Company formation in Malta

What the formation provider in Malta handles for you

Maltese law treats formation as a regulated service. The Company Service Providers Act lists “company services” as forming companies, acting as (or arranging for someone to act as) director or company secretary, and providing a registered office or business address.

In practice, three kinds of firm offer company formation. Of the 115 firms listed on Accountanty that form companies in Malta:

Firm type	Firms
Accounting firms	55
Corporate services providers	40
Law firms	20

The type tells you where the firm is strongest. An accounting firm is often the natural home if you want formation, bookkeeping and tax under one roof. A corporate services provider is built around directorships, secretarial work and administration. A law firm suits structures that need legal drafting, such as shareholder agreements or several classes of shares. Many firms cover more than one of these roles.

Check the authorisation before you sign

Under the Act, no person may act as a company service provider in or from Malta unless it is duly authorised or registered, and the regulator named in the Act is the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Ask the firm, in writing, which authorisation or registration it holds for company services, and check it with the MFSA before you pay.

This matters for one role in particular. The Companies Act allows a company to have a corporate company secretary only if that body is registered as a company service provider. If the firm offers to act as your secretary through one of its companies, its authorisation is part of your company’s compliance.

The how we select firms page sets out how Accountanty lists firms. A listing is a starting point, not a substitute for checking the licence yourself.

What the provider will ask from you

Expect the firm to start with due diligence on every person behind the company before it drafts anything. The registry also needs ownership information: unless every shareholder is an individual named in the memorandum, the incorporation file includes a beneficial owner declaration with each owner’s name, date of birth, nationality, residence, identity document and the nature of their interest.

Have these ready:

• Identity and address for each director, shareholder, secretary and beneficial owner, usually certified copies.
• Ownership chart if a holding company, trust or foundation sits between you and the Maltese company.
• Business description precise enough to write the objects clause and to judge whether a licence is needed.
• Source of the share capital and how it will be paid in.
• Names and roles, since every director must sign the memorandum or give written consent to act.

A complete file on day one is the part of the timeline you control. Send everything together rather than in pieces.

Reading a quote for company formation in Malta

Prices are not standard, and only 3 of the 115 firms listed for company formation in Malta publish them, so you will work from quotes. Request that every firm divides its quote into three parts.

One-off formation work

• Drafting the memorandum and articles of association
• Preparing and filing the beneficial owner declaration
• Filing with the Malta Business Registry, and any certified copies you need
• Tax and VAT registration after incorporation
• Introduction to a bank, if offered

Government fees, passed on at cost

• The registry fee, which depends on authorised share capital: €100 for electronic filing on capital up to €1,500, rising in bands to €1,900 above €2,500,000

Yearly costs

• Company secretary and registered office
• Annual return, which falls due every anniversary of registration
• Bookkeeping, annual accounts and the statutory audit
• Tax return and VAT returns
• Any director service, if you need a local director

Compare the yearly totals, not only the set-up fee. A low formation price paired with high recurring fees can cost more over three years than the reverse.

Services you will need after incorporation

Company registration in Malta starts a fixed yearly cycle. Under the Companies Act the annual return is filed within 42 days of each registration anniversary, and the annual accounts go to the Registrar with the auditors’ report and the directors’ report. Tax returns and VAT returns follow their own calendars.

Most of the formation firms listed in Malta also cover this work. Among the 115 firms listed for formation, 109 offer tax compliance, 106 offer accounting, 98 handle VAT, 94 offer corporate secretarial services, 87 run payroll, 60 provide a registered address or virtual office, 60 help with bank accounts and 45 carry out statutory audits. If a firm does not audit, it will work with an outside auditor, and you should know who that is before you sign.

Questions to ask before you choose

• Which authorisation do you hold to provide company services, and under which name?
• Who will be my day-to-day contact, and in which language?
• Will you act as company secretary and provide the registered office, and on what notice can I move both?
• Which services does the formation fee cover, and which are charged on top?
• What will the first full year cost, including the annual return, accounts, audit and tax returns?
• Do you audit in-house or with a partner firm?
• If my activity needs a licence, do you handle that application or refer it?

A firm that answers these clearly, in writing, is usually easier to work with once the company is running.

Matching a provider to your company

Language. English is the working language for most firms listed for company formation in Malta: 82 name it. Others also work in Italian (22 firms), French (15), Maltese (14), German (9) and Russian (8). If you prefer Italian, see the Italian-speaking accountants in Malta.

Size. The listed formation firms include 77 small firms, 25 medium-sized firms and 13 that belong to large networks. A small firm often gives you a senior contact; a network firm can help if you need advice in several countries.

Experience with clients from abroad. 86 of the formation firms name foreign clients as a focus; the full list is on accountants for foreign clients.

Location. If you prefer to meet in person, the largest groups of formation firms are in Birkirkara (27) and Valletta (22).

To compare firms without writing to each one, send a free quote request through Accountanty. We review it and pass it to firms that fit your company and language.

Verdict

Choose on authorisation, a clear yearly cost and a named contact you can reach, then let the firm run the filings. The registry part of company formation in Malta is routine once your documents are complete; the relationship with the firm that keeps your company compliant is what you are really buying.