The Government and the Malta Business Registry are drafting a call for tenders in regard to the Central Data Repository Solution, MBR CEO Geraldine Spiteri Lucas said on Friday.

Preliminary Market Consultation was launched during the summer and 18 proposals were received. Schembri said that the call for tenders is planned to be launched in Q2 of 2024.

Spiteri Lucas said that this initiative will drastically decrease bureaucracy and result in decreased costs across the board. This measure was included as part of the Labour Party’s electoral manifesto, in which the PL had said that within the upcoming legislature, it would continue working towards reducing bureaucracy including through the revision of the regulatory framework for business. This measure was also included in the 2023 budget measures.

She said that a steering committee has been set up for the purpose. It includes the the Director of the FIAU, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, a Senior Representative of the MFSA, the CEO of the Malta Business Registry, the Permanent Secretaries of the Finance and Economy Ministries, as well as three additional experts to be appointed by the Economy Minister.

As part of the preparatory work for this measure, the MBR conducted an exercise to identify documentation commonly requested by government entities and subject persons. Discussions were also carried out with the Malta Bankers Association.

Issues which should be given priority were identified by the working committee. These include the establishment of a repository for KYC checks and the same system would allow for the sharing of information between government entities. These two matters would be carried out during phase one of the process. Within phase two, priority would be given to allow for applicants to request a due diligence report on themselves using the system.

The aim of the measure is to promote the once-only principle, the MBR CEO said, meaning that citizens and companies would only need to provide certain information or documentation to the relevant authorities once, ultimately improving efficiency and leading to standardisation. She also said that this would mean that duplication of work would be avoided and there would be a greater emphasis on risk mitigation and compliance.

A major part of the streamlining and efficiency process is an emphasis on API integration which would allow for the ability to integrate with public APIs from various government entities, such as the public registry. MITA’s authentication service will also allow for Maltese nationals and European citizens to login using their E-ID accounts whilst Non-EU Citizens will be able to register through their e-mail address following a verification process.

The service will make use of a trust framework which is in accordance with eIDAS regulations and will provide a set of rules and standards for privacy, security, and usability. She said that the framework will also assist in the validation and verification of the legitimacy of government-issued documents.

Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said subject persons, such as banks, will still be responsible for making their own decisions but will be able to make use of the information provided through this measure.