Malta Enterprise Schemes Application Support

Malta Enterprise supports companies and self-employed individuals through various aids and grants. Malta Enterprise is the main economic development agency in Malta and some of the measures that are in place include incentives for research and development, further investment by companies, and assistance for start-up entities.

Start-up Undertakings

The eligibility criteria differ between one measure and another and CSB Group can assist you by analysing which scheme is applicable and beneficial to your entity and throughout the application process.

Start-up undertakings may benefit from a variety of aids. A start-up undertaking shall be any unlisted small business up to five years from the date of registration which fulfils certain conditions.

In the case of undertakings which are not subject to registration, the five-year exemption period shall be considered to start from the moment when the company either begins its economic operation or is liable to tax on its economic activity.

Aids available for Start-ups

Business Start

This aid is applicable for 1+ employee start-ups which are less than 2 years old. Cash grants of a maximum of Euro 25,000 for 12 months could be granted under this scheme

Start-up Advance

The Start-up Advance aid is applicable for 2+ full-time employees start-ups which are less than 5 years old. Cash grants could be granted under this scheme up to Euro 100,000 and the award is limited to Eur 25,000 for any 6 months

Start-up Finance

This provides a Repayable advance of up to €400,000.; €800,000, if the assessment carried out by an external expert, shows that, in the near future, the start-up will produce new or significantly improved goods, services or processes relative to the state of the art in its industry.

Accelerator Programme Grant

A Grant of €100 per week is awarded for up to 5 team members for a period of Twenty four (24) weeks covering the participation in an Accelerator Programme.

Other Schemes

Investment Aid

Investment Aid Tax Credits are intended to promote the industrial and economic growth of Malta in the region. This initiative encourages initial investment by promoting the creation of new institutions as well as the expansion and growth of established enterprises.

An initial investment project requires the procurement of tangible and intangible assets. There are various eligible activities being manufacturing aircraft maintenance, software development, pharmaceuticals, hotels, audiovisual facilities, biotechnology and waste treatment amongst others. The aid is provided in the form of tax credits.

Micro-Invest

The ‘Micro Invest’ is a support measure for businesses to encourage them to further invest and expand their operating activities. Such undertakings will be provided a tax credit which represents a percentage of the eligible expenditure including innovation costs when purchasing machinery, furnishing and refurbishing costs, investment costs, purchase of motor vehicles, and wage costs if certain conditions are fulfilled.

Qualified undertakings may apply for a tax credit for an increase in the wage cost of more than 3% determined by deducting the highest annual wage cost incurred in the preceding two (2) fiscal years from the wage cost incurred in the corresponding fiscal year.

Certain conditions need to be fulfilled to benefit from the scheme including that given the scheme is intended for smaller businesses, the turnover cannot exceed Euro 10m and the company could not have employed more than 50 full-time employees for a consecutive 3-month period during the year in which the costs were incurred.

The tax credit is equal to 45% of qualifying expenditure. An extra incentive of 20 per cent (adding up to a total of 65% tax credit) applies to Gozo-based undertakings.

From 1st January 2018 (for costs incurred in 2017), the maximum available tax credits per single entity/business shall be set at €50,000 for any period of three (3) consecutive fiscal years, starting from the qualifying expenses incurred and paid during the period from 1st January 2017 to 31st December 2017.