Car Tax exemption for imported cars

It is funny that in Malta one have to officially apply to the authorities for an examption for not having to pay tax for something which is anyhow not valid because of EU law ...

One thing I am looking forward to not doing when we move out is driving! (I may get a quad bike though )

" something which is anyhow not valid because of EU law " - it is valid, the EU has OK'd it (it was amended in several ways to satisfy the EU) - same applies in many EU countries, just the amount to register is far lower

Especially when you move to Gozo I could imagine that you would be happy for having a car (btw, quads in good condition - are very expensive here)

brayster99 wrote:

tearnet wrote:

No, there is no time limit. You will have to pay eventually.

Terry

So its not really a exemption more a deferment? i mean unless you grind it and eat it that is.

You have to either sell it, scrap it, or export it. Suddenly bringing my car isn't such a great idea.

Well it is and it is not. Providing that cars are extremely expensive here and providing that you don't want to size down for some reason, if you have a 2lt car you will pay around 3500 euros and you are done. If you try to buy such a car here it is out of question...

One more bit of story that I have to add to this trail is the even if they offer you this tax exemption, they may review it every so often (and believe me they do). So not sure if it worth to have an annoying letter in your letter box every six months asking you to prove that you are not an elephant. The fact is that tax exemption in Malta is as annoying as the TV License in UK. Nasty people doing nasty jobs.....

Thanks Mat but also looking for healthier lifestyle as much as possible with our issues so more walking and buses.

janagn wrote:

brayster99 wrote:

tearnet wrote:

No, there is no time limit. You will have to pay eventually.

Terry

So its not really a exemption more a deferment? i mean unless you grind it and eat it that is.

You have to either sell it, scrap it, or export it. Suddenly bringing my car isn't such a great idea.

Well it is and it is not. Providing that cars are extremely expensive here and providing that you don't want to size down for some reason, if you have a 2lt car you will pay around 3500 euros and you are done. If you try to buy such a car here it is out of question...

One more bit of story that I have to add to this trail is the even if they offer you this tax exemption, they may review it every so often (and believe me they do). So not sure if it worth to have an annoying letter in your letter box every six months asking you to prove that you are not an elephant. The fact is that tax exemption in Malta is as annoying as the TV License in UK. Nasty people doing nasty jobs.....

Not sure what you are saying here as you can buy any size of car if you can afford it. Once you have obtained the exemption from import duty thats it, you do not have to re approve it. The process for getting the tax exemption is very  strict on proof ( we had to provid two years worth of detailed bank statements showing day to day transactions outside of Malta) so having to re prove it would be pointless! If you want to sell the vehicle to get another all you have to do is pay the due tax, then you are free to do what you will with it. That is why I now advise anyone just to pay when you get to Malta, its a lot less hastle.

Terry

tearnet wrote:

janagn wrote:

brayster99 wrote:

So its not really a exemption more a deferment? i mean unless you grind it and eat it that is.

You have to either sell it, scrap it, or export it. Suddenly bringing my car isn't such a great idea.

Well it is and it is not. Providing that cars are extremely expensive here and providing that you don't want to size down for some reason, if you have a 2lt car you will pay around 3500 euros and you are done. If you try to buy such a car here it is out of question...

One more bit of story that I have to add to this trail is the even if they offer you this tax exemption, they may review it every so often (and believe me they do). So not sure if it worth to have an annoying letter in your letter box every six months asking you to prove that you are not an elephant. The fact is that tax exemption in Malta is as annoying as the TV License in UK. Nasty people doing nasty jobs.....

Not sure what you are saying here as you can buy any size of car if you can afford it. Once you have obtained the exemption from import duty thats it, you do not have to re approve it. The process for getting the tax exemption is very  strict on proof ( we had to provid two years worth of detailed bank statements showing day to day transactions outside of Malta) so having to re prove it would be pointless! If you want to sell the vehicle to get another all you have to do is pay the due tax, then you are free to do what you will with it. That is why I now advise anyone just to pay when you get to Malta, its a lot less hastle.

Terry

What I say here is that we went through this process exactly and it was turned down on the grounds that we apply 20 days + 1. Then during the weekend I asked around some people who had succeeded and told me that out of nowhere 6 months later they received a letter for review. At the second letter the exemption was withdrew and were asked to pay the bill.

And as for the ability to buy a car. Of course nobody stops you if you have the money to buy a Ferrary, however paying 13.500 for a Toyota IQ is ridiculous... So even if you cannot avoid the exemption it still worth importing your car

So you applied too late to get the exemption and it can take six monthe to get the approval (ours did, and they asked for more information) but this is part of the original review. You can get a brand new small car for 13,000 euros in Malta and use your car as trade in (after you have paid the import tax).
My point is do not import your car if you use the "no import tax to pay" as part of the calculation because you will have to pay the import tax at some point.

Terry

I emailed the transport dept and they said that its only payable if you sell it on, which makes sense. So export and scrap would be OK.

Looking at the legal side of things the Maltese gov have been a bit sneaky saying this is a registration fee rather than import tax although it amounts to the same thing. I do think the two year thing is silly. An employee of mine wrote his car off 2 days before transferring. How does he take advantage of the exemption? Grounds for a discrimination law suite?

One thing that did come to light is that prima facie, commercial M2 vehicles with the latest euro rating are cheaper to register. I am going to research the requirements and feasibility to importing a transit van type vehicle with 9 seats.
i

janagn wrote:

brayster99 wrote:

tearnet wrote:

No, there is no time limit. You will have to pay eventually.

Terry

So its not really a exemption more a deferment? i mean unless you grind it and eat it that is.

You have to either sell it, scrap it, or export it. Suddenly bringing my car isn't such a great idea.

Well it is and it is not. Providing that cars are extremely expensive here and providing that you don't want to size down for some reason, if you have a 2lt car you will pay around 3500 euros and you are done. If you try to buy such a car here it is out of question...

One more bit of story that I have to add to this trail is the even if they offer you this tax exemption, they may review it every so often (and believe me they do). So not sure if it worth to have an annoying letter in your letter box every six months asking you to prove that you are not an elephant. The fact is that tax exemption in Malta is as annoying as the TV License in UK. Nasty people doing nasty jobs.....

This is from the official transport malta website regarding the exemption:

A. INFORMATION ON APPLICABILITY
Any person transferring his residence from a place outside Malta to a place in Malta is entitled, under the Motor Vehicles
Registration and Licensing Act (Cap. 368), to an exemption from Motor Vehicle Registration Tax on an M1 vehicle (a vehicle
used for the carriage of not more than eight passengers in addition to the driver) or a cycle (motor cycles, motor
tricycles and quadricycles) which is registered in the name of that person and which has been used by that person outside
Malta for a continuous period of at least twenty-four months immediately before the transfer of residence. That person should also
have lived outside Malta for a continuous period of at least twenty-four months immediately before transferring his/her residence to
Malta.
A person who went to live outside Malta primarily for the purpose of pursuing a course of studies of a duration of less than five
years does not qualify for an exemption.
A vehicle is to be declared for exemption not earlier than two months before the date on which applicant becomes normally
resident in Malta and not later then twelve months following that date.
An exemption shall apply to no more than one vehicle owned by the person transferring his residence, whether the vehicle is an
M1 vehicle or a cycle.
[b]If an exemption is granted, the vehicle shall not be sold, given away, disposed of, hired out or lent unless the registration tax to
which the exemption relates is paid thereon.[/b]“Transfer of residence” means the actual transfer of the normal residence of a person from a place outside Malta to a place in
Malta.


It seems clear to me that this covers scraping, you may get away with exporting if you do not return to Malta.
Once the exemption is granted there are no further checks, its all on the transport Malta web site.

Terry

I was never clear if scrapping is included under "sold, given away, disposed of," or not.

" disposed of" covers scraping surely ?

Terry

makes sense from a grammatical point of view, but not sure from a legal one, but, yes, I think you are right

excerpt from the email I received from them;

"Kindly note that if vehicle is scrapped or exported registration tax will not be charged, but if vehicle is sold then a valuation will take place and registration tax will be charged."

brayster99 wrote:

excerpt from the email I received from them;

"Kindly note that if vehicle is scrapped or exported registration tax will not be charged, but if vehicle is sold then a valuation will take place and registration tax will be charged."

thank you :-)

My latest contact with ADT is that I can apply there for 1 year tax exemption and not to the ministry of finance for an indefinite one since I am still on a contract. That means that I can get one exemption till August 2013. However, they require a work permit(!!!!) that of course is not applicable to any EU citizen since April 2011. My company cannot provide me with one and so we are back in the wonderful square one.....

They require an employment contact I believe

georgeingozo wrote:

They require an employment contact I believe

No they politely turned it down. They want a proper BLUE with patters ETC signed work permit and they don't take a word for this.

Any motor vehicle registered in another country which is brought into Malta by a person who has his normal residence outside Malta and who comes to Malta under a works contract, in which case the exemption shall be for a period of twelve months from the date of the vehicle's arrival in Malta

foreign registered motor vehicle brought into Malta by a person who comes to Malta under a work contract, may be used in Malta for a period not exceeding twelve months without being charged any registration tax.

Such exemption shall be granted on application made to the Malta Transport Authority (Licensing and Testing Directorate, Malta Transport Authority, Hornworks Ditch, Floriana) on the prescribed form which shall be presented within fifteen days from the vehicle's arrival in Malta together with:

a copy of the contract of employment,
evidence of the vehicle's arrival in Malta,
a copy of the vehicle's registration certificate, and
an administrative fee of €35.
Where such exemption is granted, the motor vehicle will provisionally be licensed for use on the road for a period which expires upon the expiration of the exemption. A circulation licence fee shall be payable to the Authority in respect of twelve months where the vehicle is not covered by a valid road licence issued in the country of registration and, where it is covered by such licence in respect of the remaining months or part thereof immediately following the expiry of that licence.

The documents relating to the registration and insurance of the vehicle and to the exemption granted shall be kept with the vehicle when it is in use and shall be produced at the request of an authorised inspecting officer.

This exemption will cease to have effect upon the expiration of the 12 month period or before the expiration of that period if the vehicle is found to being used in breach of the conditions under which the exemption was granted.

The motor vehicle shall not be sold, given away, disposed of, hired out or lent unless the vehicle registration tax is paid thereon.

Above was taken from either tm or after website but can't find the page now as websites all changed

If I tell you that they don't care what you say will you consider it again as a patronising act? Listen mate, my lawyer and the human resources of the company I work for have been trying for the past 8 hours to make sense of it.
I do appreciate your knowledge and your help but it is just words. It is not working like this. They don't care about what we say. We provide better services to the oncoming Malta victims when we say what happens rather than what legally should happen.

Just checked the legal notice, and the bit I quoted is verbatim from that.

Print out the legal notice and show it to your hr person

Ln368.01 EXEMPTION FROM MOTOR VEHICLES REGISTRATION TAX 2009

georgeingozo wrote:

Just checked the legal notice, and the bit I quoted is verbatim from that.

As I said yesterday this is not UK or North Europe. This law has to be implemented by low paid, usually misinformed and unlikely to have been through training public servants who have learnt to operate by experience and by word of mouth. I am sure that if I go tomorrow to an other queue I will get it...

(my layer will do what you suggested tomorrow)

janagn wrote:

If I tell you that they don't care what you say will you consider it again as a patronising act? Listen mate, my lawyer and the human resources of the company I work for have been trying for the past 8 hours to make sense of it.
I do appreciate your knowledge and your help but it is just words. It is not working like this. They don't care about what we say. We provide better services to the oncoming Malta victims when we say what happens rather than what legally should happen.

Here we go again!!
Oncoming Malta victims!! Just who may they be?


Knowledge is power and being cognisant of the legal framework which can then be quoted and presented as evidence is exactly the way to do things.

Personally I don't see why anyone living on the main island would need a car, not with the excellent bus service.
It would certainly avoid all this hassle, as I intend to.

I've also read that the car (motorcycle in my case) has to be in your name in the country of origin at least 2 years before importing. Is this true?

Dudematters wrote:

I've also read that the car (motorcycle in my case) has to be in your name in the country of origin at least 2 years before importing. Is this true?

To be exempt, yes. What is the cc of your bike?  In the budget was announced smaller bikes will all be exempt

janagn wrote:

georgeingozo wrote:

Just checked the legal notice, and the bit I quoted is verbatim from that.

As I said yesterday this is not UK or North Europe. This law has to be implemented by low paid, usually misinformed and unlikely to have been through training public servants who have learnt to operate by experience and by word of mouth. I am sure that if I go tomorrow to an other queue I will get it...

(my layer will do what you suggested tomorrow)

No need to thank me

Ps hadn't your lawyer looked at the law already?

redmik wrote:

Personally I don't see why anyone living on the main island would need a car, not with the excellent bus service.
It would certainly avoid all this hassle, as I intend to.

The bus service is even better in Gozo than Malta,

georgeingozo wrote:

redmik wrote:

Personally I don't see why anyone living on the main island would need a car, not with the excellent bus service.
It would certainly avoid all this hassle, as I intend to.

The bus service is even better in Gozo than Malta,

That's good to know, I'll be using it most days for a while soon
:-)

That would also be good for Lynn's sense of independence.
Another reason that we find Malta & Gozo so inviting.
We have a terrible bus service here, where we live at the moment and she is dependent upon me to drive our car anywhere we go as she is unable to drive any more.

Our one fear is that as green, quiet and as beautiful as Gozo is, (and no misunderstanding here, I love it) it may be a bit too quiet so Lynn can exercise her independence and access all the places she finds interesting. We'll make our decision after our next extended visit.

The bus service in Gozo improved dramatically under Arriva,  although it was terrible before. Our village now has almost 20 buses a day vs 3 before

Glad of that as I will need a service between Xaghra and Xewkija (via Victoria I guess?) amongst other places.
Glad to read the main road towards Mgarr is open again. The detour was interesting when I was last there a couple of months ago.

georgeingozo wrote:

Dudematters wrote:

I've also read that the car (motorcycle in my case) has to be in your name in the country of origin at least 2 years before importing. Is this true?

To be exempt, yes. What is the cc of your bike?  In the budget was announced smaller bikes will all be exempt

It's a BMW F650 Funduro (650cc)

ah, its only up to 250cc I think

So this means that I cannot import the bike (it's only about 1 year in my name in Holland)..?

you can import it, but will have to pay a (possibly hefty) registration tax

Thank you for your information georgeingozo, I've tried to look up how much this is, but that part of the site is down ....