The refunds of VAT paid on vehicle registration tax for persons who purchased vehicles between 1 May and 31 December 2014 will be paid in full in one single payment by the end of next month, the Transport Ministry has confirmed.

The Malta Independent sent questions to the ministry after several applicants complained that they had still not received their refund payment. The scheme closed the end of July.

A ministry spokesperson said: “As announced during the last Budget, Government will be refunding the full amount of VAT paid on the registration tax (less the grant paid last year to all vehicle owners who were eligible for the scheme that was published during 2014) to vehicle owners who registered a vehicle between 1 May and 31 December 2004. This payment will be issued in one full and final settlement by the end of September 2015. The amount will be paid to eligible applicants by cheque and shall be posted to the address indicated on the application form. The same process will be adopted in the following years, until all payments for the eligible applicants up till the end of 2008 are settled.

Transport Malta has notified in writing the applicants who were eligible for the grant and who had registered a vehicle between the 1^st May and 31^st December 2004.”

The current administration started refunding the VAT paid on registration tax – which was deemed a tax on a tax - in 2014. Anyone who purchased a vehicle between 1 May 2004 (when Malta joined the EU) and 31 December 2008 (VAT on registration tax was abolished in 2009) is eligible for a refund.

It was initially decided that the refunds would be paid to all eligible applicants simultaneously, with payments staggered over a seven-year period. However it was later decided that the payments would be issued year by year, according to the year of the purchase. Next year people who purchased vehicles in 2005 will be eligible for the refund.