The Ministry for Finance has said that no new requirements have been imposed on road transport operators (hauliers) carrying goods from and to Malta since September 2003.

The ministry chose not to enter into the merits of individual cases involving hauliers since the case reported by this newsroom involving a haulier is sub-judice at his request, the ministry told The Malta Independent.

But the ministry affirmed what the Minister for Finance said during a meeting with the haulier in question, that the burdnara concession that is in place is the same one that was negotiated between Malta and the EU during the accession talks. Nothing has changed.

Earlier last week, this newsroom reported that a haulier claimed his company went bankrupt after his operations were halted in April 2014. He claimed that  he was told by the Ministry for Finance  that hauliers are protected through an EU derogation, but when he made the relevant checks with Malta’s EU representation office it transpired that there was no derogation in place.

The case reported by this newsroom revolves around Joseph Galea who claims to be a haulier (not stevedore) and who in April 2014 was stopped from operating his business because he was told he did not have the relevant licence as required by an old 1967 law. He was then acquitted of operating without the necessary permit.

He said that on 17 April, 2014 the 1967 Cargo Clearance and Transport Act started to be applied by Transport Malta “to protect old hauliers”, and this prevented him and other hauliers who did not have an old haulier licence from operating.

He is also claiming that old hauliers want this protection so that their Customs licence will be valuable for its resale value. Without the protection they enjoy through this archaic law, their licence is worthless, he continued. “Through this law and without the derogation in place, I cannot exit the Maltese ports. My only way out is to ask an ‘old’ haulier to literally place my trailers outside the port’s gate at a cost of €100 per trailer,” Mr Galea said.

But a spokesperson from the Ministry for Finance explained that any haulier residing in an EU Member State, on  reaching Malta’s ports with a cargo, can unload the cargo freely, anywhere in Malta, using truck and trailer without any restrictions.

For any operator to enter the restricted controlled areas in Malta’s ports, a security pass is necessary. Those operators who have a security pass to enter the restricted port areas, are known as burdnara. This is the concession that was discussed during Malta’s application to become member of the European Union.

Mr Galea is saying that the refusal by the transport authority to issue HQ plates to new hauliers is preventing him from operating. This, he claimed, is only being done to protect old hauliers.

“The permits for cargo clearance and forwarding agents were the subject of discussions between Malta and the EC prior to Malta’s accession to the EU. Malta’s position that this was not a market access issue but a safety and security necessity arising from Malta’s specific circumstances and this was conceded to,” the Ministry said.

A concession had been made by the EU which, in laymen’s terms, stipulates that the system will not constitute a monopoly in having the burdnara release goods from the restricted port areas and transport of such merchandise out of these restricted areas. Businessmen can opt to use their own truck and trailer to import  goods instead of opting to use the services of burdnara or hauliers.

It is said that, back in 2003, the General Retailers and Traders Union assured burdnara that the number of burdnara operating licences would remain fixed through a legal notice and a special security pass issued to them allowing them to transport cargo to and from any port customs area.

It is to be pointed out that there is no such Legal Notice which stipulates what should be the number of burdnara to operate as such, clarified the spokesperson.

Seemingly, the words haulier and stevedore are also being interpreted differently in this case.

A stevedore is a waterfront manual labourer who is involved in loading and unloading ships while a haulier is a person or company employed in the transport of goods or materials by road.