Gripe No. 1. Since 1859 the Public Registry was housed in Merchants Street, Valletta, but that changed last December 15, since the building is now to be used for other purposes.
In the process the receiving office was transferred temporarily to the Evans Lab (which, we are told, is to be converted into a luxury hotel - a project which, incidentally, I totally agree with). The result is that during the normal course of Valletta rounds, a notary or his agent has to walk 1.5 km, starting from the law courts and back, to obtain a death certificate, which usually happens once a week.
Though good for the waistline, this is not efficient in terms of time, and very tiring on the older legs of the profession.
Once there, the friendly staff tell you with a smile that you will have to phone next week to see if the death certificate (if it is an old one, which is often the case where notarial searches are involved) can be issued, because the records, instead of being at hand, are now housed in San Ġwann!
And of course once one manages to obtain such confirmation by telephone (no small feat in itself), then sweaty traipsing down to the Evans Lab in the summer heat when it arrives, will make the obtaining a particular death certificate a weekly three kilometre trip. What should I charge my clients? I really think that the government should have con-sidered the major inconvenience to regular users of the service, and also the historical factor, before making such a shift.
Gripe No. 2. Helping matters along is the fact that most notaries (including yours truly) have experienced and reported a 50 per cent drop in the contracts they publish, wreaking havoc on the payment of their children's school fees, the bank loan and trying to maintain their standard of living. The recession started before the credit crunch, since sales confidence started to be lost due to a lack of buyers. I will not be surprised if government loses at least €30 million of its revenues this year in this regard.
In this respect although the subject seems to be taboo, the government should really consider limiting (through the numerus clausus provisions in the law) the already unsustainable number of new notaries graduating from the University every year, since there is not enough work for all of them. A study should be commissioned by the Minister of Education to examine how much in particular fields of study the country can sustain.
Gripe No. 3. Last week I decided to claim the excess tax paid last year on my car imported from UK, but I have been informed that I will get no refunds, except on the annual circulation tax I need to pay every year. At this rate I will have to wait for 20 years to break even. Not to mention the illegal (tax on a tax) VAT paid on my car.