Category: Archive – 2013

What rights
does it give to business? GRTU's EU Desk has attended a Seminar
organized by the Malta Association of Credit Management with the full support
of the Commission Representation in Malta Headed by Martin Bugelli. The Seminar
aimed at providing interested stakeholders with a clear overview on the Late
Payments Directive and how they can apply them to take advantage of the full
rights made available under this Directive. The Seminar was part of an EU wide
initiative aimed at raising awareness on this important Directive.

A study found that Northern Countries
have a large tendency to pay on time, contrary to countries in the South and
Northern Countries are reluctant to do business with the South for this very
reason.

The Directive was transposed into
Maltese Law by LN 272 published on 14 August 2012. The average duration for
Government to settle payments in commercial transactions in Malta is 89 days
based on a total creditors of €90.2M, while the EU average stood at 65 days.

Background

To combat the problem of late payments
the EU had launched the Late Payments Directive that covers all payments made
as remuneration for commercial transactions (between businesses (B2B), Public
Authorities (PA) and undertakings). It is designed to combat the late payment
for goods or services within the European Union. Late payments represent a
significant cost to creditors, especially SMEs which are more financially
vulnerable. It generates problems with cash flow, administrative cost and
possibly lead to bankruptcy. It also constitutes an obstacle to the Single
Market as it stops businesses from trading outside their shores. One has to
keep in mind that debtor companies and public authorities paying late get free
trade credit.

The original Late Payments Directive
proved to be unsuccessful to achieve its objectives because despite the
Directive late payment in commercial transactions remained a widespread
practice. Following this result the Commission had launched a consultation to
address the problems in the effectiveness of the Directive which were present
in all Member States. On the results of the consultation the issues were
addressed with new or enhanced proposals, which constitute the Recast of the
Late Payments Directive. The scope of the Recast Directive remains the same,
covering debts in commercial transactions.

The current
provisions of the late payments directive in force

The Directive makes strict imposition
when dues are from the side of a Public Authority but when it comes to business
to business the Directives only gives the opportunity for creditors to apply
the rights given to them by the Directive, leaving it therefore optional and in
the hands of creditors.

Main
Provisions

EU countries shall ensure that if the
date or period for payment is not fixed in the contract, the creditor is
entitled to interest for late payment upon the expiry of any of the following
time-limits:

In addition, countries shall ensure that:

Interest on
late payment

Businesses that decide to apply the
Directive have the right to charge interest. This rate is part based on the ECB
rate of 0.75% and the statutory interest rate of 8% (The rate which Malta as a
Member State agreed to apply). The minimum interest that can be applied
according to the Directive is therefore 8.75% per annum, which calculates to a
0.023% daily rate.

Compensation

When interest for late payment does
become payable in commercial transactions, the creditor is entitled to obtain a
minimum fixed amount of EUR 40 (for legal costs, money collectors, etc…). This
fixed sum is payable without the necessity of a reminder and as compensation
for the creditor's own recovery costs. In addition the creditor will be
entitled to obtain reasonable compensation from the debtor for any recovery
costs exceeding that fixed sum and incurred due to the debtor's late payment.
This could include expenses incurred, inter alia, in instructing a lawyer or
employing a debt collection agency.

Public
Authorities

In commercial transactions where the
debtor is a public authority and a certain time period has expired, the creditor
is entitled to charge interest, without the necessity of a reminder, where the
following conditions are satisfied:    

the period for
payment does not exceed any of the following time-limits: i) 30 calendar days
following the date of receipt by the debtor of the invoice or an equivalent
request for payment; ii) if the date of receipt of the invoice or the
equivalent request for payment is uncertain, 30 calendar days after the date of
the receipt of the goods or services;

the date of receipt
of the invoice is not subject to a contractual agreement between debtor and
creditor.

Countries may extend
the time-limits up to a maximum of 60 calendar days for:

any public authority
which carries out economic activities of an industrial or commercial nature by
offering goods or services on the market and which is subject as a public
undertaking to the transparency requirements laid down in Commission Directive
2006/111/EC;

public entities providing healthcare which are duly
recognised for that purpose.

Unfair
Contract Terms

The Directive should prohibit abuse of
freedom of contract to the disadvantage of the creditor. Where a term in a
contract or a practice relating to the date or period for payment, the rate of
interest for late payment or the compensation for recovery costs is not
justified on the grounds of the terms granted to the debtor, or it mainly
serves the purpose of procuring the debtor additional liquidity at the expense
of the creditor, it may be regarded as constituting such an abuse. For that
purpose, any contract term or practice grossly deviating from good commercial
practice, contrary to good faith and fair dealing, should be regarded as unfair
to the creditor.

For example the follow contract terms
are likely to be considered 'grossly unfair':

exclusion of the
right to charge interest

the exclusion of the
right to compensation for recovery costs

Transparency

Member States shall ensure transparency
about the rights and obligations stemming from this Directive, for example by
making publicly available the applicable rate of statutory interest for late
payment.

Payment
Schedules & Claims

Where installments are not paid by the
agreed date, interest and compensation provided for in this Directive shall be
calculated solely on the basis of overdue amounts.

To ensure parties can enforce full
payment each country's shall also certify that an enforceable title can be
obtained, including through an expedited procedure and irrespective of the
amount of the debt. They shall carry out this duty in accordance with their
respective national laws, regulations and administrative provisions.

Following a special agreement reached
with the management of Canton Fair, the largest fair worldwide, GRTU's special
China Unit is offering interested manufacturers and traders the opportunity to
participate in the Fair held in Guangzhou China from the 1st to the 5th of May
2013.

This offer is open for manufacturers
and traders in the following fields;

Household goods

Textiles and fabrics

Footwear, Clothing and Accessories

Office supplies

Medicinal products, medical
devices and health products

Canton Fair covers an area of 1.16
million square meters, holds as many as 24,800 exhibitors and is visited by
188,000 visitors from around the world, this excluding Chinese visitors. Thanks
to GRTU's excellent relations with the management of Canton Fair, special
arrangements have been made for prospective exhibitors to facilitate their
presence in the fair, even without the need to send their own representatives.
Furthermore GRTU has special arrangements in place that offer very advantageous
fees for participation in the fair. Companies may also benefit from assistance
under the ‘Malta Enterprise Internationalization Scheme'

For companies that decide to send
their own representatives, arrangements have been made for special travel and
accommodation fares at convenient hotels, interpreters, freight for samples and
marketing material. Business follow up facilities after the fair are also being
offered by GRTU. These include customs clearance, due diligence exercises,
inspections and other related services.

Interested parties should contact our
International Desk by email on
or telephone 21 232 881.

GRTU held a consultation meeting in
conjunction with MEPA, as a follow up to the MEPA General Meeting held earlier
this year, on the proposed new Use Class Order. Present for the meeting were
MEPA Chairman Austin Walker, CEO Ian Stafrace and Joseph Gauci, Unit Manager of
the Forward Panning Unit, who delivered the presentation. GRTU President Paul
Abela chaired the meeting.

MEPA CEO Ian Stafrace said that such
a consultation meeting is important in order to make sure that as far as possible
all situations are taken into consideration and that the change does really
reflect the day to day needs of users. An aim of this decision was to give uses
better representation and if no permit is considered to be required by MEPA
because change in class will not consist in greater impact, permits will not
longer be required.

The CEO also said that the new Use
Class Order gives the possibility that if you are a business in Class 6 and
decide to change to Class 4 and then decide again to change to Class 6, you
will no longer need to apply for a MEPA permit to change to Class 4 as there is
no greater impact that will be created and you will not have to re-apply for a
MEPA permit to change back to Class 6, as this right would be retained. Whereas
with the new system no MEPA permits would be required for change of use,
currently, for this particular case, one would need to reapply twice.

Mr Gauci explained that the Use Class
Order is essentially the grouping of different businesses in a system of
classes according to the land use and environmental impacts, which are utilized
by MEPA as a reference in order to assess proposals for change. The need for a
revision was felt because the present Use Class Order was established in 1994
and since then new concepts and situations have developed that do not fit well
in the current class system and policies have also developed that have required
such a revision in order to ensure compatibility. The Use Classes Order however
cannot be interpreted without the framework of subsidiary legislation such as
local plans and planning guidances.

Article 4
uses

MEPA is proposing to add and remove a
number of land uses under this article. Uses falling under this Article cannot
be combined with other uses and therefore in other classes because of their
significant and specific impact. Applications for use falling under this
article require an individual assessment through the submission of an
application for development permission. For example the manufacture of concrete
and concrete products has wide ranging environmental impacts whilst food
take-aways and bakeries have a range of more localised impacts but may cause
nuisance and have impacts on the amenity of the area in which they are to be
located, and so these impacts require assessment.

New uses such as take aways, lotto
offices, gaming and betting shops will be added whilst goldsmith, silversmith,
taxi businesses and hire of vehicles are being reintegrated into the list of
classes and therefore removed from Article 4.

Class 3

This class was simply renamed Tourism
Accommodation and includes a new category – Palazzini / Small Boutique Hotels.

Class 4

Class 4 (retail) has been revamped
since currently all retail uses are grouped together in Class 4. Taking account
of the Retail Planning Guidelines, it is proposed to replace this Class with
five specific classes. (A-Small Shops, B-Showrooms greater than 250sqm,
C-Pharmacies greater than 75sqm, D-Supermarkets, E-Any other shops). Uses
within these Classes have similar impacts, whilst this grouping will also
facilitate the implementation of the policy, so that, for example, a change to
or from a showroom cannot take place without development permission.

New applications will be regarded as
development depending on whether they require a change of use or not. For
example change of use from a private car garage to a small retail outlet would
still require a change of use.

Class 6

Food and Drink outlets would now
include retail facilities (Class 4A, 4B, 4C, 4E) without the need for applying
for a change of use.

Class 8

Split into 2 new categories:

8A:
Kindergarten, crèche, day nursery or day centre. These normally cater for
relatively small groups of young children and so usually occupy small premises.
Their impacts are usually relatively limited in scale, particularly in terms of
traffic generation and parking.

8B:
Residential or non residential school, college, or training centre. These are
larger in scale, with more pupils and with greater traffic and other impacts.

Both change of uses to 8A and 8B
would require  a permit but the impact
and scale of the wide continuum of uses within class 8 is would now be
differentiated.

Class 11

MEPA felt Goldsmith or Silversmith
(previously under article 4) should be re-integrated with the Crafts Industry
therefore Class 11 would now include goldsmith or silversmith. The local plan
policies covering residential areas impose that all Class 11 uses within
residential areas which are post August 2006 need to conform to the stipulated
scale of 50sqm. This without prejudice to other amenity considerations when
this use is applied in residential areas.

Industrial
Parks

There will be a distinction between
parks managed by a statutory competent entity such as Malta Industrial Parks
(MIP) and the parks that to date are still unmanaged.

For parks managed by a statutory
competent entity within the framework of an approved masterplan, all changes of
use would require a DNO (however any operational procedures such as
environmental permits if required would still need to be undertaken).

Parks that are unmanaged and envisage
changes for Class 11 a,b,c, from Class 11 to 12, from Classes 12-16 to 11 and
from Classes 13-16 to 12 would require DNO notification. All other developments
would be required to undergo the development permit procedure.

Class 18

With the scope of facilitating the
diversification of the rural economy this Class will be split into 2 new
categories:

18
A Agriculture

18
B Agri-businesses.

These classes would be now
contemplated to allow for a distinction between pure agricultural activities
and agri-businesses.

Class 21

This new class would be created for
the taxi businesses and car hire. Change to Class 22 would not require a
development permit.

Class 22

This new class would be created for
the sale or display for sale of motor vehicles. Change to Class 21 would not
require a development permit.

Outside the context of the amendments
to Development Planning (Use Classes) Order 1994, a number of changes are also
planned for the Development Notification Order (DNO). These are intended to
simplify procedures for shifts between different types of floorspace within
shopping and business complexes and changes of use from shops to offices and
offices to dwellings amongst others. A new DNO is currently being drafted to
consider minor rehabilitation and restoration works on scheduled buildings.

GRTU is launching a PV purchase
"facilitation scheme". The aim behind the scheme is to help households that
wish to purchase a PV system or a solar water heater but have limited financial
means to do so. In view of the forthcoming MRA scheme,
as it is better known and should be in the region of an unprecedented €20
million, GRTU has joined forces with a local major bank to actively give their
share towards renewable energy in Malta.

The scheme is designed in a manner that
the buyer is never faced with a financial burden throughout the whole process
of purchasing and installing the PV systems, thus making it easier on low
income households and younger people to invest in such systems. Installing an
average PV system that costs € 6,000, when the energy savings are deducted from
monthly loan repayments, it sums to a payment of just around € 23 per month for
three years, totaling to € 828. These calculations are based on a low feed in
tariff of 18c. However, GRTU urges Government, MRA and Enemalta to be generous
and ensure that a feed in tariff near the one set for previous schemes (25c) is
established to ensure a good turnout for this PV scheme as well. This will in
turn contribute to the society in various ways by aiding government in reaching
its 2020 targets, reducing emissions, creating more sustainable green jobs thus
contributing directly to Malta's welfare.

All interested retailers and installers
of PV systems are eligible to apply to be able to offer the scheme to their
clients. Each supplier shall be assessed by GRTU officials to analyze the
quality level of installations and must commit to abide with regulations set by
MEPA, MRA and Enemalta. Furthermore, retailers must commit themselves to work
with the highest ethics both when dealing with clients, in materials and
workmanship. Only following such scrutiny and commitment shall each retailer be
allowed to participate in the scheme, and the ones that qualify shall be
recognized by a ‘GRTU APPROVED' certificate, which logo may also be placed in
adverts and relative retail outlets. The list of ‘GRTU APPROVED' retailers
shall be on the GRTU website and published in its weekly newsletter. Defaulting
retailers shall be immediately removed from the list. Although the scheme is
mainly focused on PV installations, it may also be applied for solar water
heaters.

Customers may also contact GRTU on
21232881 to verify whether a particular retailer is GRTU approved or to place a
complaint. An information session shall be held shortly for retailers regarding
this scheme. Retailers that are not GRTU members may also contact GRTU to
enquire more information about the scheme.

In its report on growth prospects in
Europe and the various member states the Commission reports that real GDP in
Malta as a whole is expected to have increased by 1% in 2012 and, as domestic
demand gradually strengthens, growth is projected to  accelerate to 1.5% in 2013 and 2% in 2014.

In particular, construction investment
is forecast to pick up on the back of EU funded projects as well as the
electricity interconnector with Sicily, which is scheduled for completion by
end-2013. By contrast, housing investment is expected to remain subdued, in
line with the expected  moderate outlook
for the housing market. The upturn in domestic demand will stimulate imports,
thereby reducing the trade balance. However, net exports are expected to
continue to add positively to economic growth and the current-account balance
is  forecast to remain  positive over the forecast horizon.

The labour market continues to prove
resilient and job creation is projected to remain robust throughout the
forecast horizon, significantly outperforming the euro-area average. Employment
growth is expected to have reached 1.7% in 2012, largely on the back of the
expanding services sector, while industrial employment continued shrinking.
Going forward, as the economic outlook brightens, employment and average wage
growth are forecast to strengthen and move towards their pre-crisis average.
The unemployment rate is projected to remain among the lowest in the euro area
and further narrow to 6.1% in 2014.

Risks to this scenario appear balanced.
The currently  uncertain political
situation in Malta, ahead of the parliamentary elections in March, could have a
further negative impact on consumer and business confidence and delay the
recovery of domestic demand in 2013. On the upside, the rapidly developing
financial sector could benefit from the assumed stabilisation in the euro-area
financial markets and resuming confidence, thus supporting real GDP growth.

Budget
deficit projected to widen in 2013 in the absence of a budget

The headline general government
deficit  is projected to  have 
improved in 2012. Current primary expenditure is expected to have
accelerated, outpacing nominal GDP growth, mainly due to higher social
transfers and subsidies to the national energy company (Enemalta). By contrast,
compensation of employees in the public sector is set to  have 
grown at a more moderate pace as a result  of continued hiring restraints. 

Current primary expenditure is forecast
to drop by 0.3 pp. of GDP, reflecting a continuation of the tight recruitment
policy in the public sector as well as 
subdued  dynamics of social
transfers from the impact of the 2006 pension reform. Net capital expenditure
is expected to

grow by 0.5 pp. of GDP. The increase in
tax revenue related to the pick-up in economic activity. As a result, current
revenues are projected to decline slightly. In 2014, the deficit is projected
to narrow, on the back of domestic demand-driven growth.

After having improved by more than 1
pp. of GDP in 2011, the structural deficit is expected to remain stable  in 2012 and, on a no-policy-change
assumption,  is forecast  to improve by ½ pp. of GDP in 2013 and by ¼
pp. of GDP in 2014. The main downside risk to this scenario is related to the
financial situation of Enemalta, which could entail additional subsidies.

This Guidance document has been drafted for the
management -in any food manufacturing environment – of allergenic foods and
substances ("allergens") identified in EU legislation.

Food companies have a responsibility
to establish a food safety management system to comply with legal requirements.
Allergen Management should be an integrated part of food safety assurance strategies
and should consider the risk from food allergens together with other food
safety risks. It should be built into operational standards for a company's own
manufacturing, for third party manufacturing performed on behalf of the company
and be incorporated into all raw material supply standards. The FDE guidance on allergen management can be found on:

http://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/uploads/publications_documents/FINAL_Allergen_A4_web.pdf

Following a special agreement reached with the
management of Canton Fair, GRTU's special China Unit is offering interested
manufacturers and traders the opportunity to participate in the Canton Fair,
the largest fair worldwide, held in Guangzhou China from the 1^st to
the 5^th of May 2013.

This offer is open for manufacturers and traders in
the following fields;

Household goods, Textiles and fabrics, Footwear, Clothing and Accessories, Office supplies, Medicinal products, medical devices and health products

Canton Fair covers an area of 1.16 million square
meters, holds as many as 24,800 exhibitors and is visited by 188,000 visitors
from around the world, this excluding Chinese visitors.

Thanks to GRTU's excellent
relations with the management of Canton Fair, special arrangements have been
made for prospective exhibitors to facilitate their presence in the fair, even
without the need to send their own representatives. Furthermore GRTU has
special arrangements in place that offer very advantageous fees for
participation in the fair. Companies may also benefit from assistance under the
‘Malta Enterprise Internationalisation Scheme'

For companies that decide to send their own
representatives, arrangements have been made for special travel and
accommodation fares at convenient hotels, interpreters, freight for samples and
marketing material.  Business follow up facilities after the fair are also
being offered by GRTU. These include customs clearance, due diligence
exercises, inspections and other related services.

Interested parties should contact our International
Desk by email on or telephone 21 232 881.

LIFE+ is the European Union's direct funding programme
for the Environment providing funding opportunities for the conservation of
protected habitats and species, the halt of loss in biodiversity and the
implementation of environmental policy through demonstrative, innovative and
information projects. Environment protection is of crucial importance to the
European Union and LIFE+ is there to provide complementary support to other
funding instruments aimed at protecting our environment.

LIFE+ is subdivided into three distinct strands, thus
a vast array of projects can be implemented. These strands are:

LIFE+ Nature & Biodiversity, co-finances best
practice or demonstration projects that contribute to the implementation of the
Birds and Habitats Directives. In addition it
also co-finance innovative or demonstration projects that contribute to
the implementation of the objectives of Commission Communication (COM (2011)
244 final) "Our life insurance, our natural capital: an EU biodiversity
strategy to 2020";

LIFE+ Environmental Policy & Governance
specifically aims at contributing to the implementation, updating and
development of EU environmental policy and legislation, the development of
innovative policy approaches, technologies, methods and instruments, the
knowledge base as regards environment policy and legislation, and the
monitoring of environmental pressures. This strand covers such projects in the
remit of nature and biodiversity, climate change, water, air, soil, urban
environment, noise, chemicals, environment and health, waste and natural
resources, forests, innovation and strategic approaches as well as the
integration of environment into other policies, thereby contributing to
sustainable development; and

LIFE+ Information & Communication co-finances
information campaigns related to all the environmental aspects mentioned above.
Such proposed projects must seek to raise awareness on environmental issues so
as to achieve a positive change in people's attitude towards the environment.

This fund has a total budget of around €2.143 billion
for the period 2007-2013, with more than €2.6 million as Malta's indicative
national allocation. LIFE+ is open to all bodies that are registered in the EU;
therefore applications could be submitted from the public as well as the private
sector as well as universities, research institutes and environmental NGOs
within the 27 EU Member States. Applications can be submitted by a single
beneficiary or a partnership including a coordinating beneficiary and
one/several associated beneficiaries.

The new application package including applications and
all the related documentation and guidelines, will be available from the
official website being
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/funding/lifeplus.htm  around mid-February on the launching of the
call.  Furthermore, one can also find a
database listing all the projects that have been funded under LIFE/LIFE+
together with a brief description of the projects as well as links to their
websites on:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm

It is important to note that once again, this year,
the application format is completely electronic, thus one should access the
e-proposal following this link. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eproposalWeb/ .It
is important to note that the call for proposals shall be opening around
mid-February 2013 closing around in the last week of June 2013 after which date
the applicant can no longer access the proposal on the web portal.

An information session in collaboration with MEUSAC
shall be organised on the 1st March 2013, as per invitation attached. If
interested, kindly forward your registration form to Mr Brian Pace who is in
copy. For further information you may wish to set an appointment with the
undersigned where we can discuss project ideas and this funding instrument in
more detail.  

The EU Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard
has launched an exciting contest, calling on creative minds from across the EU
to put their green initiatives to the test. The competition entitled; ‘The
World You Like Challenge' is part of the European Commission's climate action
campaign: ‘A world you like.'

In line with the EU 2020 targets to reduce the EU's
greenhouse emissions, innovative groups, organisations or individuals based in
an EU Member State are invited to submit their story on the action they have
taken/will be taking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Additional information can be found on:
http//word-you-like.europa.eu