Malta implements revised financial thresholds in public procurement law

Public procurement laws have been amended to increase the financial thresholds applicable to different procurement processes through Legal Notice 360 to Legal Notice 362 of 2024. These amendments primarily ensure that procurement opportunities of a certain monetary value fall under the comprehensive national regime that fully incorporates the directives. Subsidiarily, these amendments also affect when the Department of Contracts (“DOC”) becomes responsible for the publication of a tender process. Generally speaking, unless contracting authorities are listed in a specific schedule which entitles them to administer their own public procurement and save for tender processes with smaller estimated procurement values as explained in this note, contracting authorities must administer their procurement through the Sectoral Procurement Directorate and/or the DOC.

By virtue of the new legal notices, contracting authorities may now issue public supply tenders independently without involving the DOC where the estimated procurement value does not exceed €143,000. For public works tenders and concessions, this figure is now €5,538,000 instead of the previously applicable €5,382,000. These amounts are always excluding VAT.

These numbers differ for tenders in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors. For public supply and service contracts, the threshold has been increased to €443,000 from €431,000. For works contracts, the threshold is now €5,538,000.