Primary mission:

• to educate consumer and traders as to their rights and obligations.
• to safeguard the rights of consumers and honest traders.
• to help aggrieved consumers obtain redress arising from disputes involving the hiring or purchasing of goods or services.

Primary laws enforced:

Consumer Affairs Act (Cap. 378 - Laws of Malta)

Establishes the Director of Consumer Affairs (executive); Consumer Affairs Council (advisory) and the Consumer Claims Tribunal.

Covers the following areas:

• unfair terms in consumer contracts;
• misleading and comparative advertising and offering of gifts and prizes;
• pyramid and home working schemes;
• liability of defective products;
• sale of goods to consumers.

Provides the Director with powers to issue compliance orders.

Trade Descriptions Act (Cap. 313)

Makes it a criminal offence to make;

• false/misleading price indications;
• false trade descriptions as to goods;
• false statements as to services, accommodation and facilities.

Doorstep Contracts Act (Cap. 317)

Regulates the activities of door-to-door-sellers through licensing of individual sellers.

Provides for a 15 day period of cancellation for doorstep contracts.

Product Safety Act (Cap. 427)

To ensure that only products that do not pose any risk to the health or safety of consumers are placed on the market.

Subsidiary legislation covering various classes of goods, some requiring the goods to be ‘CE’ marked.

Other agencies and their responsibilities

Market Surveillance Directorate - Economic Policy Division

Plans and co-ordinates surveillance carried out by all enforcement agencies in Malta.

Malta Standards Authority

Responsible for the verification and inspection of weighing and measuring equipment in use for trade.

Commerce Division

Price indication and regulation; Industrial property registry; Import and export licensing; Internal trade licensing.

Department of Public Health

Food labelling and sampling.

Regular Mail Inquiries:

Ms. Barbara R. Buttigieg
Director - Information and Client Affairs
Consumer and Competition Division
Office for Fair Trading
Cannon Road
Santa Venera
CMR 02
Malta

or

Mr. Julian Zarb

Assistant Director - Information and Client Affairs

Consumer and Competition Division
Office for Fair Trading
Cannon Road
Santa Venera
CMR 02
Malta

Telephonic Inquiries:

Tel: (+356)21 446250-5; freephone 8007 4400

Fax: (+356)21 482564

E-mail:

barbara.r.buttigieg@gov.mt

julian.zarb@gov.mt

Primary mission:

• to educate consumer and traders as to their rights and obligations.
• to safeguard the rights of consumers and honest traders.
• to help aggrieved consumers obtain redress arising from disputes involving the hiring or purchasing of goods or services.

Primary laws enforced

Consumer Affairs Act (Cap. 378 - Laws of Malta)

Establishes the Director of Consumer Affairs (executive); Consumer Affairs Council (advisory) and the Consumer Claims Tribunal.

Covers the following areas:

• unfair terms in consumer contracts;
• misleading and comparative advertising and offering of gifts and prizes;
• pyramid and home working schemes;
• liability of defective products;
• sale of goods to consumers.

Provides the Director with powers to issue compliance orders.

Trade Descriptions Act (Cap. 313)

Makes it a criminal offence to make;

• false/misleading price indications;
• false trade descriptions as to goods;
• false statements as to services, accommodation and facilities.

Doorstep Contracts Act (Cap. 317)

Regulates the activities of door-to-door-sellers through licensing of individual sellers.

Provides for a 15 day period of cancellation for doorstep contracts.

Product Safety Act (Cap. 427)

To ensure that only products that do not pose any risk to the health or safety of consumers are placed on the market.

Subsidiary legislation covering various classes of goods, some requiring the goods to be ‘CE’ marked.

Other agencies and their responsibilities

Market Surveillance Directorate - Economic Policy Division

Plans and co-ordinates surveillance carried out by all enforcement agencies in Malta.

Malta Standards Authority

Responsible for the verification and inspection of weighing and measuring equipment in use for trade.

Commerce Division

Price indication and regulation; Industrial property registry; Import and export licensing; Internal trade licensing.

Department of Public Health

Food labelling and sampling.