Transport Minister Chris Bonett announced on social media that the new board within the Vintage Vehicle Classification (VVC) Committee has been appointed and is vetting applications pertaining to vintage vehicles.

241 applications have been approved in its opening days, the Minister said.

Last week the Maltese Federation for Antique Vehicles (FMVA) publicly lamented that all vintage vehicle certifications had been frozen for four weeks after this Committee had disbanded in late January. No new Committee was initially appointed to take its place, up until very recently.

This Committee - whose members are appointed by Transport Malta - conducts inspections, valuations, and re-certifications of classic and vintage applications in the country.

Writing this update on his personal Facebook page, Minister Bonett wrote that "After promising action, the new vintage vehicle board convened immediately and 241 applications have been approved in a matter of days."

"This hobby needs to be protected and we will continue to do so," Minister Bonett said.

Over the circa five weeks that this Committee remained disbanded, applications kept flooding in as local enthusiasts faced "unnecessary delays." The newly appointed VVC Committee looks to have hit the ground running to cater for this backlog and any further applications it receives from enthusiasts. Such applications include people looking to certify their classic vehicles or registering newly imported classics.

The news comes only a few months after new guidelines regulating the classification of vintage vehicles came into force. The new rules introduced stricter measures to verify the authenticity, condition, and originality of vehicles.

One of the most notable changes included a new recertification requirement for vehicles between 30 and 49 years old, which are now subject to inspection every five years.