Registration tax - distinction between cars imported by dealers and owners

Ryan Camilleri

Mar 4th, 09:37

This article helped em a lot to import a car to Malta - http://www.carsaddiction.com/articles/2012/01/complete-guide-to-import-a-car-to-malta

Edmund Grech

Sep 21st 2012, 13:16

Just to correct and to inform, the registration duties are a breach of Art. 30 and 110 of the TFEU. There really is no grey area, no mitigating factors or complicated legal excuses. Its a fact and the only obstical to justice is the interminable wait for a reference to the ECJ in Constitutional court.

Malta has no rule of law - stop pretending it does, it will only make you bitter.

Article 30 of the TFEU prohibits not only customs duties but also charges having equivalent effect. The European Court of Justice defined charge having equivalent effect in Commission v Italy:
[A]ny pecuniary charge, however small and whatever its designation and mode of application, which is imposed unilaterally on domestic or foreign goods by reason of the fact that they cross a frontier, and which is not a customs duty in the strict sense, constitutes a charge having equivalent effect... even if it is not imposed for the benefit of the state, is not discriminatory or protective in effect and if the product on which the charge is imposed is not in competition with any domestic product.

Article 110
(ex Article 90 TEC)
No Member State shall impose, directly or indirectly, on the products of other Member States any internal taxation of any kind in excess of that imposed directly or indirectly on similar domestic products.

Joe Brincat-LL.D

Sep 20th 2012, 19:30

Ejja naraw x'kienet il-bazi vera tas-sentenza li qatghet il-Qorti. Il-gvern jinsisti li s-sentenzi ghandhom jigu rispettati. L-ewwel haga ta-rispett hija li ma tghawwigx dak li tkun qalet il-Qorti.

L-istorja vera kienet bejn karozzi mpurtati mill-EU second hand u dawk tal-istess tip, mahduma fl-EU li jkunu impurtati godda. Kif kienet il-ligi kienet tiffavorixxi lil dawk li jgibu karozzi godda. Wiehed mill-aktar li jifhmu li huma fil-Parlament hu Dr Gonzi li qabel sar segretarju generali tal-PN kien jahdem full-time bhala legal adviser ta' Mizzi tal-karozzi, mpurtaturi ta' karozzi godda.

Il-Qorti bbazat l-argumenti taghha fuq l-ARt 90 tat-Trattat tal-EU ta' dak iz-zmien.
Tant kienet din l-istorja ta' diskriminazzjoni bejn karozza second hand mill-Ewropa u l-istess karozza gdida mill-Ewropa li l-Qorti qalet hekk :

L-Awtorita konvenuta stmat ilvettura
li tiswa Lm3,053, li jfisser taxxa ta’ Lm1,984.
Madankollu t-taxxa li kellha tithallas kienet ta’ Lm4,200
minhabba li l-ligi kienet tipprovdi ghall-minimu ta’ taxxa
pagabbli irrispettivament mill-valur tal-vettura. Fuq it-taxxa
l-Awtorita kienet tezigi hlas tat-Taxxa Fuq il-Valur Mizjud
(18%). Min-naha l-ohra vettura gdida tal-istess tip u
mportata f’Malta kienet soggetta ghal taxxa ta’ 65% fuq ilprezz.
Fuq vetturi second hand li diga’ jinsabu fis-suq
lokali, meta jsir bejgh ma tithallasx taxxa.


Issa mhux kif qed tinghata l-impressjoni li l-kwestjoni kienet biss dwar il-VAT. Meta tela' jixhed ir-rappresentant tal-VAT qal li din ta' VAT fuq it-taxxa qatt ma kienet "transaction" u ghalhekk qatt ma messha ngabret.

Imma l-kwestjonijiet kienu tnejn. L-aktar importanti fuq id-diskriminazzjoni li kienet qed issir favur l-importazzjoni ta' karozzi godda. Min jaf ghaliex ?

Kurt Mifsud

Sep 20th 2012, 15:50

Il-Ministru irid jilghabha ta l-iblah... taparsi! Illum hafna nies qed jaghzlu li jsuqu overland minflok jibghatu l-karozza fuq trailer. Naf HAFNA nies li ghamlu. Jigifieri qed tghid lil kull min ghamel hekk biex jiftahlek kawza Sur Fenech?

Alfred J. McEwen

Sep 20th 2012, 15:13

Alfred J. McEwen

A whole lot of drivel and dumb excuses to try and wriggle out of paying back people their dues.

Jonathan Camilleri

Sep 20th 2012, 13:29

My understanding is that if I am very rich and can afford to drive a second-hand car down from the UK, I pay no registration tax, whilst, if I am really busy with a 9 to 5 job, and, ask an agent to do so, I pay registration tax.

Isn't this a bit unfair socially speaking?

Why are TM trying to mask PL's claims as confusion?

Charles Muscat

Sep 20th 2012, 12:09

In China you are allowed to have one child because of the growing population. In Malta the problem
is the same one car for a family should be enough to reduce the number of cars.

Joseph Sciberras

Sep 20th 2012, 10:02

Il-ministru il-lum qied jiddistingwi bejn dawk li gabu il-vettura huma u dawk li xtrawa minn ghand agent lokali. Allura ghalfejn din il-kopja kella taghdi minn dan kollu. Kieku ma fetahx kawza il-qorti, il-ministru kien ser iroddlu il-flus lura minn jeddhu? U ghallura ghalfejn giet imposta din it taxxa meta il ministru kien jaf li hija ingusta?

John Zarb

Sep 20th 2012, 09:16

Can the ministry expain why the citizen has to pay vat on registration tax? That is paying a tax over another tax!!!!!!!!

Mario Camilleri

Sep 20th 2012, 09:09

This is the best part - "The fact that the court did not find the government responsible but found Transport Malta responsible for the application of the law shows .................................
So are both TM and the Gov. independent from one another? Who initially made the Malta Transport Authority (MTA) now TM? Does TM operate under different laws to those made by the Gov. (stata)? Are the managers employed directly from ETC? Are the Chairman/CEO appointed by the Opposition, ETC or by sitting for an exam and interview?
What a nonsense statement by the Government!!! Bottom line is that the tax was charged illegally and someone has to be held accountable!!
Will there be a resignation?

Pablo Mallia

Sep 20th 2012, 08:59

When i buy a second hand car, i do not pay VAT, just the transfer fee. Vat is only paid once. Now when i buy a UK import second hand car, i should only pay registration, as VAT was already paid in UK, AND VAT IS ONLY PAID ONCE.
Whatever the gov or TM say, this is day time robbery. VAT SHOULD NOT BE PAID, only registration!

Jay Oatmon

Sep 20th 2012, 08:52

I would guess that all these exhorbitent taxes and fees go to pay for Malta's illustrious MP's and the customs/excise department personnel - one way or another.
Certainly the car buying public gets nothing from these outrageous taxes and fees - not even reasonable roads.

Darren Cilia

Sep 20th 2012, 07:55

So as said in the first part,the driver drove the car himself..

So, I brought over my personal car from the UK and drove it myself. When I came to Malta I had to pay a lot of money to register the car, and that included VAT.

So, was I suppose to pay that money or not?

Mario Farrugia

Sep 20th 2012, 07:34

I remember that the PL collected funds at the Hamrun headquarters to use to take the Govt to court. Anyone knows what happened next?

Robert Cassar

Sep 20th 2012, 07:30

Very disappointed indeed mr minister, so in malta things work backwards! When the government sees a good market they increase the taxes.. Qedin sew then they complain against Mintoff because he stopped importation and made factories here.. Same rotten principle you are using Mr minister here. If a car was sold in any eu stare vat was already paid on it in eu so WHY pay again for Vat here?? Two ways and two measures a..

Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)

Sep 20th 2012, 01:02

I drove my old VAN from UK to Malta in 2007 and was still charged nearly LM2,000 in import duty and VAT.

I had been living in UK for 18 years and had to sell my 3ltr Laguna Initiale because the government was demanding LM11,000 in tax plus additional VAT for me to import it here. I had owned it for a couple of years and its price when new was nearly £30,000. The best price I was able to get for it in UK, given the circumstances, was £4,450.

I was gutted of course but when you are permanently leaving a country you just have to sell for whatever you can get. The car was just four years old and absolutely pristine; but it had a 3ltr petrol engine and the minimum import tax was being demanded.

That was an expensive move considering what I lost on selling my car and what I paid for my van to enter the island. If that is not sod's law, I don't know what is. No advice was volunteered by the authority who could have told me that I was entitled to bring my car free of duty because of my long term away from Malta.

I have it from reliable quarters that civil servants (I assume parastatals too) are engaged to take citizens' property for nothing if they can and they certainly do not offer alternative solutions or guidance. As it turned out, the government received nothing for the car because I did not bring it.

Ah well! Worse things happen at sea, I suppose.

Mr Peter Korsten

Sep 20th 2012, 01:00

"The ministry also recalled that the European Court had decided in a case against Poland, which had a similar tax system as Malta's, that Poland had a duty to charge VAT on registration tax."

The Polish tax applies when the vehicle is delivered, whether it's registered or not. If that is exactly the case in Malta, then the Polish scenario would apply, but if there is a possibility of importing a car and not registering it (and obviously, not driving it), then the Danish scenario would apply, and you would not have to pay VAT over the registration tax.

Given that this car was imported by the owner himself, without the use of a dealer (who in Poland is responsible for collecting the tax), I fail to see how the Polish scenario would apply to this case.

Shaun Anthony Camilleri

Sep 19th 2012, 21:29

What I do not understand is how we pay duty which is a tax and VAT on the total i.e. with duty added. It is double taxation. Like the ECO tax which is added to the sale price then VAT on the total price.

Jeffrey Mallia

Sep 19th 2012, 20:53

Dear minister, your Govt was so wrong on the VAT regime on imported vehicles, that you have changed the system, scraped the VAT and tripled the fee for the REGISTRATION tax.....I bought a vehicle in 2008 and paid 5600 euro, if I had to buy same today, I would be paying 14,000 euro........beat that dear minister.

wayne scicluna

Sep 19th 2012, 20:51

Its seems like the law bends itself over backwards to accommodate GonziPN and cronies.....dw your time will come Mr. Lupen the third.

C Cassar

Sep 19th 2012, 20:37

The tax should be MUCH higher to import a car into Malta. Ther eare far too many on the roads, in fact the highest density in Europe per square kilometer. Just take Denmark for example, the import tax is huge and for a very good reason. If the tax were lower there would be a huge increase in car ownership, especially of luxury cars. Since Denmark doesn't have any kind of car manufacturer, it would mean a huge amount of GDP being sent abroad in the form of profits for the foreign car manufacturers. Instead, Denmark is THE cycling nation of Europe (more so than the Netherlands) and the quality of life as a result is fantastic.

Malta shoule be following teh Danish example and making cars very unattractive to own. Malta doesn't even have the distances a small country like Denmark has, so it's a no brainer for Malta.

More electric cars, much higher taxes on fossil fueld cars and the resultant tax invested in the public transport network.

There is no gain without pain and the Maltese really do need to be dragged into the 21st century.

Mr leo attard

Sep 19th 2012, 20:18

transport malta and not the government is responsible? Isn't transport malta a dept of the government? what kind of nonsense is this? If the govt knew what it was doing it would not have charged the excessive taxes in the first place! And has the ministry of finance forgotten when the govt continued having people pay licences for satellites when it was against EU law and only stopped when Dr Muscat brought forth the issue.... so please stop insulting our intelligence

Kevin Sciberras

Sep 19th 2012, 19:59

"The fact that the court did not find the government responsible but found Transport Malta responsible for the application of the law shows that the court affirmed the duty to charge VAT on registration tax when a vehicle is imported by a dealer," the government said.

So what is Transport Malta? From outer space?? Isn't the Minister for Transport responsible for TM? Who pays the employees then? Isn't TM's finances budgeted by the government? Stop taking us for a ride your journey is ending soon (all puns intended!)

Robert Agius

Sep 19th 2012, 19:57

So? Are we supposed to be OK with paying more taxes than the damn car is worth? Fact remains that no matter what, the common folk is ripped off.....and YOU are in government.

Adrian Said

Sep 19th 2012, 19:55

Allura jien nsaqsi u nghid, li jekk l awtoritajiet kienu jafu li huwa hazin, ghax fil kaz ta' din il-persuna, huwa nizzilha direttament, u t-transaction saret mill-persuna stess fl-Ingillterra, ghaliex zammewlha l VAT u r-REg Tax xorta!??!!?!? Din bhal tal-VAT fuq l-excise tax, fuq t -telefonija. Ghadu hadd ma kellu l -gazz jirrispondini ghaliex din d-double taxation f'malta!?!?!?

Joe Brincat-LL.D

Sep 19th 2012, 19:46

Parti mis-sentenza. Cut and paste (minn fuq il-website tal-Qorti) "

Fil-fehma tal-qorti l-imposizzjoni ta’ ammont ta’ Lm4,200
bhala taxxa minima ta’ registrazzjoni fil-kaz ta’ vetturi
second hand b’magna b’kapacita’ ta’ bejn 1800cc u mhux
iktar minn 2000cc u impurtati f’Malta, irrispettivament mittaxxa
li kellha tithallas bhala persentagg tal-valur ad
valorem skond l-stima li taghmel l-Awtorita, hu bizzejjed
biex jigi ddikjarat li l-ligi Maltija kellha effett li tiddiskrimina
fir-rigward ta’ vetturi second hand li jigu mpurtati minn
pajjizi membri tal-Unjoni Ewropea. Bizzejjed li wiehed
jiftakar li f’dan il-kaz l-istima tal-valur tal-vettura li ghamlet
l-Awtorita kienet ta’ Lm3,053 u l-attur intalab li jhallas
taxxa ta’ registrazzjoni ta’ Lm4,200, cjoe’ Lm1,147 iktar
milli tiswa l-vettura. Ghalhekk l-imposizzjoni fuq limportatur
ta’ taxxa minima ta’ Lm4,200 irrispettivament
tal-valur tal-vettura, kien imur kontra l-obbligu li jimponi l-
Artikolu 90. M’hemmx dubju li taxxa ta’ registrazzjoni ta’
Lm4,200 fuq vettura li giet stamata li tiswa Lm3,053 ifisser
li t-taxxa teccedi dik li tissejjah bhala “residual tax”

So it was not a question of VAT. It was a question of registration tax.

Ahna ahna jew m'ahniex ?

G. Palmier

Sep 19th 2012, 19:37

Minn 2008 l-hawn ma baqatx tithallas VAT meta karozza tingieb mill-Ingilterra, tithallas biss registration tax. Igifieri, kif jidhru l-affarijiet, kull min mar gab karozza hu stess mill-Ingilterra QABEL 2008 ghandu dritt jiehu l-VAT lura. Min gab karozza wara 2008, ma hallasx vat imma registration tax biss u allura m'ghandu xejn x'jiehu lura.

Rich Brad saunders

Sep 19th 2012, 19:28

Three cheers for the Greediness of ADT has overwelmed them all the way to the bank, this is one way to >discourage my countrymen from the UK to bypass Malta as their retirement home, so the Maltese government can whistle for the money from somewhere else. Talking about cutting their nose to spite their face, this is one good example..Me we are off the sooner we sell our property, What if the subject was the other way around and a Maltese registered car was imported into the UK as oppose to Malta, i am sure our British government would not be as greedy as the ADT and their mob.. *Then why don't i go back whats keeping us here>Answer is simple....we're off as soon as we sell our farmhouse the sooner the better, the only problem simply no buyers and no money about Thankyou and Hasta la Vista Malta.

mark borg

Sep 19th 2012, 19:23

muzzle up and hand in your resigation minister ........at least show us you have got some decency left .

john muscat

Sep 19th 2012, 19:13

"The fact that the law courts did not find the govt. responsible but TM etc etc" as if TM is not part of the government lol, u halluna !

M Grima

Sep 19th 2012, 19:06

"The fact that the court did not find the government responsible but found Transport Malta responsible ...."

The Finance Minister is just playing with words and is trying to shift the blame on Transport Malta . Who the heck are Transport Malta Mr. Fenech? Even if the vehicle was imported by an agent or a dealer, the tax should not be applied. But I guess something had to give in order to finance the €500 weekly and secretive increase which the cabinet got behind the electorate's back.

GonziPN only works for the selected few!!!!

Anthony Formosa

Sep 19th 2012, 19:01

I think an explanation in simple English is necessary here.

When you buy a car from UK you pay VAT there and that is the only transaction happening (except for any services in bringing the car and registering it here). So you do not pay VAT again on the car here as no car purchase is done in Malta. When you buy from an agent your are buying a car in Malta, so the transaction is happening here and therefore you have to pay VAT on the car here. The importer would be claiming the VAT he paid when he bought the car from UK.

This is the same everytime you buy something which is imported. You always pay VAT here. If you buy something yourself from abroad, you pay VAT there and you are not re-charged VAT here when importing it.

Alfred Cassar

Sep 19th 2012, 19:00

So many promises pre EU accession. Once they got our vote then, it was business as usual. It was only a promise. It is about the Country, the Country, the Country. The little dream, of the hard working man, was shattered. He has to do, with a sweaty Bus service.

M Muscat

Sep 19th 2012, 18:54

I suppose it is just like buying other goods which are vatable. If i purchase a perfume from say the UK for personal use then i pay VAT in the UK only. If i buy the same perfume to resell in Malta then i do not pay VAT in the UK but in Malta once i actually sell it.

Paul Bajada

Sep 19th 2012, 18:42

I still stick to my belief that we have been constantly shafted by the PN government to give themselves the 500 euro increase.

It wont happen again. I'd rather vote the party I do not know than the party which is guaranteed to shaft me again like it did in the past.

R. Caruana

Sep 19th 2012, 18:31

Aren't sellers from whichever E.U state all equal INCLUDING Malta!? Why is distinction being implied, what did we vote for back in 2004!?! Are we or not full & equal European citizens?

Daniel Borg

Sep 19th 2012, 18:19

Min qed jidhak b'min?

Joseph Sammut

Sep 19th 2012, 18:14

Why should driving a vehicle or importing it privately make any difference as long as the transaction happened at point of purchase? Can the Ministry clarify this issue?

David Pace

Sep 19th 2012, 18:10

The whole registration scheme is a rip off and the Maltese allow themselves to be exploited by the authorities who have and still are squandering public funds, could also probably even go as far as to say that they are misappropriating these funds so it will never change its what the Maltese people allow and are used to happening so just cough up your dosh, pay thousands to register your new or second hand car whilst in the UK they pay just 55 pounds and stop bickering.

R. Cilia

Sep 19th 2012, 18:10

The government insisted that it had always conformed to the domestic and EU law

Taking in consideration the judgement passed by the court, TM did not conform to the laws!

Stephen Moyer

Sep 19th 2012, 17:56

Now I'm panicking. I'm actually driving a new car down from the UK in a couple of weeks. Can someone with knowledge on this subject tell me whether I have to pay less Registration Tax than is stated on the Transport Malta web calculator??

Do you know who I can call? I'm meant to be paying around €4500 according to their web site but I am not sure if this also includes VAT.

Mr Tony Gatt

Sep 19th 2012, 17:49

"The court found that since this person had personally driven the vehicle to Malta, the transaction technically took place in the UK and therefore this was not a transaction which was taxable in Malta for VAT purposes."

That's not what I was told when I brought a car to Malta years ago. I was going to be charged about 3 times the value of the vehicle, so I drove it back to the U.K.

Joseph N. Attard

Sep 19th 2012, 17:33

The Government's statement confirms that even now, at this late and crucial stage, it is not feeling the people's pulse. Whatever legal contortions are quoted or resorted to, the general perception is that it is unjust, extortionate and simply not acceptable for VAT to be charged on any tax paid. This is seen by many as an obscene compound tax to fill the coffers. I will not stoop to quoting from where the Government could have saved larger sums, but on this issue, the government is a sure loser. It is useless for the PN to bring in very knowledgeable strategists to help it win the coming elections, if it persists in defying a just public opinion.

L. Borg

Sep 19th 2012, 17:29

I should think that there are many people involved in the court case being contested by the PL that bought their cars themselves from UK and drove them personally. Not all imported cars are imported by car dealers, there are many people who buy their cars themselves.

Peter Murray

Sep 19th 2012, 17:27

This is an insidious way of trying to get out of it as the principal remains the same-this being getting taxed twice.

Mr Peter Korsten

Sep 19th 2012, 17:25

It's VALUE ADDED tax. It's a tax paid over the difference between the buying price and the selling price. Registration tax doesn't add value. It goes to the government, not the dealer. So taxing tax doesn't make sense.

R Mallia

Sep 19th 2012, 17:19

Still, how come even if a car is from a dealer, is second hand, wouldn't VAT been paid when it was first purchased in anywhere in Europe? You cannot charge VAT twice on an item as far as I know.

Isn't it a case of double taxation?

Keith Zammit

Sep 19th 2012, 17:19

It states : "The court found that since this person had personally driven the vehicle to Malta, the transaction technically took place in the UK and therefore this was not a transaction which was taxable in Malta for VAT purposes. " Does this mean that cars driven down by vehicle owners (not dealers) are not liable for VAT in Malta ?

Gordon Farrugia

Sep 19th 2012, 17:17

ok so I got my car personally from the UK - I haven't used a dealer - the only difference is that I got it shipped to Geneva and transported directly to here. So as a private holder should I also ask for the EUR3,500 registration tax back????