Cap. 233 Art. 2Interpretation.

(1) In this Act unless the context otherwise requires -

"capital transactions" means external transactions arising from the transfer or movement of capital and includes:

(a) transfers of immovable property;

(b) direct investments;

(c) the issue, sale or purchase of securities including shares and stock in the capital of a company, debentures, certificates of deposit and any other similar instrument acknowledging indebtedness;

(d) the issue, sale or purchase of units in a collective investment scheme, life and annuity long-term insurance policies whether index-linked or not;

(e) lending, borrowing and payment or receipt of amortisation on loans;

(f) granting of guarantees or any other form of security for payment;

(g) warrants, options, futures and other derivatives as well as any other financial instrument entered into for investment purposes;

(h) deposits with credit institutions;

(i) gifts and endowments; and

(j) any other type of transaction which the Minister may, after consultation with the Central Bank, determine by notice in the Gazette; "Central Bank" means the Central Bank of Malta established under the Central Bank of Malta Act; "current transactions" means external transactions arising from current flows and include:

(a) foreign trade in goods and services including interest payments, dividend, royalties, reinvested earnings and distributed profits;

(b) other current business payments arising from services, short-term banking and credit facilities; and

(c) remittance for family living expenses; "eligible asset" means deposits as defined in the Banking Act, securities including shares and stock in the capital of a company, debentures, certificates of deposit, bonds, notes and any other instrument acknowledging indebtedness, units in a collective investment scheme, life and annuity long term insurance policies, whether index-linked or not, precious metal, bullion, warrants, options, futures and other derivatives as well as any other financial instruments entered into for investment purposes, and also includes any other asset as may be determined from time to time by the Minister by notice in the Gazette; "European Union" means the European Union referred to in the Treaty; "external transactions" includes both capital and current transactions involving operations between resident and non-resident persons or other entities, whether in or outside Malta, and may also include operations involving foreign exchange by a resident or between residents; "foreign exchange" means any note, coin, cheque, draft, travellers’ cheque, letter of credit, promissory note, bill of exchange, voucher, credit or debit card or other card or means in which value is inputted through electronic or magnetic methods and which any unspecified person is able to use for payment in lieu of currency, or other means of payment expressed in the currency of any country which is not legal tender in Malta and references in this Act to foreign exchange include references to any right to receive on demand foreign exchange in respect of any credit or balance at any credit institution anywhere;

"Member State" means a state which is a member of the European Union; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for finance;

"monetary instruments" includes cheques, drafts or travellers’ cheques, any anonymous or bearer certificates of a financial or monetary nature which are convertible into cash, irrespective of the issuer, and in particular, negotiable and other securities and instruments, whether denominated in euro or foreign currency;

"National Statistics Office" means the National Statistics Office established under the Malta Statistics Authority Act;

"non-resident" means:

(a) any person, body corporate or other entity which is not a resident;

(b) any resident trustee in terms of a trust where any of the beneficiaries are non-resident and in the case of a discretionary trust, where the power of appointment or any discretion may be exercised in favour of any non-resident; "payment" means -

(a) any event which, wholly or in part, extinguishes a debt of a sum of money between a resident and a non-resident in connection with an external transaction;

(b) any transfer of funds, on account or in cash, between Malta and a foreign country carried out by a resident who transfers funds to or repatriates funds from his account held by him abroad;

(c) any transfer of funds on an account or in cash between Malta and a foreign country for which the principal and the beneficiary are both residents;

(d) any transfer of funds in foreign exchange carried out in Malta between residents; "resident" means:

(a) any natural person regardless of nationality whose centre of economic interest is ordinarily in Malta and who has resided in or has the intention to reside in Malta for a continuous period of one year;

(b) any body corporate incorporated in or under the laws of Malta or of a Member State, or any entity which operates from or is otherwise registered in Malta or in a Member State;

(c) any trustee in terms of a trust whose place of residence is ordinarily outside Malta or any Member State but where all the beneficiaries of the trust are determined and are residents and in case of a discretionary trust where the power of appointment or any discretion may be exercised only in favour of residents; "the Treaty" has the same meaning assigned to it by the European Union Act.

(2) The Minister may appoint the Central Bank to act as agent for the said Minister for any one or more of the purposes of this Act, but any such appointment shall be without prejudice to the exercise of any such power by the Minister.

(3) For such time as the Central Bank is appointed as agent for the Minister under subarticle (2), the references in this Act to the Minister shall, to the extent and subject to the terms and conditions of such appointment, be deemed to include references to the Central Bank. Notice of any such appointment, and of any revocation of, or change in the terms and conditions of such appointment, shall be published in the Gazette.