Cap. 492 чл. 37Voluntary Organisations Fund.

(1) The Voluntary Organisations Fund shall be hereby established as a foundation and shall be registered in terms of the

Second Schedule to the Civil Code and enrolled as the first enrolled voluntary organisation in terms of this Act.

(2) The address of the Voluntary Organisations Fund shall be the office of the Commissioner or any other address as the Council may, from time to time, deem fit.

(3) The objects of the Voluntary Organisations Fund shall be to assist and support enrolled voluntary organisations through education, management and support and financial grants for the said purposes.

(4) The Voluntary Organisations Fund shall be vested with the right to income and capital as is contemplated by the provisions of this Act or any regulations made thereunder: Provided that article 29 of the Second Schedule to the Civil

Code shall not apply to the Voluntary Organisations Fund and the requirements therein shall be substituted by a statement signed by the Commissioner.

(5) The Voluntary Organisations Fund shall be administered by the Council which shall appoint a board of administrators for the purpose.

(6) The board of the Voluntary Organisations Fund shall enjoy discretion as to the distribution of income and capital of such Fund for the purposes outlined in subarticle (3) and shall, by not later than the fifteenth day of February of each year, submit to the Council a detailed written report of its receipts and of all distributions of income and capital of such Fund during the preceding calendar year.

(7) Legal representation of the Voluntary Organisations Fund shall be vested in the Chairperson of the board of administrators or any other person designated by the board for the purpose.

acts of trade, but to the extent that they are established for public purposes which are achieved through the carrying out of such acts of trade provided in sub-article (2), voluntary organisations may regularly carry out such acts of trade which are related and ancillary to the principal purpose and objectives of the organisations in order to achieve their public purposes:

Provided that trading activities which do not fall within the exemptions of sub-article (2) but which are only marginal to the income of the voluntary organisation may also be carried out by the voluntary organisation itself, subject to the requirements established under sub-article (6).

(2) For the purposes of this article, the following activities carried out by a voluntary organisation and, or the following income generated directly in the achievement of the public purposes of such organisation, shall be presumed to be permitted under sub-article (1):

(a) the operations and activities carried out by schools, training centres and other educational institutes and the charging of fees for educational services;

(b) income generated from the sale of goods and, or the provision of services, by a voluntary organisation when such goods and, or services are themselves donated to the voluntary organisation;

(c) income generated from the sale of goods and, or the provision of services only to members, supporters, sponsors or contributors of the voluntary organisation or the group of organisations of which it forms part;

(d) income generated from the sale of goods or the provision of services on sites administered by the voluntary organisation and offered to bona fide visitors by the organisation itself through volunteers or employees: Provided that this shall not apply to shops, bars, restaurants or other outlets on such sites, or the sites themselves when these operate under lease agreements, management agreements, licences or otherwise by third parties for profit;

(e) the operations and activities of art galleries, exhibitions, museums and other organisations established for the advancement of culture, arts and national heritage and the charging of fees for the admission at theatrical, musical activities or other such activities;

(f) participation fees in competitions;

(g) payment for residential accommodation, care and other the organisation resulting in:

(i) income from the grant on lease or a management contract of land or buildings or other commercial property to a third party, where no services are provided by the voluntary organisation;

(ii) income from the investment of the assets of a voluntary organisation, including the holding of shares or other interests in another legal organisation;

(iii) income which may be made payable to voluntary organisations which own, administer or otherwise operate an innovative technology arrangement as defined in the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act; and

(iv) such other activities or classes of income as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Minister on the recommendation of the Council.

(3) In cases other than those contemplated in sub-articles (1) and (2), unless acts of trade and trading activities are only marginal to the income of the voluntary organisation, such organisation shall establish a limited liability company to carry out acts of trade and the administrators of the voluntary organisation shall ensure that such establishment shall not burden the human and financial resources of such organisation beyond its means.

(4) The limited liability company established in terms of sub-article (3):

(a) shall in all cases be permitted to carry out those acts of trade which are related or ancillary to the principal purpose and objectives of the voluntary organisation, or if expressly permitted in the statute of such voluntary organisation, subject to the discretion and satisfaction of the Commissioner;

(b) shall be non-profit making in accordance with this Act;

(c) shall have directors who do not receive any remuneration for their services for carrying out such functions except as permitted by this Act and, or the statute of the voluntary organisation; and

(d) shall not permit the evasion of the limitations imposed on voluntary organisation in the First Schedule by any person in the voluntary organisation or the limited liability company and the same limitations shall also apply in this case to the limited liability company in the same way.

(5) For the purpose of this article "marginal" means not more arises, shall submit a declaration in this regard to the Commissioner who may:

(a) issue directives at any time in writing on such matters if he deems that the declaration submitted by the administrators does not satisfy the criteria established in terms of this article and may impose conditions in relation to such activities to ensure compliance with the principles established under this article; and

(b) issue a ruling on the matter giving reasons for decision, and any administrator or any interested party may appeal from such decision before the Administrative Tribunal.

(6) Voluntary organisations shall not be exempt from the obligation to obtain any authorisations or licences which may be required to carry out any particular activity referred to in this article in terms of any other law.

(7) The Commissioner may issue guidelines on the duties and responsibilities of administrators of voluntary organisations which carry out acts of trade as permitted by this article or with regard to all aspects regarding limited liability companies which voluntary organisations establish in accordance with this article.

(8) In cases falling under sub-article (4), it shall be presumed that:

(a) a limited liability company notwithstanding that it has a separate and distinct legal personality, is only an instrument to keep the trading activities distinct from the activities of the voluntary organisation promoting its social and public purpose; and

(b) the existence of the limited liability company shall not operate in any way so as to prejudice third parties in good faith or the voluntary organisation itself, to reduce the transparency of the voluntary organisation or to create any private benefit to third parties which is not permitted within the voluntary organisation itself.

(9) Any wholly owned limited liability company established in accordance with this article, which may be carrying on trading activities from a premises or site held under any title by an enrolled voluntary organisation shall have absolutely no rights in relation to any concessions leases or other grants of property to the said voluntary organisation, including Government, which shall be deemed to permit use of such property by such wholly owned limited liability company: Provided that any documentary arrangements set in place for governance purposes between the voluntary organisation and the wholly owned limited liability company shall be disregarded with regard to any grantor organisation and when any grant is liability company in terms of sub-article (3) of this article, the administrators shall notify the Commissioner in the prescribed form, which form shall be included in the Register and shall be made accessible to the public. The Commissioner shall notify the Commissioner for Inland Revenue of the name and registration number of such limited liability company upon being notified. The same rules shall apply mutatis mutandis to the winding up of any such limited liability company.