Cap. 123 Art. 52Advance Revenue Rulings.

(1) The Commissioner shall, on the application of a company which is a party to any transaction, notify his ruling that the provisions of article 51 shall not apply to that transaction provided that the Commissioner is satisfied that the transaction is to be effected for bona fide commercial reasons.

(2) The Commissioner shall, on the application of any person, notify his ruling that the provisions of paragraph (f) of the definition of "participating holding" as defined in article 2 in respect of a participating holding will apply to a particular shareholding or to a shareholding which is to be acquired by the applicant.

(3) The Commissioner shall, on the application of any person which is a company, notify his ruling on the tax treatment of any transaction which concerns any financial instrument or other security.

(4) The Commissioner shall, on the application of any person, notify his ruling on the tax treatment of any transaction which involves international business, provided that the determination of what constitutes international business for the purposes of this sub-article shall be at the discretion of the Commissioner.

(5) The Commissioner shall, on the application of any person, notify his ruling as to whether a company qualifies as an international trading company: Provided that no such ruling shall be notified in respect of a company which was a company registered in Malta on or after 1 January 2007 but was not resident in Malta before that date: Provided further that companies registered in Malta between the 18 April 2006 and 31 December 2006 shall only be entitled to apply for a ruling in terms of this sub-article by not later than 30 June 2007.

(5A) The Commissioner shall, on the application of any person, notify his ruling that a company is not precluded from being a company to which article 48(4A)( ) of the Income Tax b Management Act refers to as a consequence of paragraph (ii) thereof: Provided that where the Commissioner has notified his ruling as aforesaid, such ruling shall only remain binding and valid as long as such company together with the filing of its income tax return also submits the following documents:

(a) a declaration, signed by all the directors of the company or by the company secretary where such declaration is approved by the board of directors of the company, confirming that throughout the relevant accounting period the company’s activities consisted solely of the activities referred to in the company’s application for the said ruling. Where the declaration is signed by the company secretary it shall also state:

(i) whether all the directors of the company were present at the meeting approving the declaration and, if not all the directors were present, whether the meeting was properly convened as required by the company’s memorandum and articles;

(ii) whether the declaration was unanimously approved by all the directors present at the meeting and, if approval was not unanimous, the number of votes against and the number of votes for the motion; and

(b) a declaration, signed by the auditor of the company for the accounting period in question, confirming that, to the best of his knowledge and belief, the declaration referred to in paragraph (a) is correct.

(6) The notification of a ruling specified in this article may be given in advance of any transaction in respect of which an application for a ruling is made.

(7) (a) All applications under this article shall be made in writing and shall contain all material particulars of the transactions to be effected.

(b) Where the Commissioner requires further particulars for the purposes of enabling him to make a decision on an application under this article, the Commissioner shall, within thirty days of the receipt of the application, or of the receipt of any further particulars previously required under this paragraph, by written notice, require the applicant to furnish such further particulars, and if any such notice is not complied with within thirty days, or such longer period as the Commissioner may allow, the Commissioner need not proceed further with the application.

(c) The Commissioner shall notify his ruling to the applicant within thirty days of receiving the application or, if he gives a notice under paragraph (b), within thirty days after the notice has been complied with.

(d) If any particulars furnished under this article do not fully and accurately disclose all facts and considerations material for the ruling of the Commissioner, any resulting ruling shall be void.

(8) (a) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (7)(d), a ruling by the Commissioner will be and shall remain binding on the Commissioner for a period of two years from the time of any relevant change in statutory provisions subsequent to such ruling, or for a period of five years from the time of such ruling, whichever is the lesser.

(b) A ruling by the Commissioner may, at the option of the applicant, be renewed for a further period of five years. An application for renewal shall be submitted in writing to the Commissioner, stating whether or not there have been any material changes to the facts and considerations contained in the original application and the nature of any such changes. Such renewal shall not be unreasonably withheld by the Commissioner.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraphs of this sub-article no ruling pursuant to sub-article (5) including any renewal of such ruling shall be effective on or after the 1 January 2011.