The Customs Department is taking action to curb imports on which VAT and eco-tax have not been paid – but its level of monitoring is restricted by the need to respect the Single Market, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said.

A number of sectors have lamented during interviews with Times Business that illegal trading is disturbing the level playing field and making it hard for them to compete.

“Unfortunately, whoever makes that claim still has the mentality that Malta is an island with Customs who could stop anyone...” the minister said.

“They do not realise that we are a ‘bridge’ with Sicily, just as there is a road from Mellieħa to St Paul’s Bay. Can the police or Customs stop someone from Mellieħa to St Paul’s Bay? Yes, but only based on a suspicion and risk assessment. The same applies to those coming down from the catamaran.”

The minister said that there were times when the Customs Department was overzealous and it had been reported to the EU.

“They were actually given a warning, although the EU did not go so far as to issue an infringement. It was made very clear to us that if we continued to stop every van or car, they would issue an infringement.”

The minister stressed that overseas operators had every right to come and trade here, but that the country was against unfair competition.

“They have every right to come, but they must pay VAT, eco-tax and so on ...”

The minister said that the problem was that the Customs Department rarely made their activities public.

“They don’t always tell us what they do. For example, we took a sample of diesel from various places around the islands to check whether it was legal or not, but did not publicise the outcome. They just see it as part of their work, but people do want to know how many cases they checked and caught...”

Unfortunately, efforts to obtain statistics on the department’s activity were futile.

vanessa.macdonald@timesofmalta.com