Disputes Procedures) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014

L.N. 299 of 2014

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS (REGULATION) ACT

(CAP. 399)

Radiocommunications (Penalties and Voluntary Settlement of

Disputes Procedures) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 34 of the

Electronic Communications (Regulation) Act, the Minister for the

Economy, Investment and Small Business has made the following

regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Radiocommunications

(Penalties and Voluntary Settlement of Disputes Procedures)

(Amendment) Regulations, 2014, and these regulations shall be read

and construed as one with the Radiocommunications (Penalties and

Voluntary Settlement of Disputes Procedures) Regulations,

hereinafter referred to as "the principal regulations".

In regulation 2 of the principal regulations, immediately

after the definition "the Act" there shall be added the following new

definitions

" "the Authority" means the Malta

Communications Authority established under

the Malta Communications Authority Act;

"licence" means a radiocommunications

individual licence issued in accordance with

the provisions of Part IV of the Act;".

Regulation 3 of the principal regulations shall be

substituted by the following

" Payment of a

3. (1) The Minister in the case of a

fine in lieu of

first offence in breach of article 28(1) of the

initiation of

Act, or the Authority in the case of a first

prosecution.

offence in breach of article 30(2) of the Act,

may instead of initiating criminal proceedings

against the offender for such breach, enter

into an agreement in writing with the offender

whereby such offender pays a fine of not less

two hundred and fifty euro (€250) and not

exceeding one thousand euro (€1000) which

amount shall be determined at the discretion

of the Minister or the Authority, as the case

may be, according to the gravity of the

offence, and shall be communicated to the

offender in accordance with the provisions of

these regulations

Provided that in the said agreement the

Minister or the Authority, as the case may be,

may include such conditions as the Minister

or the Authority may consider necessary to

ensure compliance with the provisions of

articles 28(1) or 30(2) of the Act, as the case

may be, including but not limited to the

surrender by the offender of any apparatus to

which the offence relates to any such public

body as may be referred to in the agreement.

(2) Upon the signing of such an

agreement by the Minister or the Authority on

the one hand and the offender on the other,

and following the payment of such fine and

the compliance by the offender of any

conditions as may be stipulated in the said

agreement, then all criminal liability of the

offender with respect to that offence shall be

extinguished.".

Regulation 4 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

regulation 4 of

substituted by the following

the principal

regulations.

" Procedure

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of

where a person

article 28 or 30 of the Act and, or of

fails to pay the

regulation 3 of these regulations, no action

prescribed fee.

shall be taken against any person who, having

been in possession of a licence, fails to pay

the licence fee by the date when the licence

expired, and who pays, within fourteen days

from the serving of such intimation in writing,

a penalty in accordance with the Schedule to

these regulations in addition to the fee due for

the renewal of the said licence

Provided that if a person fails to pay the

licence fee due and the penalty applicable

therewith within the period stated in this

regulation, then the provisions of article 28 or

30 of the Act, as the case may be, shall

apply.".

In regulation 5 of the principal regulations for the words

"or under article 31 of the Act" there shall be substituted the words

"or under Part IV of the Act".

Immediately after regulation 5 of the principal regulations

there shall be added the following schedule

"SCHEDULE

(Regulation 4)

Where a person pays a licence fee within the period prescribed

in regulation 4 of these regulations that person shall, depending on

the amount stated in the first column, also pay the penalty stated in

the second column

Where the licence fee due is not more than €250

€10

Where the licence fee is more than €250 but less

than €1,000

€25

Where the licence fee is more than €1,000 but less

than €2,500

€50

Where the licence fee is more than €2,500

two per

cent of the

licence fee

due

".

€0.27