Entering Malta through distributors: health tenders on ePPS, English documents and no cold e-mail

Malta suits a manufacturer that wants a small, English-speaking market with one national e-tendering system, a public health service that buys a large share of what reaches TED, and a first contact made by letter, phone or introduction, because Maltese law requires prior written consent for marketing e-mail, to companies as well as to individuals.

Putting it simply: Maltese hospitals, ministries and public companies buy mostly from local distributors and agents that bid in English, invoice in Malta, hold stock on the island and service what they deliver. Nearly half of the Maltese supply award notices on TED are for medicines, medical devices and consumables, bought for the national health service. All procedures run on ePPS at etenders.gov.mt, and the larger awards also appear on TED, so the companies that already sell your category can be found by name. Buyers expect English documents, conformity evidence and a company record they can check. Do not send a cold marketing e-mail: write, call or ask for an introduction, and use e-mail once the distributor has written to you.

How the market buys

Local distributors and agents carry the contracts

In our analysis of TED award notices for supplies (November 2026), 92.9% of the 1,456 awards in the 1,000 notices from buyers in Malta since November 2023 went to companies registered in the country, and 336 of the 391 winning companies (85.9%) were Maltese. In the last twelve months (369 notices, 542 awards) the local share was 95.8%. Those local winners include distributors and agents as well as manufacturers' own local subsidiaries (see our methodology).

Foreign companies win a small and specific part of the record. Companies registered in Italy are the largest group (28 awards to 15 companies), followed by the United Kingdom (20 awards to 9 companies); Romania, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates and Israel follow with single-digit counts. For most categories, the route is a Maltese partner that is already registered with the buyers, prepares the bid and delivers.

Health is the largest buyer

Medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (CPV division 33) account for 462 of the 1,000 notices and 583 awards, and 97.6% of those awards went to Maltese-registered companies. Within that division, pharmaceutical products (CPV group 336) make up 231 notices, with medical equipment and devices most of the rest.

Two public bodies matter here. The Public Procurement Regulations (S.L. 601.03) list the Central Procurement and Supplies Unit, alongside Mater Dei Hospital, Gozo General Hospital and the Medicines Authority, in Schedule 2, the contracting authorities that fall within the competence of the Department of Contracts. From €143,000 in the consolidated text (see the thresholds below), the Director of Contracts runs the procedure on their behalf (regulation 9(1)(b)). In our analysis of the TED notices, the Department of Contracts is named as buyer on 510 of the 1,000 Maltese notices, 413 of them in division 33, with tender titles such as the supply of catheters, spinal implants or oral solutions; the Central Procurement and Supplies Unit of the Ministry for Health appears by name on 29 notices, 28 of them in division 33. The Sectoral Procurement Directorate, named on 257 notices, mostly buys for the ministries and agencies in Schedule 16, which does not include the hospitals: under regulations 9(1)(c) and 79 it publishes, opens and administers their calls of more than €10,000 and up to €750,000. As of 8 November 2026 we could not open the Ministry for Health's own pages to quote the unit's remit in its own words, so read the notices for your codes to see which body buys your category.

Other demand

After health, the divisions with most notices are transport equipment (92 notices, 95.6% local), office and computing equipment (59, 97.6%), industrial machinery (51, 76.8%), construction materials (48, 79.8%) and electrical equipment and lighting (43, 78.3%). In machinery, construction materials and electrical goods, roughly one award in five went to a company registered abroad, so these are the categories where a direct bid from outside Malta is least unusual.

Central purchasing

Schedule 4 names two central purchasing bodies, the Department of Contracts and the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) (S.L. 601.03, regulation 21). Contracting authorities may buy through contracts, dynamic purchasing systems and framework agreements that a central purchasing body has set up (regulation 22). If your category is covered by one of them, the companies already on that agreement are the ones to approach first.

The proof Maltese buyers expect

Documents in English

Under article 5 of the Constitution, Maltese is the national language, Maltese and English are both official languages, and the Administration may use either for all official purposes. In practice the public market works in English: the ePPS portal runs in English, and all 1,382 Maltese supply notices in our TED data were published in English. Expect a distributor to ask for technical sheets, instructions, safety information, declarations and price lists in English, ready for a tender file. Check product-specific labelling rules for your category with your adviser.

Conformity evidence

CE marking under the EU legislation for your product is the baseline; expect to be asked for the declaration of conformity and the test reports behind it, and for medical devices and medicines, for the documents the EU rules for those products require. Expect requests for samples and references as well.

A company record that can be checked

The Malta Business Registry describes itself as the central authority for all commercial entities in Malta: it handles incorporation, keeps the Register of Beneficial Owners and issues certified documents such as certificates of good standing. Its register is reached from its website at register.mbr.mt; as of 8 November 2026 we could not open the register itself to confirm which details are shown free of charge. Ask a prospective distributor for its registration number and a recent certificate, and have your own register extract and VAT number ready for theirs.

Invoicing

The Electronic Invoicing in Public Procurement Regulations (S.L. 601.10) require contracting authorities and entities to receive and process electronic invoices that comply with the European standard EN 16931 (regulation 5(1)), for contracts above the EU thresholds (regulation 3(1)); sub-central authorities had to comply by 18 April 2020 (regulation 1(4)). The same regulation leaves the sender free to choose between an electronic invoice to the standard and a paper invoice (regulation 5(2)). The European Commission's country sheet for Malta records that Malta leaned towards the Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 format; as of 8 November 2026 we could not confirm on a current official Maltese source which delivery channel public buyers use, so ask the buyer or your distributor. Rules for invoices between businesses are a separate question; check them with your tax adviser.

Payment terms

Malta transposed the Late Payment Directive into the Commercial Code (Cap. 13). Between businesses, a payment period fixed in a contract may not exceed 60 calendar days unless the parties expressly agree a longer one that is not grossly unfair to the creditor (article 26C(4)); where the contract fixes no date, interest runs 30 calendar days after receipt of the invoice or of the goods (article 26C(3)). Where a public authority is the debtor, the period is 30 calendar days, extendable to at most 60 only by express agreement objectively justified by the contract (article 26D(3)). The 60-day maximum also applies to public entities providing health care and to public undertakings with industrial or commercial activities (article 26D(3)(iii)). For a hospital supply contract, plan for payment within up to 60 days. Check contract terms with your adviser.

Where public demand is visible

One e-tendering system

ePPS, the Electronic Public Procurement System at etenders.gov.mt, is a web-based system covering the full tendering lifecycle for buyers and suppliers, for works, services and supplies: preparation and submission of tenders, evaluation, award and electronic orders. It also links to opened tender details and published annual procurement plans.

Thresholds and who runs the procedure

S.L. 601.03 sets the layers by estimated value (consolidated text of 27 June 2025):

• Up to €5,000: at least three quotations, publication on the government e-procurement platform, or a direct contract, at the discretion of the head of the contracting authority (regulation 100(1)).
• €5,000 to €10,000: quotations through the e-procurement platform, or a direct contract (regulation 100(2)).
• Above €10,000 and below the regulation 9(1)(a) threshold: a departmental call for tenders (regulation 101), published on the e-procurement platform (regulation 102). The contracting authority runs these itself (regulation 9(1)(a)).
• At or above €143,000: the Director of Contracts issues, administers and determines the procedure on behalf of the contracting authority (regulation 9(1)(b)). Authorities in Schedule 3, such as Local Councils, Infrastructure Malta, the Housing Authority, Enemalta and the Water Services Corporation, run their own procurement under the same rules (regulation 9(2)). Calls of more than €10,000 and up to €750,000 for the authorities in Schedule 16 are published and evaluated by the Sectoral Procurement Directorate (regulation 9(1)(c)).

The €143,000 figure in the consolidated text matches the EU threshold for 2024 and 2025. From 1 January 2026, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2152 lowered the EU thresholds for supplies and services to €140,000 for central government authorities and €216,000 for other contracting authorities. Regulation 9(3) says the Maltese thresholds are to equal the EU ones, set by the Minister; as of 8 November 2026 we could not confirm on legislation.mt a legal notice updating the figures in S.L. 601.03, so check the current value on the tender documents.

TED and the published lists

Above the EU thresholds, regulation 43 requires a contract award notice within 30 days of the conclusion of a contract or framework agreement. Maltese supply award notices on TED cover the period since November 2023, with 306 notices in 2024, 402 in 2025 and 282 so far in 2026. Each notice names the winner and carries CPV codes. In 20.5% of the award rows where the notice reports the number of tenders received (707 rows), the lot received exactly one tender.

Below the thresholds, the record is in the Government Gazette: every six months the head of each contracting authority publishes a list of departmental contracts above €5,000, with the economic operator, the nature of the contract and its value (regulation 111(2)), and the Director Sectoral Procurement publishes a list of the contracts it recommended for award (regulation 79(2)(k)).

Lawful first contact

Malta requires prior written consent for marketing e-mail, and it says so for companies explicitly. Regulation 9(1) of the Processing of Personal Data (Electronic Communications Sector) Regulations (S.L. 586.01) prohibits using a publicly available electronic communications service for an unsolicited direct-marketing communication by automatic calling machine, fax or electronic mail to a subscriber or user, "irrespective of whether such subscriber or user is a natural person or legal person", unless that subscriber or user has given prior consent in writing.

The only exception is for your own customers: a business that obtained e-mail details in the course of a sale may market its own similar products or services to them, provided they can object free of charge when the details are collected and in every message (regulation 9(2)). Marketing e-mail that disguises the sender or gives no valid address for a request to stop is prohibited in all cases (regulation 9(4)). The Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC) summarises the rule the same way.

Other channels are treated differently. Regulation 9(3) allows direct marketing by other means, provided communications stop when the recipient asks, and the IDPC notes that calls involving human intervention are permissible if requests not to be contacted again are respected.

In practice: send a letter by post to the owner or managing director, with a one-page sheet on your range and a clear reason why it fits what the distributor already sells; follow up by phone, with a person making the call; ask for an introduction through a chamber, a business association or an existing partner; or meet at an event. Once a distributor has written to you, reply by e-mail. If you write to a named person, data protection law applies to that personal data as well. This is a summary, not legal advice; check your outreach plan with your adviser. The Malta market page sets out the rule and the steps, and our overview of B2B outreach law in the EU explains how Malta compares with other countries.

Events

Malta has few trade fairs of its own. The MFCC at Ta' Qali describes itself as the country's largest international conference and exhibition venue, and its programme is mostly consumer and entertainment events. International congresses come to Malta more often than fairs: in medicine, for example, the European Society for Paediatric Urology holds its 37th congress at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta from 21 to 24 April 2027. Many Maltese distributors also travel to the large European fairs for their sector; see the medical events page and the other industry pages under events.

What this means for a manufacturer

• Find the distributors through TED and ePPS, and read the Government Gazette lists for smaller departmental contracts.
• In health, read the notices of the Department of Contracts and the Central Procurement and Supplies Unit for your codes: they show which local companies the hospitals already buy from.
• Prepare the English file first: technical sheets, instructions, safety information, declarations and price lists, plus samples and references.
• Size the offer for a small island market: margin, exclusivity for Malta and Gozo, minimum orders at Maltese volumes, who holds stock, shipping time and spare parts held locally.
• Keep payment terms realistic: up to 60 days for a hospital or public health body.
• Make the first contact by letter, by phone with a person calling, through an introduction or at an event, and move to e-mail once the distributor has written to you.

Where Cresques fits

Create a market for Malta, choose your CPV categories (or let the materials reader suggest them from a brochure or website), and Cresques shows the companies named in TED award notices for those categories, with personal details removed, along with the trade fairs and congresses where your industry meets. A company profile shows every award with value and buyer and an AI-researched role, distinguishing an independent distributor from a manufacturer's own subsidiary. The first message is drafted as a letter, the channel Malta's rules point to instead of a cold e-mail, with an English version; you send it yourself. On paid plans, e-mail alerts tell you when a company in a market you follow wins a new award. Below the EU thresholds, Cresques does not yet show Maltese awards; search ePPS and the Government Gazette lists yourself.