The Malta Chamber of Commerce has filed a prohibitory injunction seeking to block the government from introducing a 50c-a-day eco-contribution for tourists.
The injunction comes after weeks of bad blood between Chamber members and the Tourism Ministry over the introduction of the tax.
Business interests have called on the government to postpone its introduction until after the summer, saying they had barely been consulted and would be forced to absorb much of the cost themselves.
But while Tourism Minister Edward Zammit Lewis has offered the hospitality sector a 15 per cent refund for all contributions paid over the summer period, he has insisted the eco-contribution will begin as planned on 1 June.
The Chamber has now turned to the courts to try and stop this from happening. In a statement, it said that while it was in favour of the idea in principle, the government had "chosen to consult with only one stakeholder to the detriment of others and in breach of the provisions of the Small Business Act."
Saying that consultation was "a non-negotiable prerequisite" for any regulatory proposal, the Chamber said that its request for an injuction was a stand "against the disregard for the Small Business Act."
The eco-contribution tax would see tourists charged an additional 50c a day up to a maximum of €5. Announced in the last Budget, it was originally meant to come into effect last month, but had to be put on hold as operators complained about not having the necessary infrastructure in place to collect and manage the tax.
The government says it expects to raise €6 million from the measure, and that all money collected would be re-invested in improving tourist amenities.
The injunction was filed by the Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of English Language Teaching of Malta (Feltom), the Federated Association of Travel and Tourism Agents, the Professional Diving Schools Association, the Malta Association of Hotel Executives, Joseph Attard, Divesystems WS Limited and Toro Company Limited (which operates AM Language Studio).
Plaintiffs have argued that many reservations were booked months beforehand, with 44 per cent of tourists on package holidays with prices established well before the eco-contribution was in place.
Implementing the tax immediately would force operators to absorb these costs themselves, they have said.
English language schools say that the have had cancellation threats because of the proposed tax.
"If this were to happen, it would leave a very negative effect on operators who have already committed to pre-existing contracts and prices, apart from the collateral effect on clients and on the the industry at large and the reputation which Malta has managed to gain," the plaintiffs argued.
They said that while the law provided stipulated a two-month moratorium following the publishing of legal notices, in this case just 10 days had passed.
"For reasons known only to the defendants, they completely excluded the plaintiffs- who represent a substantial part of the sector - from the consultation process".
The injunction was filed by lawyer Simon Galea Testaferrata.