MCCAA annual report: compliance holds, digital oversight expands
MCCAA's 2025 report shows a 1.47% non-compliance rate across 20,526 inspections, with expanded digital surveillance and consumer compensation.
The MCCAA has handed its annual report to the Parliamentary Secretary for Social Dialogue and Accommodation, and the numbers carry a clear message for local business: the regulator sees high compliance, but it is watching the digital market far more closely than before.
The report records 20,526 inspections across consumer affairs, product safety, standards and metrology, with a non-compliance rate of just 1.47%. That is a low figure, and it suggests most operators are getting the basics right.
Consumer protection delivered measurable money back. Air passengers received €62,752 in refunds, covering 338 consumers, while 50 tribunal decisions secured an additional €69,050 in compensation. The authority also fielded 1,556 complaints and answered 8,539 enquiries.
Digital commerce is where the regulator is expanding its reach. The team carried out 87 website reviews, 239 influencer checks and 4,158 e-surveillance inspections, a sign that online selling and social media promotion are squarely in scope. Businesses operating digitally should treat these checks as routine, not occasional.
Product safety remains a heavy workload. Over 10,000 safety and market surveillance checks were performed across multiple sectors, and laboratories completed 46,664 tests. Demand for laboratory work rose 26%, pointing to growing industrial and regulatory need for quality assurance.
On competition, the MCCAA reviewed 18 mergers and concluded four investigations, while marking 30 years of competition enforcement in Malta. The anniversary is a reminder that merger scrutiny and anti-competitive behaviour are long-standing pillars of the local market.
The wider quality infrastructure also kept pace. The authority adopted 2,061 standards, completed 531 calibrations, and benchmarked 989 medicines across 12 countries. In precious metals, 2,035 inspections led to 33 enforcement actions.
For Maltese businesses, the report is a practical guide to where the regulator is looking. Compliance levels are strong, but the expansion of digital oversight and the rise in laboratory demand signal where future attention will concentrate. The low non-compliance rate suggests most companies are reading the rules correctly, but the regulator's growing digital footprint shows where the next scrutiny will land.
This is about maintaining market confidence. The MCCAA's message is that effective regulation produces safer products, fairer competition and stronger consumer trust, and the 2025 numbers back that claim.