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An oversea company is a body corporate which is constituted or incorporated outside Malta. Such company is required by the Companies Act to register with the Maltese Registrar of Companies within one month from establishing a branch or a place of business in Malta.
The process involves the delivery to the Registrar for registration certain documents, including:
- an authentic copy of the charter, statute or memorandum and articles of the oversea company, or other instrument constituting or defining the constitution of the oversea company. If the instrument is not written in English, a certified translation thereof is also required
- a list of the directors and company secretary and/or other persons vested with representation of the oversea company
- a return setting out, inter alia, the name under which the branch or place of business is carrying on its activities (if different from the name of the oversea company), the address of the branch or place of business established in Malta, the activities to be carried out and the names and addresses of the individual(s) authorised to represent the oversea company for its activities in Malta.
A branch of an oversea company (the business of which is managed and controlled outside Malta) would be taxable in Malta only on income arising in Malta and on income arising outside Malta but received in Malta. The income of the branch would be taxed at the same rate as that of a Maltese company (currently 35%), and the computation of the income would follow that adopted by a domestic company.
Branch office profits are not subject to any withholding taxes at the time of transfer or at any later time. The tax due would be the corporate tax charge on the profits made and charged to tax in Malta.
Non-resident shareholders of overseas companies may qualify for refunds of tax, provided that the relevant conditions are satisfied.
Subject to any particular conditions in a particular double tax treaty, branches of foreign companies may use the provisions of a relevant Malta double tax treaty with another jurisdiction.
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The information contained in this publication should not be relied on as professional advice and should not be regarded as
a substitute for advice in individual cases. QUBE Services Limited cannot accept any responsibility for any loss incurred by
any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication.
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General Information
