The president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association has been operating a restaurant for several years without a permit to cook on site, Times of Malta has learnt.

Matthew Pace, who was appointed MHRA president in August, is facing legal action by the Malta Tourism Authority for operating 47 Summer Nights in Marsascala without a Class 6 permit that allows him to cook there.

The restaurant, widely recognised as a Marsascala landmark, belongs to Alexander Cutajar and has been rented to Mr Pace’s company Illusions Ltd since 2001. Although the permit issue stretches back a number of years, Mr Pace ­– who as MHRA president represents restaurateurs – has yet to regularise his position.

Contacted for a reaction, Mr Pace claimed the lease agreement signed with Mr Cutajar stated the establishment was covered by an on-site cooking permit; however, Mr Pace said, he later discovered this was not the case.

He added that he had attempted to obtain the necessary permit but had been hindered by the landlord’s failure to provide him with the relevant documents.

Asked if he felt the situation compromised his position as MHRA president, Mr Pace said there was “absolutely no reason to even consider resigning”.

Mr Pace and Mr Cutajar are locked in a legal dispute over who is to blame for the permit issue. Mr Cutajar is insisting the property was licensed when it was originally rented to Mr Pace.

However, he claims that construction work initiated by Mr Pace back in 2006 had prompted the watchdog to revoke the permit. This is denied by Mr Pace.

The restaurant has also been slapped with an enforcement notice by the planning authority for the setting up a large canopy without the necessary permits.

An MTA spokesman said the authority had initiated remedial and legal action to regularise the restaurant’s position but would not expand further. The spokesman would only say the case was currently before the courts.