Cap. 325 Art. 25Guarantee of incentives.

(1) Where after the coming into force of this Act a qualifying company or its members or employees are entitled to an incentive or benefit under any of the following provisions, there shall be deemed to have come into existence a contract between the company or its members or employees and the Government, or the Corporation, as the case may be, guaranteeing the grant and enjoyment of the relative incentive or benefit in accordance with the provisions of this Act as hereunder indicated:

*1st November, 2000 - see Legal Notice 135 of 2001.

(a) the incentives and benefits contemplated under articles 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12 and 14 when and as soon as the company becomes entitled to a benefit thereunder for any year of assessment;

(b) exemption from tax on dividends under article 9;

(c) the rate of tax chargeable in respect of an expatriate employee under article 13 when and as soon as the employee becomes so chargeable;

(d) gains or profits contemplated in article 15 for as long as the relative arrangement is still in force;

(e) exemption from duty under article 21; and

(f) grants due to a Gozo company in accordance with the provisions of article 23(2) and (3).

(2) Where any incentive or benefit contemplated under the provisions of this Act is not due as of right to a qualifying company or other beneficiary but depends on the use of discretion vested in the Corporation, the use of such discretion in favour of a beneficiary shall constitute a contract between the beneficiary and the Government, or the Corporation, as the case may be, guaranteeing the grant and enjoyment of the incentive or benefit in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(3) Without prejudice to any other proof available to a qualifying company, a certificate released by the Corporation to the effect that a trade or business carried on or carried out, or intended to be carried on or carried out, by the company does not consist solely or mainly in the mere expansion, duplication or replacement of a trade or business formerly carried on or carried out in Malta by any person directly or indirectly connected with the said company, shall be conclusive evidence to this effect for the purposes of article 4(1)(c). A certificate to like effect may also be issued by the Corporation for the purpose of determining any question arising under the provisions of subarticle (3)(a) of the said article.

(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, in releasing a certificate in accordance with the provisions of subarticle (3), the Corporation may impose any conditions it may deem fit including a reduction in the term of the tax holiday contemplated by article 4.

(5) The Corporation may at its discretion issue a certificate exempting a qualifying company from the requirements of article 4(1)(c) under such terms and conditions it may deem fit to impose where:

(a) the company is a joint venture between an existing qualifying Maltese company or companies (in this subarticle referred to as "the first partner company") and a company which carries on its trade or business outside Malta (in this subarticle referred to as "the second partner company") and which, if it were not for the said joint venture, would satisfy the conditions established in article 4(1)(c); and

(b) the second partner company holds at least 20% of the ordinary and voting share capital of the joint venture company; and

(c) the Corporation is satisfied that the second partner company would bring into the joint venture company innovative technology, new production processes or access to new foreign markets.

(6) The guarantees given by this article shall not be nullified by any retrospective action, whether by legislation or otherwise.

(7) The provisions of this article shall be without prejudice to the controlling and regulatory provisions laid down in this Act and to the powers of the President of Malta under article 26.