Registration under the Consolidated Group (Income Tax) Rules and relevant guidelines

Following the introduction of the Consolidated Group (Income Tax) Rules, published on 1^st January 2019, the Commissioner for Revenue announced that the formation of a fiscal unit for the purposes of these Rules has been enabled through the online portal of the principal taxpayer as from the 18^th of May, 2020.

Guidelines have also been published with the aim to clarify a number of points in relation to the eligibility criteria to form and terminate a fiscal unit, the registration process, and the representation by a tax practitioner amongst others.

The below are the main points emerging from the Guidelines issued:

• A company joining or forming a fiscal unit should not be defaulting on any requirements in relation to tax, VAT and FSS prior to registering under these Rules.
• The standard deadline to join or form a fiscal unit is 6 months after financial year end.
• Following the formation of the fiscal unit, the principal taxpayer needs to notify CfR of any changes in the structure of the fiscal unit within 6 months from financial year end.
• Companies forming part of a fiscal unit must be registered with the same tax representative as the principal taxpayer.
• Principal taxpayer is required to maintain approval of shareholders which are not owned, directly or indirectly, by the parent company, where such approval is necessary.
• In cases where a non-Maltese resident company forms part of a fiscal unit under these Rules, such company must satisfy the definition of ‘a company registered in Malta’ as per Article 2 of the Income Tax Act. Such company would be required to obtain a Maltese income tax registration number.

Click here to access the full guidelines.

For further information or tax assistance contact [email protected]