S.L. 452.82 Art. 7Administrative cooperation.

(1) The competent authority in Malta shall be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of these regulations and for liaising and cooperating with the Commission and the authorities having corresponding responsibilities in other Member States on issues relating to the implementation, application and enforcement in practice of Directives 96/71/EC and 2014/67. To this effect, the competent authority in Malta shall work in close cooperation and provide the corresponding authorities in other Member States with assistance without undue delay. Such mutual administrative cooperation and assistance shall be provided free of charge, and shall be implemented through the Internal Market Information System (IMI) established by Regulation 1024/2012.

(2) The co-operation with other authorities referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall include:

(a) replying to reasoned requests for information, including information with respect to a possible recovery of an administrative penalty and, or fine, or the notification of a decision imposing such a penalty and, or fine as contemplated in these regulations; and

(b) carrying out checks, inspections and investigations with respect to the situations of posting referred in regulation 3, including the investigation of any non-compliance or abuse of applicable rules on the posting of workers.

(3) The co-operation with other authorities referred to in sub-regulation (1) may include the sending and service of documents.

(4) For the purpose of responding to a request for assistance from competent authorities in another Member State, the competent authority in Malta shall ensure that service providers established in Malta supply the latter with all the information necessary for supervising their activities, failing which the service providers shall be guilty of an offence.

(5) In the event of difficulty in meeting a request for information or in carrying out checks, inspections or investigations, the competent authority in Malta shall, without delay, inform the requesting authority with a view to finding a solution.

(6) The information requested to the competent authority in Malta by corresponding authorities in other Member States or by the Commission shall be supplied by electronic means within the following time limits:

(a) in urgent cases requiring the consultation of registers, such as those on confirmation of the VAT registration, for the purpose of checking an establishment in Malta, as soon as possible and up to a maximum of two working days from the receipt of the request: Provided that the reason for the urgency shall be clearly indicated in the request, including facts to substantiate the urgency: Provided further that the registers mentioned in this paragraph shall be consulted by other competent authorities if such registers are listed by the Member States in the Internal Market Information System established by Regulation 1024/2012;

(b) in cases of all other requests for information, up to a maximum of twenty five working days from the receipt of the request, unless a shorter time limit is mutually agreed between the competent authority in Malta and the corresponding competent authority in the other Member State.

(7) Any information exchanged or transmitted in terms of this regulation:

(a) shall be used only in respect of the matter or matters for which it was requested; and

(b) shall not preclude the competent authority in Malta from taking measures to investigate and prevent alleged breaches of these regulations.

(8) The competent authority in Malta shall facilitate access to information on the terms and conditions of employment referred to in regulations 5 and 6, which are to be applied and complied with by service providers by:

(a) making such information generally available free of charge in a clear, transparent, comprehensive and easily accessible way at a distance and by electronic means, in formats and in accordance with web accessibility standards that ensure access to persons with disabilities;

(b) ensuring that the applicable terms and conditions and the relevant laws are indicated clearly, in a detailed and user-friendly manner and in an accessible format on a single official national website and by other suitable means;

(c) ensuring that the information is easily-available to workers and service providers free of charge in English, which information shall include the main labour conditions applicable, the description of the procedures to lodge complaints and upon requests in formats accessible to persons with disabilities, further detailed information on the employment and social conditions applicable to posted workers;

(d) improving the accessibility and clarity of the relevant information, particularly that found on the single official national website;

(e) indicating a contact person in charge of dealing with requests for information and indicating the bodies and authorities to which workers and undertakings can turn for general information on the applicable law; and

(f) keeping all the information up to date:

Provided that when the information on the single official national website does not indicate which terms and conditions of employment shall be applied, that circumstance shall be taken into account when imposing the penalties laid down in regulation 12, to the extent necessary to ensure the proportionality thereof.