The right to equal pay between men and women for equal work or work of equal value has been a founding principle of the European Union since the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Despite the legal framework, the effective implementation of this principle remains a major challenge in the European Union.
The Companies Act, in particular those provisions regarding annual financial statements of companies, has been recently amended as a result of the Maltese Parliament’s transposition of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, via Legal Notice 289 of 2015, entitled “Accountancy Profession (General Accounting Principles for Small and Medium-Sized Entities) Regulations, 2015”.
The amendments will have effect with regards to all financial reporting periods beginning on or after the 1 January 2016.
Two main changes will be effected as a result of the transposition of the Directive.
Firstly, the exemption granted to eligible Financial Holding companies from the preparation of consolidated accounts previously provided for by article 172 of the Companies Act has been removed. Therefore, no exemptions will be granted by the Registrar for financial periods commencing on or after 1st January 2016.
Secondly, it is no longer possible for certain companies to extend the period allowed for laying down accounts before the general meeting. The relevant statutory notices, Form U and Form U(1) are no longer accepted by the Registrar for the aforementioned financial periods.
