Cash Control (Amendment) Regulations, 2019

L.N. 85 of 2019

EXTERNAL TRANSACTIONS ACT

(CAP. 233)

Cash Control (Amendment) Regulations, 2019

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 7 of the

External Transactions Act, the Minister for Finance, has made the

following regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the Cash Control Citation.

(Amendment) Regulations, 2019 and these regulations shall be read

and construed as one with the Cash Control Regulations, hereinafter S.L. 233.07.

referred to as "the principal regulations".

Regulation 3 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

regulation 3 of

substituted by the following

the principal

regulations.

(1) Any person entering or leaving

Malta, or transiting through Malta and carrying a sum

of a value of ten thousand euro (€10,000) or more in

cash shall be obliged to declare such sum to the

Commissioner.

(2) The obligation to declare every sum as

mentioned in sub-regulation (1) shall not be fulfilled

unless such person has completed the applicable form,

appearing in the Schedule, and has handed in such

form to the Commissioner when entering or leaving

Malta, or transiting through Malta.

(3) A person who makes a false declaration for

the purposes of these regulations or who does not fulfil

the obligation to declare such sum in terms of sub-

regulation (2), shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) (a) Without prejudice to what is provided

in sub-regulation (6), if the sum mentioned in sub-

regulation (1) which is falsely declared or not declared

is of a value of between precisely ten thousand euro

(€10,000) and ten thousand and two hundred euro

(€10,200), the Commissioner may enter into an

agreement with the person therein mentioned, and

impose a penalty of two hundred euro (€200) or

equivalent in lieu of proceedings in court, sohowever

that no forfeiture of cash may take place. The signing of

this agreement, which may take place up to the delivery

of a final judgement by the court, shall also mean that

the person is renouncing to any claim he may have

against the Commissioner or the Attorney General

resulting from the case. In the absence of such

agreement, the Commissioner shall seize the amount in

excess of ten thousand euro (€10,000), or the whole

amount when the cash is indivisible and the person

shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine (multa)

equivalent to twenty-five per cent (25%) of the value of

all the cash being carried, including the sum of ten

thousand euro (€10,000), as represented in local

currency on the date when the person is entering or

leaving Malta or is transiting through Malta, and the

court shall also order the forfeiture in favour of the

Commissioner of the undeclared cash in excess of ten

thousand euro (€10,000), or the whole amount when the

cash is indivisible.

(b) Without prejudice to what is provided

in sub-regulation (6), if the sum mentioned in

sub-regulation (1) which is falsely declared or not

declared is of a value of between ten thousand

two hundred and one euro (€10,201) and twenty

thousand euro (€20,000), the Commissioner may

enter into an agreement with the person therein

mentioned, and impose the forfeiture of the

amount of cash in excess of ten thousand euro

(€10,000), or the whole amount if the cash is

indivisible, in lieu of proceedings in court. The

signing of this agreement, which may take place

up to the delivery of a final judgement by the

court, shall also mean that the person is

renouncing to any claim he may have against the

Commissioner or the Attorney General resulting

from the case. In the absence of such agreement,

the Commissioner shall seize the sum in excess of

ten thousand euro (€10,000), or the whole amount

when the cash is indivisible and the person shall,

on conviction, be liable to a fine (multa)

equivalent to twenty-five per cent (25%) of the

value of all the cash being carried, including the

sum of ten thousand euro (€10,000), as

represented in local currency on the date when the

person is entering or leaving Malta or is transiting

through Malta, and the court shall also order the

forfeiture in favour of the Commissioner of the

undeclared amount of cash in excess of ten

thousand euro (€10,000), or the whole amount

when the cash is indivisible.

(c)

If the sum mentioned in sub-regulation

(1) which is falsely declared or not declared is of

a value of twenty thousand and one euro

(€20,001) or more, the Commissioner shall seize

the sum in excess of ten thousand euro (€10,000)

or the whole amount when the cash is indivisible

and the person shall, on conviction, be liable to a

fine (multa) equivalent to twenty-five per cent

(25%) of the value of all the cash being carried,

including the sum of ten thousand euro (€10,000),

as represented in local currency on the date when

the person is entering or leaving Malta or is

transiting through Malta, provided that in no case

shall the fine (multa) exceed fifty thousand euro

(€50,000), and the court shall also order the

forfeiture in favour of the Commissioner of the

undeclared amount of cash in excess of ten

thousand euro (€10,000), or the whole amount

when the cash is indivisible.

(d)

All amounts of cash collected as a

result of the agreement with the person as

provided for in paragraphs (a) and (b) shall

belong to the Commissioner.

(e)

All amounts of cash confiscated by

order of the court by virtue of these regulations

shall become the property of the Government and

shall be released in favour of the Commissioner

and no application shall be required to be made to

the competent court by the Commissioner to take

possession thereof.

(5) No criminal proceedings for an offence

under these regulations shall be commenced without the

consent of the Attorney General.

(6) Notwithstanding

the

provisions

of

paragraphs (a) and (b) of sub-regulation (4), and in

relation only to the circumstances mentioned in these

two paragraphs, in the case where an offence is

committed in breach of these regulations, the person

shall only be given one opportunity to enter into an

agreement. If the same person commits an offence in

breach of these regulations for the second or subsequent

time, the Commissioner shall seize the sum in excess of

ten thousand euro (€10,000) or the whole amount when

the cash is indivisible and the person shall, on

conviction, be liable to a fine (multa) equivalent to

twenty-five per cent (25%) of the value of all the cash

being carried, including the sum of ten thousand euro

(€10,000), as represented in local currency on the date

when the person is entering or leaving Malta or is

transiting through Malta, and the court shall also order

the forfeiture in favour of the Commissioner of the

undeclared amount of cash in excess of ten thousand

euro (€10,000), or the whole amount when the cash is

indivisible.".

3. These regulations shall also have effect with regard to a

non declaration or a false declaration of cash that takes place before

the coming into force of these regulations, until a final judgement is

delivered by the court.

€0.36