Cap. 406, article 12

Article 12 VAT Malta: who must register and when

Updated 2026-08-15

Article 12 registers businesses outside Article 10 that still account for VAT, usually because they buy from or sell to another EU country.

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Question 1

Where is the business established?

Establishment is decided by article 2(2) and 2(3) of the VAT Act, not by where the company is incorporated alone.

The three triggers in article 12

Intra-community acquisitions, article 12(1): A taxable person not registered under Article 10, or a non-taxable legal person, whose intra-community acquisitions of goods in Malta in the calendar year exceed the acquisitions threshold of €10,000 (Third Schedule, Part Three) must apply by the date of the acquisition that crosses it. Registration is effective from that date (article 12(5)).
Services received under the reverse charge, article 12(3): A taxable person established in Malta and not under Article 10 who receives services on which they must pay the tax under article 20(2) must apply by the date the service is received. There is no threshold.
Services supplied in another Member State, article 12(3a): The same person who supplies services in another Member State where VAT is payable solely by the recipient under Article 196 of Directive 2006/112/EC must apply by the date of the supply.

Article 12(2) also lets any such person register voluntarily at any time. Apply through the Commissioner's web portal under article 13(1). An Article 12 number carries the MT prefix (article 13(3)), so suppliers in other Member States can verify it. Source: Value Added Tax Act, Chapter 406, read 2 November 2026.

Article 12 beside Article 10 and Article 11

Article 12 is not a lighter Article 10. It exists so the business accounts for VAT on cross-border acquisitions and services. The right to charge VAT on domestic supplies comes with Article 10, triggered by supplies in Malta (article 10(1)).

An Article 11 small enterprise must hold an Article 12 registration alongside it when any trigger applies (article 11(10)); see the Article 11 guide.

Cancelling an Article 12 registration

Registered on acquisitions: any time after the end of the calendar year after the year of registration, if acquisitions have not exceeded the threshold in the year of the application or the year before (article 12(6)).
Registered voluntarily: after two consecutive calendar years following the year of registration, on the same threshold test (article 12(7)).
Registered on services: any time you no longer receive, or no longer supply, the reverse-charge services that triggered it (articles 12(8) and 12(8a)).

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Register under the right article the first time

Six questions, and the Act quoted on every answer.

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Questions, answered directly

Is there a threshold for Article 12 VAT registration in Malta?

For goods, yes: €10,000 of intra-community acquisitions in a calendar year. For services received or supplied under the reverse charge, no: the obligation arises on the date of the first such service.

Do I get an MT VAT number under Article 12?

Yes. Article 13(3) gives numbers allocated under Article 10 or Article 12 the MT prefix, unlike an Article 11 number, which has none and is not a VAT identification number.

Sources

This site's own datasets, every figure quoted from its source and dated:

The EU VAT Rates carries 81 published figures read from 6 sources' own pages; the 75 published figures given by category run from 0 to 13.50 percent, read 7 November 2026.
The EU VAT Registration Thresholds carries 19 published figures read from 17 sources' own pages; the 17 published figures given by jurisdiction run from 10,000 to 100,000 EUR, read 7 November 2026.
The Malta VAT Registration Rules carries 2 published figures read from 2 sources' own pages, from 10,000 to 35,000 EUR, read 7 November 2026.
The median published figure in the VAT Registration Agent Fees is 190 EUR across 5 figures from 2 sources' own pages (range 99 to 599 EUR), read 11 November 2026.

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