Malta takes women's sanitary items off the 5% VAT list to make way for a zero rate

What changed in detail

Legal Notice 354 of 2024, the Value Added Tax Act (Amendment of Eighth Schedule) Regulations, 2024, was made by the Minister responsible for finance under article 75 of the VAT Act (Cap. 406) and published in Government Gazette of Malta No. 21,362 on 17 December 2024. Its official title has no “(No. 2)” suffix.

Regulation 2 has one operative line. It deletes paragraph (f) of item 4 of the Eighth Schedule, the schedule that lists supplies taxed at Malta’s reduced rate of 5%. Regulation 1(2) states the purpose: the items are removed from the 5% rate “in view of the application of a zero (0) rate on such items” once they are added to Part One of the Fifth Schedule.

That addition was made the same day by L.N. 355 of 2024, which inserted item 16, “products used for female sanitary protection”, into Part One of the Fifth Schedule (exempt with credit). Both notices come into force on 1 January 2025.

What it means

This notice does nothing on its own except clear the 5% entry, so that the same goods are not listed under two rates. The new treatment, exempt with credit, which works as a zero rate, comes from its companion notice, mt-womens-health-vat-zero-rate-2024. Read the two together. Since 1 January 2025, female sanitary protection products should be invoiced with no VAT, and the supplier keeps the right to recover input VAT.

The change is spent as an event and still in force as a position in November 2026. We found no later notice reinstating the 5% entry.