I refer to the report Call For Property Based Land Register (October 15).

Bill 20/11 contains some innovative, controversial and highly debatable provisions. I refer to the sections authorising the notary not to read parts of the deed; to amend details of the deed without the need of the parties to the original deed to be present; publish a deed when some part is not present and then when this party decides to make an appearance re-explain it. These, and other provisions, go counter to the objects and reasons the new amendments seek to achieve.

So far from the reports appearing in The Times, it seems that the great majority of MPs are just missing the wood for the trees and are only giving vent to their personal frustrations and commenting on matters which do not arise from the provisions of the Bill. Undoubtedly, their comments are valid if they are brought up in the coming debate on the Central Registry Act but are only incidentally relevant to the said Bill.

Owen Bonnici (Labour) remarked that tax due on contracts is to be paid online and that the government should provide this service. I completely agree; in fact during my term as president of the Notarial Council, I had introduced this system of payment with full cooperation and backing of the Assistant Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Tony Imbroll and Commissioner of Inland Revenue himself Adrian Chetcuti who, together with programmer Pierre Vella and a delegation of the Notarial Council, visited the head office of the Austrian Notariat to study the online method of payment used by Austrian notaries.

Although the online payment system was launched with the usual fanfare by the then Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech, for some mysterious reason it was never used. On my enquiring with the Inland Revenue Department why the service has not been used, the reply was that the IRD does not know it exists!

The contribution made by Labour MP Justyne Caruana baffles me, to say the least!

I have been a practising notary for the last 37 years and all I did was examine title to immovable property. I fail to see any reason why Gozitan notaries should be worried to continue doing the work they have been doing since their appointment to the profession.

Regarding the points raised by her on professional indemnity insurance, this type of insurance could be purchased by any notary; now it is becoming obligatory to do so. European notaries have been obliged to have this cover for a good number of years. It was about time that it was introduced in Malta too.

One has to remember that most of the provisions contained in the new amendments are not controversial as they are only incorporating in the law the practice adopted by the great majority of notaries in their normal day-to- day practice.