Written by The Malta Business Registry would like to remind the public that the Registrar of Companies (the “Registrar”) is accepting documentation in electronic form. All documentation that is required to be submitted to the Registrar in accordance with Maltese company law procedures, may be validly submitted electronically by making use from one of the following methods:
(a) The Malta Business Registry’s online portal
(b) The Malta Business Registry’s electronic submissions’ email address
All registered users on the current online portal may submit the necessary documentation using the already-established simple method referred to in (a). The information needed in order to follow this step may be found on https://mbr.mt/online-filing-information/
In case that a user is not in possession of a Maltese ID Card or does not hold the necessary infrastructure of a smart card reader, method (b) referred to above may instead be followed. The user in this case is only required to have a valid qualified electronic signature (Refer to Appendix A for more information) to complete electronic submissions and be able to sign the documentation electronically. All the forms and documentation required to be submitted for registration would need to be signed using the respective qualified electronic signature as issued by the qualified trust service provider. Once the documents are signed, the user may then proceed to send the documentation to dedicated email address on esigning@mbr.mt
We urge you to limit the submission of documents / correspondence in paper-format unless it’s absolutely necessary. If documents are delivered to our premises in Zejtun, one can either hand them over directly to our front office staff or place them in a box situated at the entrance of our premises. If one opts for the latter option, it is important that:
- all documents are accompanied by a covering letter listing all the documents submitted and the name and details of a contact person, and
- placed in a sealed envelope with the name of the company/ies clearly visible.
If documents are delivered by courier, in addition to points (1) and (2) above, the envelope must clearly state the name of the Company Service Provider. Envelopes having missing information will be sent back.
If you require assistance or clarification do not hesitate to contact us https://mbr.mt/contact/
Appendix A
Notes on qualified electronic signatures
What is a qualified electronic signature?
This type of electronic signature is a digital signature having the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature as referred to in the EIDAS Regulation, a European Union legislative act entitled Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC.
Where can one apply for a qualified electronic signature?
An official list issued by the European Commission is constantly updated and may be found on https://esignature.ec.europa.eu/efda/tl-browser/#/screen/home
Some of the service providers listed in the official list of EU Trust Services are referred to as qualified trust service providers and can offer the service of a qualified electronic signature.
Is one required to apply for a signature every time a document submission is made?
No, once a valid qualified electronic signature is issued by the provider to the user, having verified the identity and necessary credentials, the signature may be used more than once and is generally valid for several months/years.
Can one submit a scanned handwritten signature or other types of electronic signatures?
No, it is only the qualified electronic signature which is acceptable for electronic submissions.
Lastly, when a user is submitting documentation electronically signed to the email address indicated, a validation note is expected to accompany the documents. This note may be generated on https://ec.europa.eu/cefdigital/DSS/webapp-demo/validation
The Malta Business Registry reserves the right to further verify the validity of documentation submitted electronically. Any invalid submissions will not be considered and for this reason shall be deemed as never submitted to the Registrar for the purposes of the law. Consequently, there would result the imposition of penalties for any submissions not validly made within the statutory timeframes.
Dr Geraldine Spiteri Lucas
Registrar of Companies