On the 13^th May 2015, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) issued a Circular addressed to all persons registered as CSPs in terms of the Company Service Providers Act (Chapter 529, Laws of Malta).

The scope of the Circular is to clarify the respective submission dates of the Certificate of Compliance (required to be submitted to the MFSA annually in terms of Rule 17.07 of the Rules for Company Service Providers) and the Annual Financial Return (required to be submitted to the MFSA annually in terms of Rule 17.02 of the same CSP Rules).

CSPs registered as such in 2014 and 2015 are required to file their first Certificate of Compliance covering the period from the date of registration up to the 31st of December 2015 by no later than January 2016

Summarily, the said MFSA Circular provides that:

• The Certificate of Compliance should cover one calendar year (from 1st January to 31st December) and must be submitted to the MFSA by not later than the 31st January of each year (together with the relative supervisory fee). Accordingly, CSPs registered as such in 2014 and 2015 are required to file their first Certificate of Compliance covering the period from the date of registration up to the 31st of December 2015 by no later than January 2016.

• Audited financial statements, together with a copy of the auditor’s management letter and the auditor’s report must be submitted to the MFSA within four months of each CSP’s Accounting Reference Date.

• The prescribed format for the Annual Financial Return (AFR) is expected to be issued for consultation shortly by the MFSA.