14. Notwithstanding the other provisions of these rules, when a transfer of property to which rule 4, 5 or 8 applies is made to a company, and that company then transfers the property to another company by means of a transfer that is relieved from income tax and from duty on documents and transfers in terms of articles 5
(9)and 5A
(4)(f) of the Income Tax Act and article 32
(6)of the Duty on Intra-group transfers. Added by:| L.N. 11 of 2022. Cap. 123. Cap. 364. 8 [ S.L. 364.19 RELIEF FROM INCOME TAX AND FROM DUTY ON DOCUMENTS AND TRANSFERS ON CERTAIN PROPERTY TRANSFERS Documents and Transfers Act, the condition mentioned in sub-rule
(1)of rule 6 or the conditions mentioned in sub-rule
(1)and
(2)of rule 11, as the case may be, shall continue to apply as if the latter transfer has not taken place, and in the event of a breach in any way of any applicable condition, the two companies shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment of the amount mentioned in sub-rule
(2)of rule 6 or in sub-rule
(2)of rule 11, as the case may be.  Planning Authority to inform the Commissioner when a permit is issued. Added by:| L.N. 11 of 2022. 15.
(1)The Commissioner shall inform the Planning Authority of every transfer of property on which income tax and, or duty on documents and transfers has been relieved in accordance with rule 3, and the competent authority shall inform the Planning Authority of every approval of a development that it issues in accordance with rule 9.
(2)The Planning Authority shall inform the Commissioner whenever it issues a permit for the demolition of property in respect of which it has received information as provided in sub-rule
(1)or for works that involve structural alterations or additions as a result of which that property may be divided into more transferable units than the number of transferable units that comprised the property at the time of the transfer or more than the number of units included in the approved development, as the case may be. Payment of amount that becomes due in terms of rule 6 or rule 11. Added by:| L.N. 11 of 2022.     S.L. 372.28. 16.
(1)Any amount that becomes payable to the Commissioner on account of a breach of a condition as provided in rule 6 or rule 11 shall be deemed as an amount that was due by the person liable for the payment thereof in terms of the said rules on the date when the condition in question was breached and shall be payable forthwith upon demand of the Commissioner with interest running from the said date at the rate determined in accordance with the Income Tax (Rate of Interest) Rules.    Cap. 364.
(2)Sub-rule
(1)shall be without prejudice to any further liability of any person arising in terms of any provision of the Income Tax Acts or the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act in connection with the transfer of the property in question, sohowever that the breach of a condition set out in the said rules 6 and 11 shall not, of itself, be treated as giving rise to any such further liability.

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