PUBLIC AUCTION REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 342.01

PUBLIC AUCTION REGULATIONS

1st June, 1991

LEGAL NOTICE 69 of 1991, as amended by Legal Notices 424 of 2007

and 237 of 2010.

The title of these regulations is the Public Auction

Regulations.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Act" means the Auctioneers Act;

"antique" and "auctioneer" have the same meaning as is assigned

to them in article 2 of the Act, and "auctioneering" means the

business of auction run by an auctioneer;

"Board" means a board of examiners, who cannot be operators in

the auctioneering sector, set up from time to time by the Minister in

order to assess applicants for a licence to act as auctioneer;

"buyer" means the buyer of a lot at an auction;

"Librarian" means the librarian mentioned in article 3 of the

National Archives Act, who is Curator of the National Archives;

"lot" means one ar ticle, or more than one ar ticle grouped

together, intended for sale at an auction;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for trade and includes,

to the extent of the authority given, any person authorised by the

Minister in that behalf for any purpose of these regulations;

"r eser ved pr ice" m eans the p r ice belo w wh ich a seller is

unwilling to sell a lot and has notified the auctioneer to that effect;

"seller" means the owner of a lot put up for sale at an auction.

(1) An auctioneer shall issue a signed receipt to a seller for

lots received by him for sale by auction.

(2) The receipt referred in sub-regulation (1) shall contain the

following information

(a) the name, surname and address of the auctioneer and/

or the name of the company or partnership on behalf of

which the auctioneer is exercising his business and the

name, surname and address of the seller;

(b) a description of each lot;

(c) the reserved price, if any;

(d) the auctioneer’s fee and any storage or other fees and

commissions chargeable by the auctioneer to the

seller;

(e) the amount, if any, which the seller shall pay to the

auctioneer if the seller retrieves the lot or if the lot is

not sold;

(f)

any other condition of auction which the seller and the

auctioneer may agree thereon.

(3) An auctioneer may refuse to accept a lot for sale in an

auction.

(1) An auctioneer shall, in respect of each auction to be

conducted by him, publish a catalogue of the lots being put up for

auction.

(2) The catalogue mentioned in sub-regulation (1) shall

contain the following information

(a) the name of the auctioneer and/or the name of the firm

or partnership on behalf of which the auctioneer is

trading and the address of his office;

(b) the place where the auction is due to be held;

(c) the dates and times for viewing of the lots on auction

and the dates and times of the auction;

(d) the lots due to be auctioned on each day of the auction;

(e) the conditions of the auction and the fees due to be

paid by the buyer of a lot at the auction in addition to

the purchase price and other charges permissible or

imposed by law, including duty imposed under the

Duty on Documents and Transfers Act;

(f)

the deposit to be made by the buyer;

(g) a sequential list giving a correct description of each lot

to be auctioned;

(h) the lots having a reserved price, below which the seller

is unwilling to sell the lots, should be marked by an

asterisk in the catalogue;

(i)

any lots which are the property of the auctioneer;

(j)

the price of the catalogue.

(3) Catalogues shall be available for sale at the place where the

auction is due to be held on the days fixed for viewing of the lots to

be auctioned and on the days of the auction.

(4) A copy of the catalogue shall also be exhibited in a

prominent place for public viewing in each room of the building

where the auction is being held.

(1) An auctioneer shall publish in at least two daily

newspapers the time and dates of the place of viewing and of the

auction together with a general description of the lots to be

auctioned.

(2) Such publication shall take place at least one clear day

before the first day of viewing.

(1) On each day of viewing an auctioneer shall allow a

minimum time of two hours for the viewing of the lots to be sold by

auction.

(2) No article may be withdrawn from the auction either by the

auctioneer or by the seller at any time after the commencement of

the period of viewing by the public.

(3) There shall be charged no fee by the auctioneer or by any

other person for entry to the place where the auction is to be held

either during the days of viewing or the days of the auction.

(1) An auction shall be conducted by the auctioneer

specified in the catalogue referred to in regulation 4

Provided that where the auction is to be conducted by an

auctioneer other than the auctioneer notified in the catalogue,

notice to that effect shall be given to the public attending the

auction at the commencement of the auction on each of the auction

days and a written notice to the same effect shall be prominently

displayed at the place of auction throughout the auction days.

(2) An auctioneer shall auction all the lots entered in the

catalogue in the order set down therein.

(3) An auctioneer shall identify each lot to be auctioned by the

lot number and description of the lot as generally set out in the

auction catalogue.

(4) An auctioneer shall not himself or through any other

person acting on the same auctioneer’s behalf place bids, and an

auctioneer shall not in any way buy lots at an auction being

conducted by himself.

(5) An auctioneer shall not bid or buy, directly or indirectly, at

his auctions for any other person.

(6) An auctioneer shall not take account of a bid unless it is

made clearly and publicly.

(7) An auctioneer shall not raise the price of a lot until and

unless a genuine higher bid has been made by a bidder.

(8) An auctioneer shall knock down the lot if, after repeating

the last bid three times, no further bids are made.

(9) An auctioneer shall either assign the lot to the highest

bidder making the last bid, or shall, subject to the provisions of

regulation 8, remove the lot from the auction by declaring it as

"bought in".

(1) When a lot is marked as having a reserved price, the

auctioneer cannot declare a lot sold if no offer at least equal to the

reserved price has been made.

(2) When no reserved price has been set against a lot and a bid

is made for that lot, the auctioneer may not withdraw the lot from

the auction or declare it "bought in".

(3) A lot may not be bought in if the reserved price thereof has

been equalled or exceeded by the last bid, and the auctioneer shall

not declare a lot as "bought in" if a bid at least equivalent to its

reserved price has been made.

(1) The buyer may be required by an auctioneer to make a

deposit in respect of the lot purchased by him. provided that no

deposit may exceed ten per cent of the price at which the lot was

knocked down and assigned to the buyer.

(2) A deposit made by a buyer shall be forfeited to the

auctioneer in the event that the buyer does not collect the lot and

pay the balance of the purchase price and the fee and the charges

due by the buyer in terms of regulation 4(e) by the end of the

second working day subsequent upon the last day of the auction.

(3) On forfeiture of a deposit, out of which deposit the

auctioneer is entitled to retain the equivalent of the commission

chargeable to the buyer under regulation 14, the sale of a lot to the

buyer shall be considered rescinded.

(4) In handing over a lot to a buyer, the auctioneer shall

require the buyer to provide him with a receipt for the lot.

(1) Where an auctioneer conducts other business,

auctioneering shall be kept and run as a separate business, and

separate records, books, accounts and other documents as required

by these regulations or by any other Act shall be kept.

(2) An auctioneer shall keep records showing in respect of

each sale by auction and in respect of the lots sold therein -

(a) the date or dates of the auction;

(b) the address where the auction was held;

(c) the lot number of each lot sold;

(d) the name and address of the sellers of the lots sold by

auction;

(e) the name and address of the buyer of each lot, or, in

the case of a lot which has been bought in, a statement

to that effect;

(f)

the price at knock down where a lot has been sold.

(3) An auctioneer shall keep books of account in conformity

with the principles of regular book-keeping, as well as documents

and receipts given out to sellers and secured from buyers.

(4) The accounts, documents and receipts shall be kept at the

main office of an auctioneer for not less than three years from the

end of the calendar year in which the accounts were made and the

documents and receipts were collected.

(5) The obligation to keep books of account and to preserve

documents according to any other law or regulation shall remain

unaffected.

(1) An auctioneer shall furnish any information requested

by the Minister within a period of fifteen days from the date of

service of a written request upon an auctioneer to that effect.

(2) The Minister shall have the right to inspect all books of

accounts, documents and other records kept by an auctioneer in his

premises or elsewhere.

(1) An auctioneer shall notify in writing the Director of

Museums of any antique, and the Librarian of any printed work,

map, print, manuscript or other document of bibliographic or

historical importance, due to be auctioned at least seven days

before the first date fixed for the viewing of lots due to be sold at

the auction.

(2) The auctioneer shall, together with the notification in

writing referred to in sub-regulation (1), furnish the Director of

Museums and, or, the Librarian. with two copies each of the

catalogue of lots to be sold at that auction.

(3) The Director of Museums and, or, the Librarian may, not

later than two working days before the commencement of the

auction, give an auctioneer directions regarding the sale of an

antique due to be auctioned, and the auctioneer shall abide by such

directions.

(1) An auctioneer may, in respect of an unsold lot the

reserved price of which was not reached at an auction, charge the

seller a fee which shall not exceed the seller’s commission on the

reserved price of the lot.

(2) An auctioneer may require a seller to collect an unsold lot

after the lapse of seven days from the service of a written notice to

that effect.

(3) In the event that the seller does not collect the unsold lot

within a period of one month from such notice, an auctioneer shall

be entitled to auction the lot without reference to the reserved price,

if any, and shall pay to the seller the proceeds derived from such

sale after deducting the commissions and charges due to him.

(4) In the event that the seller does not collect an unsold lot

after a written notice given to him by the auctioneer to that effect,

the auctioneer shall also be entitled to charge the seller a storage

fee with effect from a day occurring fifteen days after the date of

service of the notice, and such storage fee shall not exceed five per

cent of the seller’s commission in respect of every storage period of

one month or part thereof.

If a lot is retrieved by the seller after its inclusion in an

auction catalogu e an d bef ore its v iewing b y the public, the

auctioneer shall be entitled to charge the seller a fee which, in case

a reserved price had been fixed, shall not exceed one-half of the

seller’s commission.

An auctioneer shall, within one month from the last day of

an auction, pay to the seller of a lot the proceeds derived from the

sale thereof after deducting the fees and commissions due to him.

(1) In order to qualify for the grant of a licence to act as an

auctioneer, a person shall -

(a) be not less than eighteen years old; and

(b) be of good moral character and not have within the last

three years been convicted of a criminal act relating to

fraud or misappropriation of money or other articles.

(2) In addition to meeting the conditions of sub-regulation (1),

the applicant must also satisfy the Board of his knowledge of

(a) national auctioneering legislation and procedure;

(b) national laws and regulations relating to antiques and

cultural heritage; and

(c) relevant general commercial practice

Provided that paragraph (b) shall not be applicable to

applicants who declare that they will not be providing their

services in the auctioning of antiques.

(3) Applications for a licence to act as an auctioneer shall be

submitted to the regulatory authority as determined under the

Trading Licences Act, subject to any exemptions and under

conditions which may be applicable under the Act. The application

shall be accompanied by a good conduct certificate issued by the

Commissioner of Police. If the applicant fulfils the condition of

sub-regulation (1) the regulatory authority shall notify the Board of

the application within ten working days.

(4) The Board shall interview the applicant and inform the

regulatory authority of its decision within three months from the

date of being notified. Where duly motivated, this period may be

extended by a further month provided that the applicant is duly

informed of such extension. Decisions of the Board shall be fully

reasoned and shall be subject to appeal before the Administrative

Review Tribunal established by article 5(1) of the Administrative

Justice Act.

(5) The regulatory authority shall within ten days from

receiving notification of the Board’s decision issue a licence or a

notice of refusal as the case may be.

(6) Where a person is already licensed or otherwise legally

established to carry on auctioning activities in another Member

State, and that person wishes to carry out such activities in Malta

on a non-permanent basis, he shall not be required to apply for a

licence but only to notify the regulatory authority as provided in

the Trading Licences Act

Provided that where a person who is already licensed or

otherwise legally established to carry on auctioning activities in

another Member State, carries out auctioning activities in Malta

that person shall still be required to comply with regulations 3 to

15.

There shall be paid to the Director of Trade, in respect of

the consideration by the Board, a fee of three hundred euro (€300)

together with the relevant application fee and renewal fee as may

be stipulated under the Trading Licences Act and regulations made

thereunder.