ACT No. XIX of 2005 An Act to amend the Motor Vehicles Registration Tax Act, Cap. 368.

I assent.

E DWARD F ENECH A DAMI

President

16th December, 2005

ACT No. XIX of 2005

An Act to amend the Motor Vehicles Registration Tax Act, Cap. 368.

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows> -

The short title of this Act is the Motor Vehicles Registration

Tax (Amendment) Act, 2005, and this Act shall be read and construed

as one with the Motor Vehicles Registration Tax Act, hereinafter referred

to as “the principal Act”.

Article 2 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows>

(a) immediately after the definition “Authority” there shall

be inserted the following new definition>

“ “business use” with respect to a means of transport

means the use of such means of transport in the direct exercise

of an activity carried out for a consideration or financial gain<”<

(b) immediately after the definition “chauffeur driven

vehicle” there shall be inserted the following new definitions<

“ “commercial motor vehicle” means any road motor

vehicle which, by its design or equipment, is suitable for and

intended for transporting, whether for payment or without

payment>

- more than nine persons, including the driver,

- goods,

and also includes any road vehicle for special use other than

transport as such<

“Council Regulation (EEC) No 881#92” means Council

Regulation (EEC) No 881#92 of the 26 th March, 1992, on

access to the market in the carriage of goods by road within

the Community to or from the territory of a Member State or

passing across the territory of one or more Member States<

“Council Regulation (EEC) No 684#92” means Council

Regulation (EEC) No 684#92 of the 16 th March, 1992, on

common rules for the international carriage of passengers by

coach and bus<

“Council Regulation (EC) No 11#98” means Council

Regulation (EC) No 11#98 of 11 December, 1997 amending

Regulation (EEC) No 684#92 on common rules for the

international carriage of passengers by coach and bus<

“European Union” has the same meaning as is assigned

to it in article 2 of the European Union Act<”<

(c) immediately after the definition of “Minister” there shall

be inserted the following new definition>

“ “motor cars and other motor vehicles principally

designed for the transport of persons” means motor cars and

other vehicles originally designed and constructed for the

carriage of persons, whether for hire or not<”<

(d) immediately after the definition “motor vehicle” there

shall be inserted the following new definitions>

“ “motor vehicle for the transport of goods” means a

motor vehicle which has been originally designed and

constructed for the carriage of goods, whether for hire or not<”<

(e) immediately after the definition “person” there shall be

inserted the following new definition>

“ “person established outside Malta” means an individual

having his normal residence outside Malta or any legal person,

other than an individual, having its only or principal place of

business outside Malta<

“private use” means any use other than business use<

“private motor vehicle” means any road motor vehicle,

including its trailer, if any, other than commercial vehicle,

and includes a motor-cycle and a caravan<”< and

(f) in the proviso to the definition of “self-drive motor

vehicle for short term hire”, for the words “competent officer”

there shall be substituted the words “the Chief Executive of the

Authority”, and for the words “to be hired by a hirer for a long

term” there shall be substituted the words “to be hired by a hirer or

granted under leasing terms to Government departments and, or

entitities for a long term”.

In article 3 of the principal Act, for the words from “imported

into Malta” to “on or after the said date”, both phrases included, there

shall be substituted the words “imported or brought into Malta and of

every motor vehicle manufactured in Malta”.

Article 4 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows>

(a) in the marginal note thereof, for the words “importation

or” there shall be substituted the words “importation, bringing in,

or”<

(b) for the words “who imports a motor vehicle” there shall

be substituted the words “who imports or brings a motor vehicle”<

and

(c) for the words “of such importation” there shall be

substituted the words “of such importation, bringing in”.

In subarticle (1) of article 5 of the principal Act, immediately

after the words “has been manufactured” there shall be added the words

“and used, or kept on the road,”.

For paragraph (a) of subarticle (2) of article 6 of the principal

Act, there shall be substituted the following>

“(a) which has been imported into Malta before 1 st May,

2004 free of the duty otherwise chargeable under the Import Duties

Act by virtue of an exemption under article 5 of that Act or any Cap. 337.

provision replacing that article, or”.

In subarticle (2) of article 7 of the principal Act, for the word Amendment of

article 7 of the

“he” wherever it appears there shall be substituted the word “it”.

principal Act.

In article 8 of the principal Act, for the words “Second or the Amendment

article 8 of the

Third Schedule” there shall be substituted the words “Second, the Third principal Act.

or the Fourth Schedule”.

Amendment of

Article 12 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows>

article 12 of the

principal Act.

(a) in subarticle (1) for the word “he” wherever it appears

there shall be substituted the word “it”< and

(b) in subarticle (3) for the word “his” there shall be

substituted the word “its”.

Article 17A of the principal Act shall be amended as follows> Amendment of

article 17A of the

principal Act.

(a) in subarticle (1) thereof for the words “Fourth Schedule”

there shall be substituted the words “Fifth Schedule”< and

(b) in subarticles (3) and (4) thereof for the words “Second

and Third Schedules” there shall be substituted the words

“Second,Third and Fourth Schedules”.

For article 18 of the principal Act there shall be substituted Amendment of

article 18 of the

the following>

principal Act.

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained

elsewhere in this Act, this Act shall not apply to the following

vehicles -

(a) any registered and licensed private motor

vehicle which is brought temporarily into Malta for

private or business use by a person who has his normal

residence outside Malta for a period, continuous or

otherwise, of not more than six months in any twelve

consecutive months or for such other longer period as

the Minister in his discretion may allow in any particular

case<

(b) any registered and licensed private motor

vehicle which is brought temporarily into Malta by a

student for his own use where such student, although

having his normal residence outside Malta, is residing

in Malta for the sole purpose of pursuing his studies and

shall have informed the Authority of such importation

within one week from his arrival in Malta<

(c) any motor vehicle brought into Malta by a

licensed motor vehicle trader as a representative sample

of a particular vehicle to be displayed or used for

demonstration with a view of obtaining orders for similar

vehicles provided the vehicle was brought into Malta

with the authorization of the Authority<

(d) goods vehicles registered in another Member

State of the European Union and operated by a haulier

established and licensed in that Member State, brought

into Malta to carry out international carriage of goods

by road covered by a valid Community authorisation in

accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No 881#92<

and

(e) passenger motor vehicles registered in another

Member State of the European Union and operated by a

carrier established and licensed in that Member State,

brought into Malta to carry out international carriage of

passengers by road covered by a valid Community

licence in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC)

No 684#92 as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No

11#98. For the purposes of this article “Member State of

the European Union” includes Norway, Iceland and

Liechtenstein.

(2) (a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), for

the purposes of this article “normal residence” means the place

where a person lives for at least 185 days in each year, because

of personal and occupational ties, or, in the case of a person

with no occupational ties, because of personal ties.

(b) Where the occupational ties of a person are in

a place different from that of his personal ties and consequently

lives in turn in different places situated in two or more

countries, the normal residence of that person shall be regarded

as being the place of his personal ties provided that, unless

the person is living in a Member State in order to carry out a

task of a definite duration, such person returns there regularly.

(c) A person who lives in a country primarily for

the purpose of attending a school or university or other

educational or vocational establishment shall not be regarded

as having his normal residence in that country.

(d) Proof of normal residence may be given by

means of an identity card, or documents relating to the

acquisition of property or to employment or to other

transactions carried out in the course of day to day living,

and any other valid documents which the Authority may

require or accept.”.

12. In paragraph (b) of subarticle (1) of article 21 of the principal Amendment of

Act, for the words “article 4, article 10(1) or article 15” there shall be article

principal Act.

substituted the words “article 4 or article 10(1)”.

13. The Fourth Schedule to the principal Act shall be renumbered Renumbering of the

Fourth Schedule to

as the Fifth Schedule.

the principal Act.

14. Immediately after the Third Schedule to the principal Act, Addition of new

Fourth Schedule to

there shall be added the following new Fourth Schedule>

the principal Act.

“FOURTH SCHEDULE

(Article 8)

Additional registration tax to be paid on motor vehicles registered and licensed

as self-drive vehicles for short term hire or chauffeur driven vehicles but used

for other purposes

The owner of a motor vehicle with a cylinder capacity exceeding 1,800cc and

registered prior to the 31 st December, 2004, to be hired as a self-drive vehicle for short

term or to be used as a chauffeur driven vehicle shall, if such motor vehicle has been or

is being used for other purposes, pay an additional registration tax of 17.5 % in addition

to the tax paid upon the registration of the said vehicle.”.

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 335 of 7th December,

2005. A NTON T ABONE

Speaker

R ICHARD J. C AUCHI

Clerk to the House of Representatives

Mitbug[ fl-Istamperija tal-Gvern — Printed at the Government Printing Press