CLAMPING AND REMOVAL OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND ENCUMBERING OBJECTS REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 65.13

CLAMPING AND REMOVAL OF MOTOR

VEHICLES AND ENCUMBERING OBJECTS

REGULATIONS

27th June, 1997

LEGAL NOTICE 94 of 1997, as amended by Legal Notices 192 of 1999,

123 of 2001, 405 of 2003, 291 of 2004, 47 of 2006, 408 of 2007 and 197 of

2009; Act XV of 2009; and Legal Notices 503 of 2010, 260 of 2011, 123 of

2017, 48 of 2018, 55 of 2021 and 23 of 2023.

The title of these regulations is the Clamping and Removal

of Motor Vehicles and Encumbering Objects Regulations.

(Deleted by Legal Notice 123 of 2017)

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"abandoned vehicle" means a vehicle (which is not a derelict

vehicle) which is parked or placed on the road and in respect of which

the annual circulation fee for the current year has remained unpaid for

a period of thirty days or more to be reckoned from the due date;

"Agency" means the Local Enforcement System Agency as

established in the Order Establishing the Local Enforcement System

Agency or any contractor duly authorised by the said Agency for

specific purposes of these regulations;

"applicant" includes any individual, group or body of persons, or

other entity, submitting an application in accordance with these

regulations to the Council, Agency, Authority or the Commissioner;

"Authority" means the Authority for Transport in Malta as

established by the Authority for Transport in Malta Act or any

contractor duly authorised by the said Authority for specific purposes of

these regulations;

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Police, members of

the Police Corps or any contractor duly authorised by him for

specific purposes of these regulations;

"Council" means a local council established under the provisions

of the Local Government Act, or any contractor duly authorised by

the Council for specific purposes of these regulations;

"derelict vehicle" means a vehicle which is parked or placed on

the road and in respect of which the annual circulation fee for the

current year has remained unpaid for a period of thirty days or more

to be reckoned from the due date and which

(a) is in such a state that it cannot be identified; and, or

(b) is in such a state whereby it is clearly unfit for use on

the road; and, or

(c) whose current Maltese market value, when taking into

consideration arrears of circulation licence fees and all

other costs, dues and expenses payable to the

Authority and, or any other public entity in order for

the holder of the registration certificate of such vehicle

to be able to retrieve it, amounts to less than seventy-

five per cent (75%) of the Maltese market value of the

said motor vehicle as established by the Authority for

Transport in Malta or any other standard of motor

vehicle valuation which may be adopted by the

Authority from time to time;

"encumbering objects" means any motor vehicle, seacraft or any

other thing obstructing or otherwise causing any nuisance or

inconvenience in any street, road, quay, wharf or other place;

"maritime officer" means such officer of the Authority for Transport

in Malta as may be responsible for the registration of sea-going vessels

less than 24 metres in length;

"motor vehicle" means any mechanically self-propelled vehicle

circulating on the road, other than a vehicle running on rails;

"clamping zone" and "towing zone" means any such place or area

as may be indicated by notice issued by the Commissioner, the

Authority, the Agency or by the Council and by means of signs and

m a r k i n g s m a d e i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e Tr a ff i c S i g n s a n d

Carriageway Markings Regulations, where the prohibited parking

of vehicles is liable to the fixing of clamps to the wheels or the

towing away of said vehicles from such zone, as the case may be.

The notice may, after the applicant obtains the authorisation and

permission of the Commissioner, the Authority, the Agency or the

Council for the issuance of the said notice, be administered and

affixed by the applicant himself

Provided that the applicant shall be bound and responsible

that said notice be affixed and administered throughout the period

specified in the said notice, in a visible way, adequate and in

conformity with these regulations

Provided that any notice which is issued without the

authorisation or permission of the Commissioner, the Authority, he

Agency or the Council, shall be null and invalid.

(1) The Commissioner or the Authority or the Council or

the Agency may remove, store and dispose of any encumbering

object which is causing any nuisance, inconvenience or obstruction

and is in a place or space which is not lawfully permitted to be used

for such purpose, or if such place or space is specifically indicated

as a towing zone

Provided that any encumbering object which has been so

removed or stored or is still in the process of being disposed of, shall not

be returned to its owner before a fee levied by the Commissioner or the

Authority or the Council or the Agency, in terms of these Regulations,

has been paid.

(1) It shall be lawful for the Commissioner or the Authority

or the Council or the Agency or the Authority to fix wheel clamps to

any motor vehicle parked or left unattended in an area specifically

indicated as a clamping zone.

(2) It shall also be lawful for the Commissioner or the Authority

or the Council or the Agency to remove, store and dispose or to fix

wheel clamps to

(a) any motor vehicle which does not have a valid

circulation licence issued by the Authority affixed to

its windscreen;

(b) any motor vehicle with a circulation licence which has

expired by more than one month to be reckoned from

the last day of the month in the calendar year shown or

indicated on the circulation licence affixed to the

windscreen of that motor vehicle;

(c) any motor vehicle hired or leased from a vehicle hire

undertaking licensed in another Member State, which

has been brought into Malta and which is not in

conformity with the provisions of the Registration and

Licensing of Motor Vehicles Regulations;

(d) any motor vehicle bearing foreign registration plates

which is not properly licensed for use on the roads in

Malta;

(e) any motor vehicle having Maltese or foreign

registration plates, which is not in conformity with all

relevant rules and regulations in force in order for such

motor vehicle to be used on the roads in Malta; and

(f) any motor vehicle which is on the road in breach of the

Motor Vehicles Registration and Licensing Act and

any regulations made thereunder

Provided that in the case of a motor vehicle which has been

clamped or removed from the road in accordance with paragraphs

(a) or (b), the said motor vehicle shall not be returned to its owner

unless and until the circulation licence of such motor vehicle,

together with the administrative fee payable to the Authority, are

paid in addition to the fees levied by the Commissioner or the

Authority or the Council or the Agency as laid down in regulation

9(a), (b) and (c).

The wheel clamps shall neither be removed by the

Commissioner or the Council or the Authority or the Agency nor

shall the vehicle be returned to its owner before a fee levied by the

Commissioner or the Council or the Authority or the Agency in

terms of these Regulations has been paid

Provided that should the owner of the clamped vehicle fail to pay

such fee within a reasonable time not exceeding 24 hours, the

clamped vehicle shall be removed from the clamping zone, and the

provisions of regulation 9(b), (c) and (d) shall then apply

The Commissioner or the Council or the Authority or, where

applicable, the Agency, shall be exempt from any liability for damages

arising in connection with the fixing of clamps or the removal thereof,

and the storage and disposal of encumbering objects or derelict or

abandoned vehicles in accordance with regulations 3, 4, 5 and 8.

(1) The Commissioner or the Council or the Authority or

the Agency shall publish a notice of removal in the Gazette,or on

the website of the entity which has carried out the removal of the

encumbering object or motor vehicle describing the encumbering

object or motor vehicle removed and indicating the exact locality

from where it had been removed.

(2) The Commissioner or the Council or the Authority or the

Agency shall also indicate in the same notice the place where the

encumbering object or motor vehicle is being stored.

(1)

The Commissioner or the Authority or the

Council or the Agency shall order the sale of an encumbering object or

an abandoned vehicle, when it is not retrieved by its lawful owner, in

the case of an encumbering object, or by the holder of the registration

certificate in the case of an abandoned vehicle, within seven (7) days

from the date when a notice of removal is affixed on the encumbering

object or abandoned vehicle or from the date when a notice of removal

is published in the Gazette or on the website of the entity which has

removed the encumbering object or abandoned vehicle, whichever is

the latest, calling on such owner, in the case of an object, or the holder

of the registration certificate, in the case of an abandoned vehicle, to

retrieve such object or abandoned vehicle after producing evidence

that he is the owner of the object or the holder of the registration

certificate of such abandoned vehicle

Provided that with regard to derelict vehicles the

Commissioner or the Authority or the Council or the Agency shall

have the right to proceed to destroy the said motor vehicle in

a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e p r o c e d u r e s e s t a b l i s h e d i n t h e Wa s t e

Management (End of Life Vehicles) Regulations instead of

ordering the sale thereof

Provided further that with regard to vehicles, whether

abandoned or derelict, which have been sold under a hire purchase

agreement, the Commissioner or the Authority or the Council or the

Agency, prior to proceeding with the sale by auction or destruction

thereof, as the case may be, shall first send a written notice by

registered letter to the seller of the said vehicle under the hire purchase

agreement informing him that the vehicle is being held in the custody

of such entity and shall be sold by auction or destroyed, as the case

may be, unless he proceeds to retrieve the vehicle in question by not

later than fifteen (15) days from the date of notification of such notice

upon paying in full and final settlement all amounts due to the

Authority and, or any other public entity with regard to the said

vehicle.

(2) The Commissioner or the Authority, or the Council or the

Agency, shall utilise the proceeds of the sale first to settle any

outstanding removal or storage fees due to them, as well as the

payment of any registration tax, administrative fines, administrative

fees, any fines imposed by a court order or judgment or an order or

judgment given by a tribunal, any arrears of circulation licence fees

and all other amounts due to the Authority; and subsequently to

refund any remaining balance in favour of the persons who would

have been entitled to retrieve the encumbering object or motor

vehicle.

(3) Any sale made in terms of sub-regulation (1) shall be made

either by public auction or after a call for tenders.

(4) The Commissioner or the Authority or the Council or the

Agency may, in their discretion, dispose of those encumbering objects

or motor vehicles which have not been returned or sold by public

auction or after a call for tenders.

(5) Where the encumbering object removed is a sea-going vessel

which is less than twenty-four metres in length, the Commissioner or

Council, as the case may be, shall notify the Maritime Officer in writing

within eight days of the removal about the registration particulars of

such sea-going vessel and the manner and circumstances in which such

vessel came in his possession.

The Commissioner or the Council or the Agency shall

notify the Authority in writing within eight days of their coming

into possession of any vehicle, whether derelict , abandoned or not,

in consequence of any action taken by them in accordance with

these regulations, and the manner and circumstances in which the

said vehicle came into their possession

Provided that the Commissioner or Council or the Agency

shall not be required to notify the Authority in the event that the

said vehicle has been reclaimed by its lawful owner within the eight

days limit specified under this regulation.

There shall be payable to the Commissioner or the Council

or the Agency or, where applicable, to the Authority the following

fees

(a) for the removal of clamps .....................

€180

(b) for the release, towing or removal of the

encumbering object or derelict or

abandoned vehicle or any other vehicle

removed under these regulations and

storage thereof during the first 24 hours

or part thereof

€200

(c) for the storage of the encumbering

object or derelict or abandoned vehicle

or any other vehicle removed under

these regulations after the first 24

hours, per day or part thereof

€15

(d) for the disposal of derelict or abandoned

vehicles or any other vehicle removed

under

these

regulations

€2,500

Provided that when additional expenses in excess of each

particular fee in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) above have been

incurred, the Commissioner or the Authority or the Council shall

also have the right to collect such expenses and subsequently to

detract them for the proceeds of any sale or disposal of the object

and to exact payment thereof before surrendering any object either

to its lawful owner or to the purchaser in the event of a sale by

auction.

Every measure taken by the Commissioner, or the

Authority or the Council or the Agency, under these regulations

shall not prejudice any criminal or civil action.

(1) Any unauthorised person who attempts to remove, or

removes, wheel clamps fixed to a motor vehicle, or attempts to

remove, or removes, a motor vehicle with clamped wheels, or an

encumbering object which has been removed, stored or still in the

process of being disposed of under regulation 3, or attempts to

remove, or removes, the notice referred to in regulation 8(1), shall

be guilty of an offence against these regulations.

(2) In the case of any person who obstructs or otherwise causes

any nuisance or inconvenience by means of an encumbering object

in any street, road, quay, wharf or other place, the court may at the

request of the prosecution, in addition to the punishment applicable

to any such offence, inflict an additional penalty equivalent to the

fees due under regulation 9.