Consumer Affairs Act (Cap. 378), article 7

7. (1) The Minister may, after consulting the Council, make regulations about any matter relating to consumer affairs in or der to give fuller effect to the provis ions of this Act, and in partic ular, but without prejudice to the genera lity of the aforesaid, may presc ribe regulations - (a) in relation to any aspect concerning the provision of any service, or the sale or hire of any goods offered or supplied to consumers; establishing minimum service standards and price indication requirements with regard to any such goods or services, and laying down any other requirements in order to improve price transparency and consumer information, and to promote easier comparison between different goods or services offered to consumers; (b) establishing rules of pract ice for registered consumer associations; (c) regulating advertising and similar practices in order to ensure that advertising and similar practices are fair and that they do not take undue advantage of consumers; (d) regulating trading stamps schemes, gift schemes, special offers, sale promo tional activities and other similar schemes, arrangements and activities, by whatever name described or designated, connected with, ancillary or related to the provision of any service or the sale or hire of any goods to consumers and other consumer transactions, including schemes involving the use and promotion of coupons, units, 8 CAP. 378.] CONSUMER AFF AIRS tokens, vouchers, points, stamps or any other form of reward, gift, membership, incentive, inducement or other benefit, whether in cash or in kind, and whether exchangeable, redeemable or otherwise, issued to or distributed to consumers in connection with, whether directly or indirectly, the purchase or hire of goods or services or other consumer transactions; (e) to regulate distance selling arrangements and the conclusion of agreements where the consumer and the trader are at a distance from each other, and for this purpose to set out the procedure for concluding distance selling agreements, to provide for the inclusion or exclusion of particular terms and conditions, to establish a cooling-off period for consumers, to lay down thresholds and exemptions, and to establish minimum consumer rights, and to introduce measures to make offers for such agreements more transparent and informative, and to regulate any other aspect of distance selling; (f) to regulate consumer credit offers and the conclusion of agreements for the provision of credit terms and facilities by traders or oth er persons to consumers in the course of a trade, business, craft or profession in relation, directly or indirectly, to the sale or offer of goods, immovable property or services, to lay down the form and procedure fo r making consumer credit agreements, to stipulate a nd regulate the terms and conditions that may or may not be adopted in such agreements, to lay down thresholds and exemptions, the method of calculating the cost of credit, advertising, and other measures considered necessary or appropriate to establish minimum rights for debtors and to make credit offer s more transparent and informative, and to regul ate any other aspect of consumer credit a rrangements; and (g) to provide for any matters that may be required for the purpose of complying with any international obligations of Malta related to consumer affairs, in p a r t i c u l a r f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f c o m p l y i n g w i t h a n y requirements however so described of the European Union. (1A) The Minister, acting on th e advice of the Malta Financial Services Authority and the Counci l, may make regulations for th e following purposes: (a) to transpose, implement and, or give effect to the requirements of the Mortgage Credit Directive , and may for such purpose introduce provisions that are more stringent than the sa id Directive in order to protect consumers, provided that such provisions are made in accordance with European Union law, and provided further that such provisions shall not diverge from those laid down in Article 14(2) and Annex II CONSUMER AFF AIRS [CAP. 378. 9 Part A of the said Directive, with regard to standard pre-contractual information through a European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS), and Article 17(1) to (5), (7) and (8) and Annex I of the Directive with regard to a common, consistent European Union standard for the calculation of the annual percentage rate of charge (APRC); (b) to provide for powers and functions of the Malta Financial Services Authority in relation to any person or matter regulated by the Mortgage Credit Directive ; (c) t o e n a b l e t h e M a l t a F i n a ncial Services Authority to impose any application, annu al and other fees payable in respect of an admission o f a credit intermediary, and to levy charges in respect of any request or other matter that may be submitted to the Malta Financial Services Authority, including the fees and charges in respect of any permission, ex emption or other benefit, as well as fees and charges in respect of the regulatory, supervisory or investigative functions of the Malta Financial Services Authority; (d) t o e n a b l e t h e M a l t a F i n a ncial Services Authority to make, amend or revoke Credit Intermediaries Rules for the better carrying out of, and to better implement, the provisions of the regulations transposing and, or implementing the Mortgage Credit Directive , and for the purpose of implementing any guidelines, recommendations and deci sions issued by the European Banking Authority in terms of Regulation (EU) No. 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority); (e) generally to provide for an y other matter ancillary or connected with the above. (2) Regulations made under this article may also provide for the assignment of power and auth ority to the Director General t o control, monitor, keep under review or prohibit any scheme, agreement, activity or arrange ment, including the power to authorise, require a licence, su spend, restrict and to order th e amendment, prohibition, suspensi on, withdrawal o r cancellation of any particular scheme, agreement, activity or arrangement, or o f a particular class or category thereof, and to impose any conditi ons and requirements in connection therewith: Provided that this is without prejudice to the competences assigned to the Civil Court by this Act. (3) Regulations made under this article may provide that any person who contravenes any provision of the regulations, shall either - (a) be guilty of an offence punishable on conviction by a fine ( multa ) not exceeding forty- seven thousand euro (€47,000), or 10 CAP. 378.] CONSUMER AFF AIRS (b) be guilty of an infringement punishable by an penalty not exceeding forty-seven thousand euro (€47,000), and in any case, different penal ties may be prescribed for diff erent offences and infringements. Power to issue guidelines. Added by: II. 2008.9. Amended by: VI. 2011.75.