Cap. 376 Art. 3AExemption for financial leasing of ships and aircrafts.

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of article 3, any entity, whether established or operating in Malta or otherwise, carrying out the activity of financial leasing in or from Malta, and all related transactions involving:

(a) an aircraft registered or to be registered in the National Aircraft Register as defined in the Aircraft Registration Act or registered in any other jurisdiction whatsoever and any aircraft engine; or

(b) a ship registered or to be registered in the register as defined in the Merchant Shipping Act or registered in any other jurisdiction whatsoever, shall not require a licence from the competent authority for the purposes of this Act, where:

(i) such entity is owned and controlled, or is a subsidiary of, or exclusively funded by; and

(ii) any relevant financial leasing transaction, or the relevant underlying asset, being an aircraft, an aircraft engine, or a ship, is exclusively financed by persons or entities as described in Annex II to Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments, or persons or entities who are recognised as eligible counter-parties in accordance with Article 30 of such Directive 2014/65/EU:

Provided that in the interpretation and application of sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) and in order to ensure compliance with their requirements, where the ownership of such entity as described in sub-paragraph (i), or of the entity financing the transaction indicated in sub-paragraph (ii), or its underlying assets is vested in a trustee, or is otherwise held by another intermediary on a fiduciary basis, the criteria described in Annex II of Directive 2014/65/EU shall apply by reference to the beneficial interests involved, and not to the said trustee or intermediary.

(2) The provisions of this article shall only apply to an entity where the business of such entity is limited to the financial leasing of aircrafts, aircraft engines, or ships as described in sub-article (1) and to activities that are ancillary thereto, to the exclusion of other types of assets and activities otherwise falling within the purposes of this Act.