On the 1st April 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA” or the “Authority”) has published a circular addressed to all companies and individuals registered to act as a Company Service Providers in terms of the Company Service Providers Act (“CSPs”).
The MFSA noted that the Annual Compliance Returns (“ACR”) serves as a tool to gather information. It has therefore clarified certain issues and questions that had cropped up during the 2019 Industry Annual Compliance Returns and noted that improvements have been made to the ACR. Indeed, further drop down menus have been added to the 2020 ACR to simplify the process of completion.
Submission of the Annual Compliance Return – 2020
The MFSA requested all CSPs to complete the ACR for the year 2019. The 2019 Annual Compliance Return period covers the Authorised Persons Financial year.
Submission through LH Portal
For ease of submission, it is encouraged to submit the ACR through the Licence Holder Portal (“LH Portal”). In this regard, the MFSA has provided users authorised to submit the ACR on behalf of the CSP (“Authorised Persons”) with usernames and passwords to be able to access their account and it is encouraged to verify the username and password supplied.
It is important to note that the Authority is to be informed accordingly in the event where the individuals identified by the Authorised Persons are no longer employed with the Authorised Person and are requested to provide the Authority with details of the new user as soon as possible. Moreover, any Authorised Person who still needs to setup an account on the LH portal is requested to provide the Authority with details of the individual identified user.
The Annual Compliance Report for 2019 and the accompanying documents are to be submitted through the LH Portal within four months from the Authorised Person’s financial year end in the case of companies. Individuals are requested to submit their ACR 2019 and relevant documentation by the end of April. However, pursuant to the circular issued by the MFSA on the 21st March 2020, a two months extension has been granted with respect to financial statements due by end of March or April 2020.
Feel free to contact us if you require any further information in relation to submission of ACRs.
