S.L. 123.55 Art. 39Payment or reimbursement of expenses incurred for private purposes.

(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-rule (2), when a person pays or reimburses, in full or in part, expenses incurred for the benefit or in the interest of another person and where such expenses are not included in the value of any other benefit referred to in any of the foregoing rules, the former shall be deemed to provide a benefit to the latter.

(2) The payment or reimbursement of expenses to which any of the following paragraphs refers and that are incurred on or after 1st January, 2001 shall not be deemed to constitute a benefit provided by reason of an employment or office:

(a) expenses to which no other provision of these rules applies necessarily incurred in the production of the beneficiary’s income in his capacity as an employee or the holder of an office;

(b) expenses incurred by an employee on the instructions and in the exclusive interest of his employer where such expenses are reimbursed by the employer against the production of receipts;

(c) the costs of travel for a business purpose;

(d) the costs of travelling between Malta and Gozo for a business purpose, relocation costs and costs of journeys between work shifts;

(e) the cost of business related training;

(f) subscriptions in respect of an employee’s membership in a professional body recognised as such by the Commissioner where that employee is employed in his capacity as a member of the relative profession or where that membership is a condition required by the employer in terms of the contract of employment of the beneficiary;

(g) the cost for providing insurance for business purposes;

(h) the cost incurred by an employer in providing organised transport for his employees;

(i) a present given to an employee to mark a festive season or similar events provided it is not made in cash and provided also that the total value of any such gifts granted to any one employee during a calendar year does not exceed €120 or such other higher amount as may be approved by the Commissioner;

(j) the cost of providing insurance against expenses for medical treatment or an insurance policy under which a benefit is payable only in the event of the death or injury of the insured while in service under a scheme available generally to employees: Provided that this paragraph shall also apply where the beneficiary is an officer of a company as long as the said scheme is available generally to the employees of that company; Provided further that the amount of the cost that is not to be deemed to constitute a benefit provided to any beneficiary by reason of an employment or office in terms of this paragraph shall not exceed three times the cost of providing insurance as aforesaid to any other beneficiary under that scheme;

(k) costs incurred by and charged in the name of an employee, as evidenced by receipts produced to the employer, or by his employer for the provision of fixed or mobile telephony services, including the cost of a telephone set, mobile phone or a facsimile machine, used by the employee for the purpose of the business of the employer;

(l) costs incurred in the provision of the use of a computer and related equipment and software belonging to or held under a title of lease by the employer and used by an employee for the purpose of the business of the employer;

(m) costs incurred in the provision to an employee of internet services, as evidenced by receipts produced to the employer, used by the employee for the purpose of the business of the employer;

(n) the cost of the provision for the benefit of employees of recreational facilities in the employer’s premises or in premises available for that purpose to the employer;

(o) long service awards granted to an employee in recognition of 15 years’ or more service to the extent that the relative cost does not exceed €120 per year of service and provided no similar award has been granted to the same beneficiary within the previous 10 years;

(p) an award granted to an employee who is not a director under a suggestion scheme or a scheme for the promotion of safety at work organised for all employees or all employees within a specified grade or grades on equal terms, provided that the scheme is outside the scope of the employees’ normal duties and the award is of a reasonable amount;

(q) the cost of providing to employees uniforms and safety clothing which they are under an obligation to wear in terms of their contract of employment or of any law;

(r) the cost of the provision of childcare facilities for the benefit of the employees, provided that the employee receiving such benefit does not claim the deduction provided for by article 14C of the Act;

(s) the following health related costs:

(i) the cost of a medical examination, test or screening which an employee is required to undergo in order to take a new employment or to take up a new post with the same employer or to gain entry to a superannuation fund;

(ii) the cost of medical care, medicine and other medical treatment provided as a prevention against injury or illness related to an employment as part of a programme available generally to employees exposed to the same work-related health risks;

(iii) the cost of individual or group counselling relating to safe work practices, health, fitness, stress management or drug or alcohol abuse that is given as part of a programme available generally to employees exposed to the same work-related health risks;

(t) any such other payment in kind or cost or reimbursement as may be approved by the Commissioner for the purpose of this rule.