Waste management services company Green MT has repeatedly failed to submit its annual accounts, in breach of the Companies Act, prompting the financial services watchdog to impose penalties against it.
However, the company, which is owned by the Malta Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU), is insisting that the publication of such documents at this stage could jeopardise its future, in the wake of a pending decision by the regulator on eco-contributions exemptions.
Set up in 2007, Green MT was established following new waste-management obligations for entrepreneurs and businesses which came into force after Malta’s entry into the EU three years earlier. Since then, the company, which today has about 1,200 members, handles the waste collection of both local councils and private entities for recycling purposes. Its services are provided against a fee.
Despite being in operation for nine years, the only annual accounts ever submitted so far were for 2008. Furthermore, they were filed late, in 2013. This information emerged from the publicly available information found in the registry of companies managed by the Malta Financial Services Authority.
They have not been filed yet in the wake of a pending decision by the Eco-Contribution Approving Body
The directors’ obligation to file the accounts arises from Article 183 of the Companies Act. This law also states that company officers not complying with the obligation are liable for a daily fine of €46.59, up to a maximum of €2,329.37.
Asked what action had been taken in this regard, an MFSA spokesman pointed out that Green MT’s line of business did not fall within its remit, as it did not provide any financial services. However, he confirmed that in this case penalties had been issued for non-filing of annual accounts.
On the other hand, a Green MT spokesman, while confirming that annual accounts from 2011 onwards had not yet been submitted, told the Times of Malta that these were in the process of being prepared by the company’s auditors.
“They have not been filed yet in the wake of a pending decision by the Eco-Contribution Approving Body relating to Eco-Contribution exemptions, which could seriously impact on the final accounts of these respective years and in turn jeopardise the future of our scheme,” he said.
As for the annual accounts for 2009 and 2010, Green MT said that these had been submitted in April 2014, even though to date they are not listed in the documents’ section of the registry of companies.
“However our auditors have informed us that there was a typo in the directors’ report which needed to be adjusted and accounts to be re-submitted. They also advised us that no penalties have been imposed,” the spokesman said.
While acknowledging the accounts for 2009 and 2010 had not yet been uploaded on the MFSA’s website, he insisted that the date of submission of these accounts would still be April 2014. In his reaction, the Green MT spokesman questioned the timing of these queries on the company’s finances, saying they followed a particular trend.
“We have now become accustomed to be under different sectors of the media’s scrutiny particularly during this time of the year, which coincides with the period when our member producers are due to renew their participation with our National Authorised Scheme.”