A tussle over new billboard rules rumbled on today as the Chamber of Commerce accused the government of “twisting the facts” in implying that the Chamber favoured the change in regulations.

In a statement, the Chamber said that while it agreed with attempts to harmonise legislation, there were several points in the legal notice which it strongly disagreed with.

It accused the Parliamentary Secretary responsible for the Simplification of Administrative Processes of leaning on over-regulation “as an
easy alternative to putting into place appropriate enforcement structures.”

Under the changes, every form of roadside advert will now require a Planning Authority permit and must display the planning authority's reference number. Advertisers will also have to pay a yearly €1,500 fee to Transport Malta.

Both the Chamber and the GRTU have come out against the changes in regulations, arguing that the lack of consultation was unacceptable and that operators had been given just six days to comply with the new rules.

The Planning Authority yesterday defended the changes in regulations, saying that they enjoyed the backing of the general public and that the GRTU’s claims that changes would affect shop signs were incorrect.

It said that recommendations made at meetings with the Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Billboard Owners would be considered.

In a statement this evening the government said it would be amending the legal notice to clearly state that the payment of an annual licence to an authority would not be required.

Parliamentary Secretary Deborah Schembri would also continue discussions with the constituted bodies until everyone was satisfied with the outcome.