About Us
The executive function of the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority is vested in the Chairperson.
These functions are vested in the respective entities which are headed by a Director General as follows
Ms Grace Stivala
The Office for Consumer Affairs
Dr Melchior Vella
The Office for Competition
Inġ. Rudie Vella
The Technical Regulations Division
Mr George Cutajar
The Standards and Metrology Institute
Composition of the MCCAA Board of Governors
Ms Carmen Ciantar
Executive Chairperson
Mr Kevin Farrugia
Deputy Chairperson
Members
Board Secretary
Office for Consumer Affairs
Office for Competition
Technical Regulations Division
Standards and Metrology Institute
About Us
Home About Us
The executive function of the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority is vested in the Chairperson.
The functions of the Authority are the following:
1
to promote and enhance competition
2
to safeguard consumers’ interests and enhance their welfare
3
to promote voluntary standards and provide standardisation related services
4
to promote the national metrology strategy
5
to promote the smooth transposition and adoption of technical regulations
6
to perform such other function that may be assigned to it under this or any other law or regulations
These functions are vested in the respective entities which are headed by a Director General as follows
Ms Grace Stivala
The Office for Consumer Affairs
Dr Melchior Vella
The Office for Competition
Inġ. Rudie Vella
The Technical Regulations Division
Mr George Cutajar
The Standards and Metrology Institute
The Board of Governors is the main organ of the Authority. The Board shall be composed of not less than seven and not more than ten other members, to be appointed by the Minister.
Composition of the MCCAA Board of Governors
Ms Carmen Ciantar
Executive Chairperson
Mr Kevin Farrugia
Deputy Chairperson
Members
Ms Taryn Darmanin
Mr Brian Scicluna
Mr Christian Buttigieg
Inġ. Mark Anthony Gullaumier
Mr Reginald Fava
Mr Etienne Caruana
Mr Alexander Fenech
Mr Roderick Cutajar
Dr Lynn Faure
Board Secretary
Dr Mauro Magro
Office for Consumer Affairs
The Office for Consumer Affairs is primarily responsible for promoting and protecting consumers’ rights and welfare, an objective achieved by fostering fair and healthy relationships between consumers and traders. The Office is structured into three directorates. The Information, Education and Research Directorate provides guidance on consumer rights, educates consumers, and promotes good trading practices within the business community. It also conducts market studies aimed at identifying and addressing market failures. The Complaints and Conciliation Directorate assists consumers in resolving disputes with traders through a conciliation process designed to reach amicable solutions. The Enforcement Directorate ensures compliance with consumer protection legislation within the Office’s remit, including investigating unfair commercial practices and unfair contract terms, as well as monitoring compliance with requirements on price transparency and consumer information. Market oversight is carried out through both on-site inspections and digital monitoring of websites and e-commerce platforms.
The laws and regulations falling within the remit of the Office for Consumer Affairs are:
CAP. 510 Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority Act
CAP. 378 Consumer Affairs Act
S.L.378.01 Consumer Claims Tribunal Rules
S.L. 378.02 Consumer Claims Tribunal (Designation of Places) Order
S.L. 378.03 Days and Working Hours for the Opening of the Registry of the Consumer Claims Tribunal Regulations
S.L. 378.04 Consumer Claims Tribunal (Deposit of Acts) Order
S.L. 378.05 Display of Price-Lists in Bars and Kiosks Regulations
S.L. 378.06 Notice for the purposes of the interpretation of “trader” in the Consumer Affairs Act
S.L. 378.07 Consumer Claims Tribunal (Arbiter’s Remuneration) Notice
S.L. 378.09 Consumer Affairs Act (Price Indication) Regulations
S.L. 378.10 Home Loan (Amendment) Regulations
S.L. 378.12 Consumer Credit Regulations
S.L. 378.13 Pricing of Air Services Regulations
S.L. 378.14 Denied Boarding (Compensation and Assistance to Air Passengers) Regulations
S.L. 378.15 Rights of Passengers in Bus and Coach Transport Regulations
S.L. 378.16 Rights of Passengers when travelling by Sea and Inland Waterway Regulations
S.L. 378.17 Consumer Rights Regulations
S.L. 378.18 Consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) (General) Regulations
S.L. 378.19 Consumer Alternative Dispute Resolution (Residual ADR) Regulation
Cap 500 Services (Internal Market) Act
S.L. 500.01 Designation of Various Entities Regulations
S.L. 500.02 Establishment of Sanctions and Penalties Regulations
Office for Competition
The Competition Act (Chapter 379 of the Laws of Malta) was last amended by virtue of Act XLV of 2021. Act XLV amended the Competition Act and the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority Act (Chapter 510 of the Laws of Malta) to mainly implement Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market. The Minister had established the 31st of August 2021 as the date on which all the provisions of the said Act have come into force.
The provisions of the Competition Act as amended by virtue of Act XLV of 2021 shall not apply to investigations instituted by the Director General (Competition) and to any judicial proceedings filed by the Director General (Competition) in accordance with the Competition Act before the entry into force of the Competition Act and Act XLV of 2021.
The following is a list of applicable laws
CAP. 510. Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority Act
CAP. 379. Competition Act
S.L.379.08 Control of Concentrations Regulations
S.L. 379.10 Immunity from Penalties and Reduction of Penalties in Cartel Investigations Regulations
S.L. 379.11 Mutual Assistance between National Competition Authorities Regulations
S.L. 379.12 Investigations in Support of the European Commission in the Digital Sector Regulations
The Office for Competition cooperates with the European Commission and other Member States’ national competition authorities within the European Competition Network (ECN). Following the Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty, the national competition authorities became empowered to apply Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and to apply these articles concurrently with the national substantive competition law provisions where the agreement, practice, or conduct may affect trade between Member States.
The ECN provides the means to ensure the effective and consistent application of the EU competition rules. Through the ECN, competition authorities can share experiences, discuss pertinent topics, address competition problems, and seek convergence. Following Malta’s accession to the European Union in 2004, the Office for Competition attends regular meetings organised by the ECN under the auspices of the European Commission.
The Office for Competition also attends meetings organised by the Competition Division of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the International Competition Network (ICN), and seminars organised by other national competition authorities to stay updated with the latest developments in competition policy.
Technical Regulations Division
The Technical Regulations Division is responsible for legislation issued under the Product Safety Act (Cap. 427). Furthermore, the Division is the authority in Malta entrusted with the implementation of:
Regulation (EU) 2019/515 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 on the mutual recognition of goods lawfully marketed in another Member State and repealing Regulation (EC) No 764/2008;
Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products.
The functions of the Authority are the following:
The Regulatory Affairs Directorate is responsible for the transposition and implementation of legislation and represents various Ministries at EU Commission and (Technical Harmonization) Council Working Parties meetings in Brussels on issues related to Free Movement of Goods principles (as per Annex), CE Marking, Food risk assessment, Chemicals, Biocides, and Cosmetics.
The Market Surveillance Directorate is responsible for ensuring that only goods conforming to regulations are available on the market.
Standards and Metrology Institute
The Standards and Metrology Institute (SMI) within the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA) is composed of three directorates: Standardisation, Metrology, and Laboratory Services.
The Standardisation Directorate is an independent national body established under the MCCAA Act (Act No. VI of 2011), responsible for coordinating standardisation and related activities at corporate, national, regional, and international levels, including the development, adoption, and publication of standards to enhance the quality of goods and services, safety, environmental protection, efficient resource use, and trade, in line with internationally accepted principles; in this role, the MCCAA is a full member of CEN, CENELEC, and ETSI and actively participates in their governing and technical bodies.
The Metrology Directorate is responsible for all measurement-related matters in Malta, maintaining National Reference Standards and carrying out legal metrology enforcement to ensure accuracy and reliability in measurements.
The Laboratory Services Directorate, comprising chemical, engineering, and civil engineering units, operates as an autonomous national scientific facility providing testing services primarily to government departments and public entities, guided by the core values of independence, technical competence, and customer confidentiality.