Malta - British Expat Forum

Dear all

I moved permanently to Malta in January this year, and am working here on an indefinite contract. I got an ID card in the first few weeks.

In August I drove a car from the UK to Malta (great fun by the way...) and it is currently sat in my underground garage with its UK plates.

Unfortunately, due to a combination of the birth of my first child and a ridiculous workload (I know, excuses excuses, but forgive me), I still have not got around to registering it. I arrived in Malta on the Sunday night before a Monday bank holiday, so the port had a skeleton staff and my car was not ever recorded as arriving in Malta.

I understand that I am theoretically subject to a €30 daily penalty from 15 days after arrival for the non-registration. Needless to say, that is expensive and not appealing.

My Maltese friends have suggested that when I do want to get it registered, I simply need to buy a one way ticket to Sicily, then a one way ticket back, and use the one way ticket back as "evidence" of the revised arrival date to the authorities.

Another suggestion (again by the Maltese) is to simply get UK insurance and say I am a tourist if stopped.

Does anyone have any thoughts on or experience of this (particularly the Sicily wheeze, which is preferable to me as it's far less dodgy)? Sensible alternative suggestions would also be appreciated. I am willing to take a view on "grey area" suggestions, not least because the €30 a day fine would now equate to the cost of the car, and when combined with a registration tax of €1300, this would be totally uneconomical.

Thanks in anticipation.

If you have an ID card then you can't be a tourist, so that's out.

Only other option is the Sicily one, taking it out of Malta and then back in again. Remember that you will also have to be able to verify the speedo mileage, though a friend of mine was recently able to do that by just showing his previous (UK) MOT reading.

Thanks PB

I am assuming therefore that they don't "record" your car as it leaves Malta then? (This would slightly scupper my "oh look I'm in Malta for the first time with this car" approach when I came back from Sicily.)

I don't quite follow on the mileage point - what mileage exactly will they be looking at?

Hi, and welcome to the forum

Are you able to claim exemption to the registration tax ?

Importing a vehicle FAQ

http://www.britishexpat.com/expatforum/malta/viewtopic.php?t=9355
covers
1. What is the legislation covering the import of vehicles ?
2. Can I import a vehicle into Malta ?
3. How much does it cost to register an imported vehicle ?
4. What is the proceedure for registering a vehicle ?
5. Is anyone exempt from paying the registration tax ?
6. What documents are required to register a vehicle ?
7. Where can I get the registration forms ?
8. Do I need to convert my driving licence to a Maltese one ?
9. Where can the Registration Value (RV) of vehicles be obtained from?
10. Car Registration Process—Unofficial Users Manual
11. Is the registration tax for 2nd hand cars going to be replaced later this year with a higher road tax ?

Quote:

I don't quite follow on the mileage point - what mileage exactly will they be looking at

It's covered elsewhere in the motoring topics, but basically they want to make sure the car hasn't been 'clocked', i.e showing less miles than it has really done. Seems to be more a problem with dealer imports.

(e.g. if your mot shows 50k and the speedo now shows 40k, you're buggered!! )

No. 10) of the unofficial guide is very informative.

A couple of things I think are implied, but not actually spelled out are, where it says movements into and out of Malta: The exit detail (tickets) from the UK, be it Eurotunnel, ferry, or container must be suppled. Secondly proof of living in the UK for 24 consecutive months prior to proof of leaving the UK, eg monthly bank statements, but no gap months are allowed.

If I missed these points in the guide, please excuse me, but I'm sure you'll let me know.

Thanks for the responses all.

I definitely don't qualify for any "concessions" as the car was recently bought, I'm a Maltese ID card holder on an indefinite contract etc etc.

As such I think the Sicily jaunt is my best option. That aside, there's a possibility that my landlord (who is a car importer) may be able to assist me with "documentation", but no guarantees.

BTW, and I say this as a practising EU law solicitor, the import tax is a complete con. The fact that the European Commission has dropped the infringement proceedings against the tax says substantially more about the ineffectiveness of the Commission than it does about the legitimacy of the scheme.

Hi, did you ever get a resolution to this? I would be very interested to hear....

Thanks!