Second-hand car importers are disappointed that they will have to wait another two weeks before being able to register cars and finally declaring business as usual.
Although they were promised that an updated system, giving what is known as the residual value of imported cars, would be up and running by the beginning of the year, they yesterday faced yet another delay - this time until January 14.
On Sunday, the Malta Transport Authority (ADT) said that due to an updating exercise of its vehicle valuation system, used imported vehicles will not be registered until January 13.
In its statement, the ADT's Licensing and Testing Directorate notified the public and all car dealers that only new vehicles will be registered during this period.
Oliver Brownrigg, Used Vehicles Importers' Association president, told The Times that because the system has not yet been updated, they were still unable to tell clients how much cars will cost under the new tax regime.
Mr Brownrigg said they were expecting prices of imported second-hand cars to drop by between €600 and €1,600, stressing these figures were very rough estimates. Moreover, since most of their business entailed taking the customer's old car in exchange for a newer one, it was even more important to know the residual values to be able to value the old cars.
"We are very disappointed. We have large stocks and we are running out of space where to keep the imported cars because we are not selling. Clients come here intending to buy and when we tell them prices will drop, they obviously opt to wait.
"We were told the new system will be up and running on January 1, but we have to wait another two weeks. We have waited for far too long now," he said.
Since the budget measures were announced in October, sales have slumped, with last November and December described as "the worst months of their lives".
Contacted yesterday, a Finance Ministry spokesman explained that the system was meant to have been in place by January 1. The new system was presented in test format to the Association of Car Importers, the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises - GRTU, and the Used Vehicles Importers' Association on December 26.
The ministry held meetings on New Year's Eve after the associations submitted feedback on the website. The spokesman said one of the associations expressed reservations on the depreciation of cars and the fact that the valuation of used Japanese imports will not be available until the ADT receives the required information for these vehicles, including CO2 emissions and length.
As a result, it was decided to postpone the registration of used vehicles. Meanwhile, the government was evaluating the data sources and assessing the claims made by the associations.
"You will understand that the transition needs some time to mature and the government is endeavouring to provide the most accurate registration values as possible," the spokesman said.
The spokesman confirmed that CAP Motor Research Ltd (UK) was commissioned to update Malta's registration value system. The contract with CAP Motor Research covers five years and includes the provision of access to its data and updates.
The company is the only service provider that deals with the non-EU car segment and is one of the leading companies in the UK that provides valuations for used cars, commercials and motorcycles.
The agreement, in fact, covers the valuation of used cars, commercial vehicles and motorcycles. The spokesman said it made sense to reach agreement with a UK-based company because most used vehicles imported into Malta from the EU were imported from the UK. CAP Motor Research Ltd (UK) holds records of each car that has been put on the UK market since 1979.