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Maltese Laws |
SUPPLIES AND SERVICES ACT
To make provision for maintaining supplies and services essential to the life of the community and for controlling the production, distribution and consumption of goods.
30th December, 1947
ACT IV of 1947, as amended by Emergency Ordinances II and XV of
1958; Ordinances XVII of 1961 and XXV of 1962; Legal Notice 4 of 1963; Act XIV of 1965; Legal Notices 46 of 1965 and 148 of 1975; Acts XI of
1977, XLIX of 1981, XV of 1982 and XIII of 1983; Legal Notice 409 of
2007; and Act V of 2007.
"essential goods", "essential supplies", "essential services" and "essential work" mean goods,
supplies, services or work appearing to the Minister responsible for trade to be essential in the public interest or to be essential
to the life of the community;
"prescribed" or "sp ecifi ed" m eans prescribed or specified by regulation under this Act;
"requisition" means, in relation to any goods, take possession of the goods or require the goods to be placed at the disposal
of the requisitioning authority;
"sale" includes any di sp osal un de r wh at ever title whether one ro us o r gratu i t o u s an d a ny transfer o f goo
ds from o n e’s possession;
"u nd er taki ng " means an y pu bli c u til it y or pr ivat e ut il it y undertaking, or any industrial or com mercial
enterprise, or any professional or educational enterprise, organisation, institution or service whether the activity is carried on
by one person or more.
(2) Any reference t o articles or go ods shall be constru e d as including a reference to substances, materials, produce, vehicles,
vessels, or animals.
(a) for regulating or prohibiting the production, treatment, keeping, storage, movement, transport, importation, exportation, distribution, sale, purchase, use or consumption of articles of any description, and, in particular, for controlling the prices at which such articles may be sold;
Short title.
Interpretation. Amended by: II. 1958;
L.N. 4 of 1963; XI. 1977.2;
XV. 1982.2.
Power to nmake regulations. Amended by: XVII.1961.2; XXV. 1962.2; L.N. 4 of 1963; L.N. 46 of 1965;
L.N. 148 of 1975; XI. 1977.2;
XLIX. 1981.4; XV. 1982.3;
XIII. 1983.5;
L.N. 409 of 2007;
V. 2007.25.
Cap. 490.
(b) for regulating the carrying on of any undertaking engaged in essential work, and, in particular, for controlling
the charges which may be made by the undertakers in respect of the doing of any work by them;
(c) for requiring persons carrying on, or employed in connection with, any specified trade, business or undertaking
to keep such books, accounts, or documents as may be specified and to produce to any officer or officers as may
be specified, any books, accounts or other documents relating to that trade, business or undertaking and for requiring
any persons to furnish to such officer or officers as may be specified, such estimates or returns as such officer or officers
may require;
(d) for any incidental and supplementary matters for which the Minister responsible for trade thinks it expedient for
the purposes of the regulations to provide, including, in particular, the entering and inspection of premises to
which the regulations relate, by persons authorized in that behalf by the Minister responsible for trade with a view
to securing compliance with the regulations; and such regulations may prohibit the doing of anything regulated thereby except
under the authority of a licence granted by such authority or person as may be specified and may be made so as to apply either to
undertakings generally or to any particular person or undertaking or class of persons or undertakings, and either to the
whole or to any part of any undertaking, and so as to have effect either throughout Malta or in any particular area therein;
(e) for empowering the Administrative Review Tribunal established in terms of article 5 of the Administrative Justice Act, for the purpose of taking cognizance of offences under all or any specified regulations made under this Act, for prescribing
the procedure to be followed by the said Tribunal, for establishing the jurisdiction thereof; and for providing,
where necessary, for applying the provisions of the Administrative Justice Act to appeals from the decisions of such Tribunal;
(f) for providing for the requisitioning of any essential goods on such conditions as may be prescribed and subject to the
payment of a fair compensation which, in default of agreement, shall be assessed by a Board or tribunal appointed for the purposes
or, in default of such appointment, by the Civil Court;
(g) for authorizing an officer to carry on the whole or any part of any existing undertaking, or authorize a person to carry on the
whole or any part of the undertaking, in accordance with any instructions as may be given by
him; and while by virtue of this paragraph an officer so authorised is carrying on the whole or any part of an undertaking -
(i) the said officer shall be deemed to be acting as an agent of the undertakers, except that the undertakers shall not
have any right to control the carrying on of the undertaking or part of the undertaking; and
(ii) the undertakers shall not be bound, or, as the case may be, shall not in respect of such matters as may be specified,
be bound, by any obligation or limitation imposed on them by or by virtue of any law or other instrument determining their functions;
(h) for establishing the penalties to which any offender of any of the regulations made under this Act shall be liable; such penalties
may include all or any of the following:
(i) imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years;
(ii) fine to an amount not exceeding two thousand and three hundred and twenty-nine euro and thirty-seven cents (2,329.37)
or a fine calculated on the profit made by the offender in connection with the transaction in contravention to the regulations:
Provided that, when the fine is so calculated, it may not exceed five times the profit made by the offender;
(iii) forfeiture of any goods or things to which the offence relates;
(iv) suspension or cancellation of any licence whether issued under any regulations under this Act or otherwise:
Provided that this sub-paragraph shall not be deemed to be prejudicial to the powers of any authority to suspend or cancel or
refuse the renewal of licences issued under any other law or under regulations made under this Act;
(v) publication of any sentences passed on an offender under any regulations made under this Act in such manner as
may be prescribed:
Cap. 446. Cap. 9.
Provided that regulations under this paragraph may also provide for the fixing of a minimum and, within the limits afore-mentioned,
the maximum penalty to which an offender shall be liable in respect of contraventions of any one or more regulations or of one
or more classes of regulations and regulations may also provide that in respect of any one or more regulations or of any
one or more classes of regulations the provisions of articles 7 and 22 of the Probation Act, and article 21 of the Criminal Code shall not apply.
(2) Regulations made under this Act shall be laid on the Table of the House of Representatives as soon as may be after they are
made; and if the House of R e pr esentatives, within a pe riod of twenty days beginning with the day on which any such regulations
are laid before it, resolves that they be annulled, or amended, the same shall cease to have effect, or shall be so amended but without
prejudice to anything previously done thereunder or to the making of any new regulations. In reckoning any period for the purposes
of this subsection no account shall be taken of any time during which the House of Representatives is dissolved or prorogued or during
which it is adjourned for more than four days.
Power to appoint officers. Amended by:
L.N. 4 of 1963.
(2) Where the holder of a designated office has been appointed for the purposes of subarticle (1), then, unless express provision is made to the contrary, the appointment shall be deemed to extend to the person for the time being performing the duties of the office designated.
Powers in respect of requisitioned goods.
Amended by: L.N. 4 of 1963;
XI. 1977.2.
Restrictions on disclosing information. Amended by: L.N. 4 of 1963; XIII. 1983.4;
L.N. 409 of 2007.
(2) Any person guilty of an offence under subarticle (1), shall be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
one year or to a fine (mu lta ) of no t less th an tw o hu ndred and thirty-two euro and ninety-four cents (232.94) and not more than
four hundred and sixty-five euro and eighty-seven cents (465.87).
8. Article 24 of the Criminal Code shall apply in respect of offences under this Act or under any regulations made thereunder as it applies in respect of contraventions.
(2) No person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that another person is guilty of an offence against any regulation
un d er t h is Ac t s ha l l g i ve th a t other person any assistance with in ten t t h ereb y to prev en t, h i n d er o r in
ter f ere wi th t h e tr ial o r punishment of that person for the said offence.
(3) Any person guilty under subarticle (2) shall be liable to the same pun ishm ents p rovided fo r the offen ce of which that
other person is guilty.
(4) Any person who induces or attempts to induce another or others to commit an offence against any regulation under this Act,
whether or not successful in that purpose, shall himself be guilty of an offence under such regulation.
Licences, etc., may be revoked.
Applicability of article 24 of the Criminal Code. Cap. 9.
Attempts to commit offences and assisting offenders.
Offences by association of persons.
Service of notices.
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