CESOP update – CESOP Registration Portal now available

Following the entry into force, on 1 January 2024, of the Regulations transposing the EU CESOP Directive (Directive (EU) 2020/284) into Maltese VAT legislation, the Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA) has launched the electronic CESOP portal via which Malta CESOP registration applications are required to be submitted.

PSPs whose home or host Member State is Malta (i.e. including non-Maltese PSPs passporting into Malta) shall apply to be registered as a PSP with the Commissioner for Tax and Customs (CfTC) within 25 days of Malta becoming their home or host Member State. A PSP is also required to inform the CfTC when Malta ceases to be their home or host Member State within a period of 15 days.

This notwithstanding, the CfTC has announced a one-time concession for PSPs who were originally required to be registered for CESOP purposes by 25 January 2024, whereby that registration deadline has now been extended to 16 February 2024.

At present, the portal is accessible only to users consisting of PSP representatives and tax practitioners in possession of a Maltese electronic identity card (e-ID). The MTCA has announced that accessibility to the Malta CESOP portal for users having an EU e-ID (EIDAS) or non-EU users will be made available in the foreseeable future.

Registration for PSPs which do not have a PSP representative in possession of a Maltese e-ID, and who do not intend to engage a recognised Malta tax practitioner such as Deloitte, may register directly as a PSP through the submission of VAT Online Form 1 .