Malta Transport Authority officials and police officers could be seen over the Easter weekend at strategic junctions working together to identify foreign-registered vehicles brought into Malta and to assess whether the appropriate registration tax has been paid on the vehicles.

The new exercise comes as no less than three ministries are in the process of formulating the government’s replies to the European Commission over the start of infringement proceedings regarding the registration tax Malta applies to the import of second-hand automobiles, a practice the Commission has deemed as discriminatory.

Last month the Commission requested Malta to amend its car registration tax rules, which it said discriminates against second-hand cars brought from other European markets in that the same taxes are levied on new and used cars and that Malta applies a minimum tax rate only in the case of used cars.

Malta has until the end of May to reply to the Commission’s charges against the second-hand regime, but its arguments do not centre solely on the issue of an actual tax being levied.

The Commission is also concerned about other aspects of the tax regime, such as the fact that the value of a vehicle is determined in a non-transparent manner by the Maltese authorities at import stage and that consumers have no recourse to challenge the value established by the authorities.

The three ministries concerned with the issue –urban development and roads, finance and environment – are said to be engaged in meetings with a view to formulating Malta’s replies to the Commission.

Presumably, the new road checks being conducted this week form part of the wider exercise being undertaken by the government, and are aimed at assessing levels of adherence to the regulations.

Owners of imported vehicles need to notify the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) within one week of the car’s arrival in Malta, while such a vehicle must be registered with the ADT within one month of its arrival on the islands. Tourists on a 185-day temporary basis can bring foreign-registered vehicles into Malta, while foreign students in Malta can have the limitation extended further.

Since the launch of the EC’s infringement proceedings, Maltese authorities have argued that Malta has no intention of becoming Europe’s “dumping ground” for second-hand cars, and that it is not prepared to give incentives to the second-hand car market at the cost of the environment.

As part of its solution to the issue, the government is thought to be weighing several options, including that of banning the import of cars over 10 years old – effectively eliminating both older, high-emission vehicles, as well as the importation of classic cars.

Arguing in favour of the tax regime on second-hand cars, the government highlights the importance of reducing CO2 emissions, as well as congestion on Malta’s roads and parking areas. Malta currently ranks fifth in the EU in terms of vehicle density, with some 525 vehicles registered per 1,000 citizens. The government insists that lowering the registration tax on second-hand cars would inevitably lead to more purchases of older, less fuel-efficient, higher exhaust emitting private cars.

Both used and new cars, depending on their engine capacities, are taxed between 50.5 and 75 per cent, while minimum taxation rates as applied to used vehicles stand at between minimums of Lm1,200 for a car under 1000cc and Lm11,000 for those exceeding 3,000cc.

In Malta, a new vehicle import is classified as such when it is less than six months old or has less than 6,000 kilometres on the clock.