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I assent.
(L.S.) FRANK BEZZINA
Acting President
21st October, 2022
ACT No. XIII of 2022
An ACT to amend the Consumer Affairs Act, Cap. 378 and other
laws relating to consumer protection. 
BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and
consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parlia ment
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-
Short title, 
commencement
and scope.1. (1) The short title of this Act is the Consumer Affairs Act and
other Laws relating to consumer  protection (Amendment) Act, 202 2.
(2) This Act shall come into force upon its publication in the
Gazette. 
Cap.378.Provided that any pending inve stigations commenced, or any
judicial proceedings instituted a ccording to the Consumer Affai rs Act
and any regulations made thereunder, prior to the entry into fo rce of this
Act, shall continue to be regul ated by the Consumer Affairs Act  and any
regulations made thereunder as in force prior to entry into force of this
Act.
(3) The scope of this Act is to transpose Directive (EU) 2019/
2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 Novemb er
2019 amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directives 98/6/E C,
2005/29/EC and 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of theCouncil as regards the better enf orcement and modernisation of Union
consumer protection rules, and to carry out other necessary
amendments. 
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PART I
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSUMER AFFAIRS ACT
Amendments to 
the Consumer Affairs Act. 
Cap. 378.2. This Part amends the Consumer A ffairs Act and shall be read
and construed as one with the Consumer Affairs Act, hereinafter  in this
Part referred to as "the principal Act". 
Amendment of article 12I of the 
principal Act. 3.  Article 12I of the principal Act shall be amended as follows:
(a) the marginal note thereof shall be substituted by the
following new marginal note:
"Appeals to the Court of Appeal and publication of
judgements.";
(b)  In its proviso thereof, the words "all the parties."
shall be substituted by the words "all the parties:" and
immediately after the proviso the reto, there shall be added the
following new provisos:
"Provided further that the Cour t of Appeal shall publish any
judgement having regard to the legitimate interest of the personconcerned in the protection of h is business secrets or other co nfidential
information. The Court of Appeal m ay give the parties concerned  the
opportunity to specify the confidential parts of the judgement which
they want to be excluded from publication:
Provided further that the Court  of Appeal shall ultimately
decide which version shall be published: 
Provided further that the Direc tor General shall also publish
on the website of the Authority the judgement delivered by the Court
of Appeal.".
Amendment of 
article 21 of the 
principal Act.4. In the proviso of sub-article (1 ) of article 21 of the principa l
Act, the words "according to law ." shall be substituted by the words
"according to law:" and immediat ely after the proviso thereto, there
shall be added the following new proviso:
"Provided further that when determining issues in
disputes that concern harm suffered by consumers resulting from
unfair commercial practices, the tribunal shall order
proportionate and effective remedies, including compensationfor damage suffered by the consu mer and, where relevant, a pric e
reduction or the termination of t he contract; taking also into
account, where appropriate, the gravity and nature of the unfai r
commercial practice, the damag e suffered by the consumer and
other relevant circumstances.".
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Amendment of 
article 51A of 
the principal Act.5. Article 51A of the principal Ac t shall be amended as follows:
(a) immediately after the definition "invitation to
purchase", there shall be added the following new definition:
" "online marketplace"  means a service using
software, including a website, part of a website or an
application, operated by or on behalf of a trader which
allows consumers to conclude d istance contracts with other
traders or consumers;";
(b) the definition "product" shall be substituted by the
following new definition:
" "product" means any good or service including
immovable property, digital ser vice and digital content, as
well as rights and obligations;"; and
(c) immediately after the definition "professional
diligence", there shall be adde d the following new definition:
" "ranking" means the relative prominence given to
products, as presented, orga nised or communicated by the
trader, irrespective of the technological means used forsuch presentation, organi sation or communication;".
Amendment of 
article 51C of the principal 
Act. 6. In sub-paragraph (ii) of paragr aph (c) of article 51C of the
principal Act, the words "he is bound by the code;" shall be re placed
by the words "he is bound by the code; or" and immediately thereafter
there shall be added the following new sub-paragraph:
"(iii) any marketing of a good, in one Member State,
as being identical to a good marketed in other MemberStates, while that good has significantly different
composition or characteristics , unless justified by legitimate
and objective factors.".
Amendment of 
article 51D of the principal 
Act.7. Article 51D of the principal Ac t shall be amended as follows:
(a) sub-article (3) thereof shall be amended as follows:
(i) paragraph (d) thereof shall be substituted by the
following new paragraph: 
"(d) the arrangements for payment, delivery
and performance, if they depart from the
requirements of profe ssional diligence;";
(ii) in paragraph (e) thereof, the words "the
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existence of such a right." sha ll be substituted by the words
"the existence of such a right ;" and immediately thereafter
there shall be added the following new paragraph:
"(f) for products offered on online marketplaces,
whether the third party offering the products is a trader or
not, on the basis of t he declaration of that third party to the
provider of the online marketplace.";
(b) immediately after sub-article (3) thereof, as
amended, there shall be added t he following new sub-article:
"(3a)  When providing consumers with the
p o s s i b i l i t y  t o  s e a r c h  f o r  p r o ducts offered by different
traders or by consum ers on the basis of a query in the form
of a keyword, phrase or other input, irrespective of wheretransactions are ultimately c oncluded, general information,
made available in a specific section of the online interface
that is directly and easily accessible from the page where
the query results are presented, on the main parametersdetermining the ranking of products presented to the
consumer as a result of the search query and the relative
importance of those parameters, as opposed to otherparameters, shall be regarded as material: 
Provided that this sub-article does not apply to
providers of online search engi nes as defined in point (6)
of Article 2 of Regulation (E U) 2019/1150 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 onpromoting fairness and transparency for business users ofonline intermediation services."; and
(c) immediately after sub-article (4) thereof, there shall
be added the following new sub-article:
"(5) Where a trader provides access to consumer
reviews of products, information about whether and howthe trader ensures that the published reviews originate fromconsumers who have actually used or purchased the
product shall be regarded as material.".
Amendment of 
article 106A of the principal 
Act.8. Article 106A of the principal Act shall be amended as
follows:
 (a)  in sub-article (3) ther eof, the words "proportionate
and dissuasive." shall be substituted by the words "proportiona te
and dissuasive:" and immediately  thereafter there shall be adde d
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the following new provisos:
Substitution of 
article 114 of 
the principal 
Act.9. Article 114 of the principal A ct shall be substituted by the"Provided that the Civil Court shall, when
determining penalties with regard to infringements of this
Act or any regulations made thereunder, where appropriate
take into account the following non-exhaustive andindicative criteria, unless a di fferent criteria is prescribed
for specific regulations:
(a) the nature, gravity , scale and duration of
the infringement;
(b) any action taken by the seller, trader or
supplier to mitigate or remedy the damage sufferedby consumers;
(c) any previous infringements by the seller,
trader or supplier;
(d) the financial benefits gained or losses
avoided by the seller, trader or supplier due to theinfringement, if the rele vant data are available;
(e) penalties imposed on the seller, trader or
supplier for the same infringement in other Member
States in cross-border cases where information about
such penalties is availa ble through the mechanism
established by the Consumer Protection Co-
operation Regulation;
(f) any other aggravating or mitigating
factors applicable to the circumstances of the case:
S.L. 378.17.Provided further that for infringements to Part VII
and Part VIII of this Act, and the Consumer Rights
Regulations, when penalties are to be imposed inaccordance with Article 21 of the Consumer Protection
Co-operation Regulation, the  Civil Court shall impose a
penalty up to a maximum of four percent (4%) of the
seller’s, trader's or supplier’s annual turnover in the
Member State or Member States concerned:
Provided further that where a penalty is imposed
in accordance with the preceding proviso, but information
on the seller’s, trader's or supplier’s annual turnover is notavailable, the Civil Court sh all impose a penalty up to a
maximum of two millio n euro (€2 million).".
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following:
Amendment of 
the First 
Schedule to the principal Act.10. The First Schedule to the pri ncipal Act shall be amended as
follows:
(a) immediately after point 11 thereof, there shall be
added the following new point: 
"11a.  Providing search results in response to a
consumer’s online search query without clearly disclosing
any paid advertisement or payment specifically for
achieving higher ranking of products within the searchresults.";
(b) immediately after point 23 thereof, there shall be
added the following new points:
"23a.  Reselling events tickets to consumers if the
trader acquired them by using automated means tocircumvent any limit imposed on the number of tickets that
a person can buy or any other rules applicable to the
purchase of tickets.
23b. Stating that reviews of a product are submitted
by consumers who have actua lly used or purchased the
product without taking reason able and proportionate steps
to check that they originate from such consumers.
23c. Submitting or commissi oning another legal or
natural person to  s u b m i t  f a l s e  c o n s u m e r  r e v i e w s  o r
endorsements, or misrepresenting consumer reviews orsocial endorsements, in order to promote products."."Prescription 
for judicial 
proceedings 
and for 
offences.114. The institution of judicial proceedings and the
prosecution of an offence unde r this Act or any regulations
made thereunder, unless a di fferent term is prescribed
therefor, shall be prescribed by the lapse of five years from
the date on which the infringement or the offence is allegedto have been committed.".
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PART II
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSUM ER AFFAIRS ACT (PRICE 
INDICATON) REGULATIONS 
Amendments to 
the Consumer 
Affairs Act 
(Price Indication) 
Regulations. 
S.L. 378.0911.  T h i s  P a r t  a m e n d s  t h e  C o n s u m e r  A f f a i r s  A c t  ( P r i c e
Indication) Regulations and shall be read and construed as one with the
Consumer Affairs Act (Price Indication) Regulations, hereinafte r in
this Part referred to as "the principal regulations". 
Amendment of regulation 2 of 
the principal 
regulations.12 Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 2 of the principal regulations
shall be amended as follows:
(a) the definition "annual percentage rate" shall be
deleted;
(b) the definition "consumer" shall be substituted by the
following new definition:
" "consumer" means any natural person who buys a
product for purposes that do not fall within the sphere of
his commercial or professional activity;";
(c) immediately after the definition "consumer" as
substituted there shall be adde d the following new definition:
(d) immediately after the definition "products sold in
bulk" there shall be added t he following new definition:
" "stall" means any vehicle, compartment, bench,
board, trolley, table or receptacle or a combination thereofplaced in any marketplace for the sale of goods.".
Addition of new 
regulation to the principal 
regulations.13. Immediately after regulation 5 of the principal regulations
there shall be added the following new regulation: "S.L. 378.17."place of business" means any place from where any
trade or business is carried out including any stall, or
online marketplace as defined in the Consumer Rights
Regulations;";
"Price 
Reductions.5A. (1) Any announcement of a price reduction
shall indicate the prior price applied by the trader for adetermined period of time prior to the application of theprice reduction.
(2) The prior price means the lowest price applied by
the trader during a period of time not shorter than thirty
(30) days prior to the application of the price reduction:
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Amendment of 
regulation 9 of 
the principal regulations.14. Regulation 9 of the principal r egulations shall be amended as
follows:
(a) sub-regulation 2 thereof shall be substituted by the
following new sub-regulation:
"(2) Proceedings in respect of an offence against
these regulations shall be commenced within one year from
the commission of the offence.";
(b) paragraphs (a) and (b) of sub-regulation 3 thereof
shall be substituted by the f ollowing new paragraphs:
"(a) in the case of a first conviction, to a fine of not
less than one hundred and fifty euro (€150) and not
exceeding one thousand and five hundred euro (€1,500);
(b) in the case of a second or subsequent
conviction, to a fine of not less than two hundred euro(€200) and not exceeding t wo thousand euro (€2,000):
Provided that the Court, when imposing a fine,
shall take into account the following non-exhaustive and
indicative criteria:
(i) the nature, gravity , scale and duration of
the infringement;
(ii) any action taken by the trader to mitigate
or remedy the damage suffered by consumers;
(iii) any previous infringements by the trader;
(iv) the financial benefits gained or losses
avoided by the trader due to the infringement, if the
relevant data are available;Provided that for goods which are liable to
deteriorate or expire rapidly, the prior price is the one
applied immediately befo re the price reduction:
Provided further that if the goods have been on
the market for less than thirty (30) days, the prior price
means the lowest price appli ed by the trader during this
period: 
Provided further that when the price reduction is
progressively increased, the pr ior price is the price without
the price reduction before the first application of the price
reduction.".
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(v) penalties imposed on the trader for the
same infringement in other Member States in cross-
border cases where informa tion about such penalties
is available through the mechanism established by
the Consumer Protection Co-operation Regulation as
defined in article 2 of the Act;
(vi) any other aggrav ating or mitigating
factors applicable to the circumstances of the case:
Provided further that with regar d to any convictions, the Court
shall order the publication in one or more daily newspapers of the
judgement, or a statement or summary thereof, passed on the off ender:
Provided further that with regard to any convictions, the
Director General shall also publish on the website of the Authority thejudgement delivered by the Court, or a statement or summary the reof,
passed on the offender.".
PART III
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSUMER RIGHTS 
REGULATIONS 
Amendments to 
the Consumer 
Rights Regulations. 
S.L.378.17.15. This Part amends the Consumer Rights Regulations and shall
be read and construed as one with  the Consumer Rights Regulatio ns,
hereinafter in this Part refer red to as "the principal regulations".
Amendments of 
regulation 2 of the principal 
regulations.16. Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 2 of the principal regulations
shall be amended as follows:
(a) immediately after th e definition "commercial
guarantee" there s hall be added the following new definition:
(b) the definition "digital cont ent" shall be substituted by
the following new definition:
(c)  immediately after the definition "digital content""S.L.378.20."compatibility" means compatibility as defined in sub-
regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the Digital Content and
Digital Services Contr acts Regulations;";
"S.L.378.20."digital content" means dig ital content as defined in
sub-regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the Digital Contentand Digital Services C ontracts Regulations;";
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there shall be added the following new definition:
(d) immediately after the de finition "financial service"
there shall be added the following new definition:
(e) the definition "goods" shall be substituted by the
following new definition:
(f) immediately after the definition "goods made to the
specifications of the consumer" there shall be added the
following new definition:
(g) immediately after the definition of "off-premises
contract" there shall be adde d the following three new
definitions:
" "online marketplace" means a service using
software, including a website, part of a website or an
application, operated by or on behalf of a trader which
allows consumers to conclude d istance contracts with other
traders or consumers;
"personal data" means pe rsonal data as defined in
point (1) of Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016
on the protection of natural persons with regard to theprocessing of personal data and on the free movement of
such data, and repealing Dire ctive 95/46/EC (General Data
Protection Regulation);";
"provider of an online marketplace" means any trader
which provides an online marketplace to consumers;";"S.L. 378.20."digital service" means digital service  as defined in sub-
regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the Digital Content and
Digital Services Cont racts Regulations;";
"S.L. 378.20."functionality" means functi onality as defined in sub-
regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the Digital Content and
Digital Services Cont racts Regulations;";
"Cap.378. "goods" means goods as defined in sub-article (1) of
article 72 of the Act;"; 
"S.L. 378.20."interoperability" means interoperability  as defined in
sub-regulation (1) of regulation 2 of the Digital Contentand Digital Services Contracts Regulations;";
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(h) the definition "sales cont ract" shall be substituted by
the following new definition:
" "sales contract" means any contract under which
the trader transfers or undertak es to transfer ownership of
goods to the consumer, including any contract having as its
object both goods and services;";
(i) the definition "service c ontract" shall be substituted
by the following new definition:
" "service contract" means any contract other than a
sales contract under which the trader supplies orundertakes to supply a service, including a digital service,to the consumer;".
Amendment of 
regulation 3 of 
the principal regulations.17. Regulation 3 of the principal r egulations shall be amended as
follows:
(a) sub-regulation (1) thereof shall be substituted by the
following new sub-regulation:
"(1) These regulations shall apply, under the
conditions and to the extent set out in their provisions, to
any contract concluded betw een a trader and a consumer
where the consumer pays or undertakes to pay the price.
These regulations shall also  apply to contracts for the
supply of water, gas or electricity, including by publicproviders, to the extent that these commodities areprovided on a contractual basis.";
(b) immediately after sub-regulation (1) thereof as
substituted, there shall be added the following new sub-regulation:
"(1a) These regulations sha ll also apply where the
trader supplies or undertakes to supply digital content
which is not supplied on a tangible medium or a digital
service to the consumer and the consumer provides or
undertakes to provide personal data to the trader, except
where the personal data pr ovided by the consumer are
exclusively processed by the trader for the purpose of
supplying the digital conten t which is not supplied on a
tangible medium or digital service in accordance with theseregulations or for allowing the trader to comply with legalrequirements to which the trader is subject, and the trader
does not process those da ta for any other purpose.";
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(c)  sub-regulation (3) thereof shall be amended as
follows:
(i) paragraph ( k) thereof shall be substituted by the
following new paragraph:
"(k) for passenger transport services, with the
exception of regula tions 9(2), 21, 23 and 24;";
(ii) paragraph (m ) thereof shall be substituted by
the following new paragraph:
"(m) concluded with telecommunications
operators through public payphones for their use or
concluded for the use of one single connection bytelephone, internet or fax established by a
consumer;";
(d) immediately after paragraph ( m) thereof as
substituted, there shall be added the following new paragraph:
"(n) for any goods sold by way of execution or
otherwise by authority of law.".
Amendment of 
regulation 4 of the principal 
regulations.18. Regulation 4 of the principal r egulations shall be amended as
follows:
(a) paragraph ( e) of sub-regulation (1) thereof shall be
substituted by the following new paragraph:
"(e) in addition to a reminde r of the exi stence of the
legal guarantee of conformity for goods, digital content
and digital services, the existence and the conditions of
after-sales services and co mmercial guarantees, where
applicable; ";
(b) paragraphs ( g) and ( h) of sub-regulation (1) shall be
substituted by the following new paragraphs:
"(g) where applicable, the functionality, including
applicable technical protection measures, of goods with
digital elements, digital content and digital services;
(h) where applicable, any relevant compatibility
and interoperability of goods with digital elements, digitalcontent and digital services that the trader is aware of orcan reasonably be expecte d to have been aware of.".
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Amendment of 
regulation 5 of 
the principal regulations.19. Sub-regulation (1) of regulation 5 of the principal regulations
shall be amended as follows:
(a) paragraph ( c) thereof shall be substituted by the
following new paragraph:
"(c) the geographical address at which the trader is
established as well as the trader’s telephone number and
email address; in addition, wher e the trader provides other
means of online communication which guarantee that the
consumer can keep any written correspondence, including
the date and time of such corr espondence, with the trader
on a durable medium, the information shall also include
details of those other means; all those means of
communication provided by the trader shall enable the
consumer to contact the tr ader quickly and communicate
with him efficiently; where applicable, the trader shall also
provide the geographical addre ss and identity of the trader
on whose behalf he is acting;";
(b) immediately after paragraph ( e) thereof, there shall
be added the following new paragraph:
"(ea)  where applicable, that the price was
personalised on the basis of automated decision-making;";
(c) paragraph ( l) thereof shall be substituted by the
following new paragraph:
"(l) a reminder of the existence of a legal guarantee
of conformity for goods, digital content and digital
services;";
(d) paragraphs ( r) and ( s) thereof shall be substituted by
the following new paragraphs:
"(r) where applicable, the functionality, including
applicable technical protec tion measures, of goods with
digital elements, digital content and digital services;
(s) where applicable, any relevant compatibility
and interoperability of goods w ith digital elements, digital
content and digital services t hat the trader is aware of or
can reasonably be expected t o have been aware of.".
Addition of a 
new regulation 
to the principal regulations.20. Immediately after regulation 5 of the principal regulations,
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there shall be added the following new regulation:
Amendment of 
regulation 8 of the principal 
regulations.21. Sub-regulation (3) of regulation 8 of the principal regulations
shall be substituted by the following new sub-regulation:
" ( 3 )  W h e r e  a  c o n s u m e r  w a n t s  t h e  p e r f o r m a n c e  o f
services, or the suppl y of water, gas or ele ctricity, where they are
not put up for sale in a limited volume or set quantity, to beg in
during the withdrawal period provided for in regulation 10(2),
and the contract places the cons umer under an obligation to pay ,
the trader shall require that the consumer make such an expressrequest on a durable medium and request the consumer to
acknowledge that, once the contr act has been fully performed by"Additional 
specific 
information 
requirements for contracts 
concluded on 
online marketplaces.5A. (1) Before a consumer is bound by a distance
contract, or any correspo nding offer, on an online
marketplace, the provider of t he online marketplace shall,
without prejudice to the provisi ons in Part VIII of the Act,
provide the consumer with the following information in a
clear and comprehensible manner and in a way appropriateto the means of distance communication:
(a) general information, made available in a
specific section of the online interface that is directly
and easily accessible from the page where the offers
are presented, on the main parameters determining
ranking, as defined in Article 51A of the Act, ofoffers presented to the consumer as a result of the
search query and the relative importance of those
parameters as opposed to other parameters;
(b) w h e t h e r  t h e  t h i r d  p a r t y  o f f e r i n g  t h e
goods, services or digital c ontent is a trader or not,
on the basis of the declaration of that third party to
the provider of the online marketplace;
(c) where the third party offering the goods,
services or digital content is not a trader, that the
consumer rights stemmi ng from European Union
consumer protection law do not apply to thecontract;
(d) where applicable, how the obligations
related to the contract are shared between the third
party offering the goods, services or digital contentand the provider of the online marketplace, such
information being without prejudice to anyresponsibility that the provider of the onlinemarketplace or the third-par ty trader has in relation to
the contract under other European Union or nationallaw.".
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the trader, the consumer will no longer have the right of
withdrawal.".
Amendment of 
regulation 9 of the principal 
regulations.22. Regulation 9 of the principal r egulations shall be amended as
follows:
(a) sub-regulation (4) thereof shall be substituted by the
following new sub-regulation:
"(4) If the contract is concluded through a means of
distance communication which allows limited space or
time to display the informat ion, the trader  shall provide, on
or through that particular m eans prior to the conclusion of
such a contract, at least the pre-contractual information
regarding the main characteris tics of the goods or services,
the identity of the trader, the total price, the right ofwithdrawal, the duration of the contract and, if the contractis of indeterminate duration, the conditions for terminating
the contract, as referred to, respectively, in regulation
5(1)(a), (b), (e), (h) and (o), except the model withdrawalform set out in Part B of the Schedule referred to in
paragraph (h). The other information referred to in
regulation 5(1), including the model withdrawal form, shall
be provided by the trader to the consumer in an appropriate
way in accordance with sub-regulation (1) of thisregulation.";
(b) sub-regulation (8) thereof shall be substituted by the
following new sub-regulation: 
"(8) Where a consumer wants the performance of
services, or the supply of water, gas or electricity, where
they are not put up for sale in a limited volume or set
quantity, to begin during the withdrawal period provided
for in regulation 10(2), and the contract places the
consumer under an obligation to pay, the trader shallrequire that the consumer make an express request and
request the consumer to acknowledge that, once the
contract has been fully performed by the trader, theconsumer will no longer have the right of withdrawal.".
Amendment of 
regulation 10 of 
the principal regulations.23. Regulation 10 of the principal regulations shall be amended as
follows:
(a) in sub-regulation (1) ther eof, the words "regulations
15(2) and 16." shall be substituted by the words "regulations
15(2) and 16:" and immediately thereafter there shall be addedthe following new proviso:
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"Provided that for contracts concluded in the
context of unsolicited visits by a trader to a consumer’s
home or excursions organised by a trader with the aim oreffect of promoting or selling products to consumers, the
withdrawal period of fourteen (14) days is extended to
thirty (30) days.";
(b) the introductory words of sub-regulation (2) thereof
shall be substituted by the following new words: 
"(2) Without prejudice to regulation 12, the
withdrawal period referred t o in sub-regulation (1) shall
expire after fourteen (14) days or, in cases under theproviso of sub-regulation (1) a fter thirty (30) days from:".
Amendment of 
regulation 12 of 
the principal regulations.24. Sub-regulation (2) of regulation 12 of the principal
regulations shall be substituted by the following new sub-regulation:
"(2) If the trader has provided the consumer with the
information provided for in sub-regulation (1) within twelve (1 2)
months from the day referred to in regulation 10(2), the
withdrawal period shall expire  fourteen (14) days, or in cases
under the proviso of sub-regulation (1) after thirty (30) days,after the day upon which the consumer receives thatinformation.".
Amendment of 
regulation 15 of 
the principal 
regulations.  25. Immediately after sub-regulation (3) of regulation 15 of the
principal regulations, there sha ll be added the following new sub-
regulations:
Cap. 586."(4) In respect of personal data of the consumer, the
trader shall comply with the obligations applicable under
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliamentand of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of
natural persons with regard to the processing of personal
data and on the free movement  of such data, and repealing
Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation)
and the Data Protection Act. 
(5) The trader shall refrain from using any content,
other than personal data, wh ich was provided or created
by the consumer when using th e digital content or digital
service supplied by the trader, except where such content: 
(a) has no utility outs ide the context of the
digital content or digital service supplied by the
trader; 
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
A 343
Amendment of 
regulation 16 of 
the principal regulations.26. Regulation 16 of the principal regulations shall be amended as
follows:
(a) immediately after sub-regulation (2) thereof there
shall be added the fol lowing new sub-regulation:
"(2a)  In the event of withdrawal from the contract,
the consumer shall refrain from using the digital content or
digital service and from making it available to thirdparties.";
(b) sub-regulation (4)(b)(i) thereof shall be substituted
by the following new sub-paragraph:
"(i) the consumer has not given prior express
consent to the beginning of the performance before the endof the fourteen (14) day or thirty (30) day period referred toin regulation 10;".(b) only relates to the consumer’s activity
when using the digital content or digital servicesupplied by the trader;
(c) has been aggregated with other data by
the trader and cannot be disaggregated or only with
disproportionate efforts; or 
(d) has been generated jointly by the
consumer and others, and other consumers are able
to continue to make use of the content. 
(6) Except in the situat ions referred to in sub-
regulation (5)(a), (b) or (c), the trader shall, at the request
of the consumer, make available to the consumer any
content, other than personal data, which was provided orcreated by the consumer when using the digital content or
digital service supplied by the trader. 
(7) The consumer shall be entitled to retrieve that
digital content free of charg e, without hindrance from the
trader, within a reasonable time and in a commonly used
and machine-readable format. 
(8) In the event of withdrawal from the contract, the
trader may prevent any further use of the digital content or
digital service by the consumer, in particular by making
the digital content or digita l service inaccessible to the
consumer or disabling the user account of the consumer,
without prejudice to sub-regulation (6).".
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
A 344
Amendment of 
regulation 18 of 
the principal regulations.27. Regulation 18 of the principal regulations shall be amended as
follows: 
(a) paragraph ( a) thereof shall be substituted by the
following new paragraph:
"(a) service contracts after the service has been
fully performed but, if the c ontract places the consumer
under an obligation to pay, only if the performance has
begun with the consumer’s prior express consent and
acknowledgement that he will lo se his right of withdrawal
once the contract has been fully performed by the trader;";
(b) paragraph ( m) thereof shall be  substituted by the
following new paragraph:
"(m) contracts for the supply of digital content
which is not supplied on a tangible medium if theperformance has begun and, if the contract places the
consumer under an obligation to pay, where: 
(i) the consumer has provided prior express
consent to begin the performance during the right ofwithdrawal period;
(ii) the consumer has provided
acknowledgement that he thereby loses his right ofwithdrawal; and 
(iii) the trader has provided confirmation in
accordance with regulati on 8(2) or regulation 9(7):
Provided that for contracts concluded in the context of
unsolicited visits by a trader to a consumer’s home or excursio ns
organised by a trader with the a im or effect of promoting or se lling
products to consumers, the exceptions from the right of withdra wal set
out in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (e) shall not apply.". 
Amendment of 
the Schedule to 
the principal regulations.28. The Schedule to the principal r egulations shall  be amended as
follows:
 (a) the second paragraph, "The withdrawal period will
expire after 14 days from the day [1]." under "Right of
withdrawal", in Part A thereof shall be substituted by thefollowing new paragraph:
"The withdrawal period shall expire after 14 days
from the day [1]. (For contract s concluded in the context of
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
A 345
unsolicited visits by the trader to a consumer’s home or
excursions organised by the trader with the aim or effect of
promoting or selling products to consumers, thewithdrawal period will e xpire after 30 days.)";
(b) the third paragraph, "To exercise the right of
withdrawal, you must i nform us [2] of your  decision to withdraw
from this contract by an unequi vocal statement (e.g. a letter s ent
by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached modelwithdrawal form, but it is not obligatory [3]."
 under "Right of
withdrawal", in Part A thereof  shall be substituted by the
following new paragraph:
"To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must
inform us [2] of your decision to withdraw from thiscontract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent bypost or email). You may use th e attached model withdrawal
form but it is not obligatory. [3]";
(c) paragraph [2] under "Instr uctions for completion" in
Part A thereof shall be substituted by the following new
paragraph:
"[2.] Insert your name, geographical address,
telephone number and email address."; 
(d) the first indent, "- To [here the trader’s name,
geographical address and, where av ailable, his fax number and e -
mail address are to be inserted by the trader]:", in Part B the reof,
shall be substituted by the following new indent:
"- To [here the trader’s name, geographical
address and email address are to be inserted by thetrader]:".
Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 33 of the 17th
October, 2022.
ANĠLU FARRUGIA
Speaker
RAYMOND SCICLUNA
Clerk of the House of Representatives
VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ippubblikat mid-Dipartiment tal-Informazzjoni (doi.gov.mt) — Valletta — Published by the Department of Information (doi.gov.mt) — Valletta
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