L.S. 478.06 Regolamenti dwar Inċentivi Finanzjarji Screen Malta

(1)The title of these regulations is the Screen Malta Financial Incentives Regulations. Citation and scope. Amended by: L.N. 305 of 2024.

(2)The scope of these regulations is to provide for financial incentives for qualifying productions, excluding reality programmes and game shows. 2. requires:

(1)In these regulations, unless the context otherwise "Act" means the Malta Film Commission Act; "certificate of provisional approval" means the certificate issued in terms of regulation 5 following receipt of relevant application and supporting documentation and following the due assessment in accordance with the relevant Guidelines; "Commission" means the Malta Film Commission established by article 3 of the Act; "Commissioner" means the Film Commissioner appointed in accordance with article 5

(1)of the Act; "completion" means the termination of filming activity, animation, VFX or Virtual Production together with postproduction in Malta of an audiovisual production and "completed" shall be construed accordingly; "co-production" means a qualifying production which is the subject of a co-production agreement between two

(2)or more co-producers; "difficult audiovisual works" means an audiovisual production as established by the Commissioner in accordance with the Guidelines; "eligible expenditure" means the items of expenditure incurred by the qualifying company in relation to the qualifying production that are eligible as established by the Commissioner in accordance with the Guidelines; *Vide Regulation 2 of Legal Notice 305 of

1. Interpretation. Cap.
2. 2 [ S.L. 478.06 SCREEN MALTA FINANCIAL INCENTIVES "final approval" means the approval granted in accordance with regulation 7; "financial incentive" provided for in regulation 3; means the financial benefit "Guidelines" means the guidelines that may be issued by the Commissioner from time to time; "qualifying company" means the ultimate beneficiary and the entity responsible for all activities involved in making a qualifying production and having access to the full budget and full financial information for the total production worldwide, which shall be made available to the Commissioner upon his request. Where the qualifying production is a co-production, the co-producers shall appoint one

(1)of the co-producers amongst them to act as the qualifying company in respect of the qualifying production for the purposes of these regulations and the appointed co-producer shall be deemed to be the entity responsible for all activities involved in making the qualifying production: Provided that: (a) there shall be only one

(1)qualifying company with respect to a given qualifying production; (

1. b)in the case of a co-production, the financial incentive granted shall be apportioned between the coproducers as agreed between them, or in the absence of any agreement to that effect, in proportion to their share in the overall budget of the qualifying production; and (
2. c)any co-producers shall be jointly and severally liable for their obligations in accordance with the Act and these regulations: Provided further that when the qualifying company is: (
3. i)a foreign qualifying company, it shall be either a special purpose corporate vehicle or a company which carries on, or intends to carry on in Malta, a trade or business which is considered as a qualifying production; or (
4. ii)a local qualifying company, it shall be either a special purpose vehicle or a company that is duly registered as an audiovisual production company and intends to produce a qualifying production as its main SCREEN MALTA FINANCIAL INCENTIVES [ S.L. 478.06 purpose and activity. "qualifying production" means an audiovisual production that meets the conditions established in article 25 of the Act, the Schedule to the Act and the Guidelines which the Commissioner may publish from time to time; "State Aid Monitoring Board" means the State Aid Monitoring Board constituted in accordance with article 57 of the Business Promotion Act;    Cap. 325. "undertaking" means an entity carrying out an economic activity; "VFX" means visual effects.

(2)Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-regulation

(1), terms and expressions used in these regulations which are not herein defined, shall unless the context otherwise requires, have the same meaning assigned to them in the Act. 3.

(1)A rebate of up to forty percent (40%) of eligible expenditure may be given as a cash grant, which shall be exempt for the purpose of the Income Tax Act, to qualifying companies upon completion of a qualifying production, in accordance with these regulations and the Guidelines: Financial incentives.   Cap. 123. Provided that identifiable eligible costs claimed under any other publicly funded scheme in Malta, shall not be claimed under this scheme: Provided further that the total State aid from which a qualifying production may benefit under this regulation, or any other source shall not exceed the ceiling provided for in the Guidelines.

(2)The level of financial incentive shall be determined by the Commission in accordance with article 26 of the Act, the provisions of these regulations and the Guidelines.

(3)Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-regulation

(1), rebates of up to fifty percent (50%) of eligible expenditure for difficult audiovisual works may be given as a cash grant, which shall be exempt for the purpose of the Income Tax Act, to qualifying companies upon completion of a qualifying production, in accordance with these regulations and the Guidelines.     Cap. 123.

(4)The maximum aid incentives outlined in sub-regulations

(1)and

(3)shall also apply for co-productions. 4.

(1)The application for the financial incentive shall be submitted to the Commissioner by the qualifying company or its local Application for approval. 3 4 [ S.L. 478.06 SCREEN MALTA FINANCIAL INCENTIVES branch or agent in accordance with the Guidelines.

(2)The application specified in sub-regulation

(1)shall be submitted together with such documentation and information as may be required by the Commissioner and shall include any documents and information listed in the Guidelines.

(3)The application shall be submitted at least thirty

(30)working days before the planned commencement of the qualifying production in Malta: Provided that if the application is submitted less than thirty

(30)working days before the commencement of the qualifying production in Malta, it may only be accepted at the discretion of the Commissioner. Certificate of provisional approval. 5.

(1)Following the receipt of the application in accordance with regulation 4, the Commissioner shall complete an assessment of this application within thirty

(30)working days following which a certificate of provisional approval shall be issued: Provided that where the Commissioner requests additional information in respect of the application, the thirty

(30)working days shall resume after the relevant information has been received.

(2)In case of any changes to the application presented for provisional approval, the Commissioner shall be informed prior to the final approval. Significant budget changes. 6.

(1)Where, after the submission of the application for provisional approval the expenditure budget of Malta and estimated eligible expenditure as indicated in the provisional certificate, increases by over ten percent (10%) of the original estimates prior to completion and final submission, the Commissioner shall be informed in writing immediately of such changes.

(2)If it becomes apparent that the threshold has been exceeded, the Commissioner reserves the right to award the final incentive as outlined in the provisional certificate.

(3)For the purpose of this regulation, if further allowances are made which are found to be justifiable, said allowances shall be made solely at the discretion of the Commissioner. Final approval. 7.

(1)Upon completion of the qualifying production in respect of which a certificate of provisional approval was issued in accordance with regulation 5, the qualifying company shall submit its final submission detailing expenses of the qualifying production where a benefit is being sought as outlined in the Guidelines. A full audit of SCREEN MALTA FINANCIAL INCENTIVES [ S.L. 478.06 5 expenses shall be carried out by an auditor.

(2)The submission mentioned in sub-regulation

(1)shall be submitted together with such documentation and information as may be required by the Commissioner and shall include the documents and information listed in the Guidelines.

(3)Following receipt of the final submission made in accordance with sub-regulations

(1)and

(2), the Commissioner shall issue a final certificate. 8.

(1)The qualifying company shall ensure compliance with the conditions and requirements set out in the certificate of provisional approval and, or the final certificate and in the Guidelines. Obligations of the qualifying company.

(2)If the qualifying company or its local branch or agent fails to meet any of the conditions and requirements as referred to in sub-regulation

(1), the Commissioner may withdraw his provisional or final approval for the grant of the financial incentive. If the qualifying company has already received the financial incentive and the Commissioner establishes that the conditions and requirements as referred to in sub-regulation

(1)have not been complied with, it shall refund the Commissioner the amount of the financial incentive received upon the Commissioner's request. 9. When the financial incentive has been provided to an undertaking in accordance with these regulations, the Commissioner may: Examination of records. (

1. a)from time to time make or cause to be made such examination of books, accounts, documents, premises and all other things appertaining to such undertaking, its local branch or agency, as the case may be, as may be necessary to ensure that the provisions of these regulations, of the Guidelines and the provisional approval on which a certificate was issued are complied with; and (
2. b)request such financial statements from the undertaking, its local branch or agency, as the case may be and as may be required. 10. The Commissioner shall keep, for a minimum of ten

(10)years, a database of all the financial incentives provided to, or claimed by undertakings in accordance with these regulations in order that the Commission may: (

1. a)verify whether the provisions of the Act and of these regulations have been complied with; and (
2. b)provide the State Aid Monitoring Board and the European Commission with such information as they may Database of assistance provided. 6 [ S.L. 478.06 SCREEN MALTA FINANCIAL INCENTIVES require. Outstanding recovery orders. 11. Undertakings that are subject to an outstanding recovery order following a previous Commission decision declaring an aid illegal and incompatible with the internal market are excluded from benefiting from assistance under this incentive. Applicability. 12. These regulations shall apply to audiovisual productions in respect of which the aid is granted by 29th October 2028.