Hello ex pats ,on 20/10/16 I finally succeeded in getting my 2001 Toyota Yaris 1.5 tsport registered in Malta.
It's been a pain in the butt and looking back I would probably decide to continue hiring in my circumstances.
If you own property in Malta then you will have thought as I did it's about time I secured my own car there.
Looking on Maltapark the best site for that and most other things in Malta ,made me smile at prices.. very costly for anything that you would want, small or large.
I decided to source a car that was cost effective on the dreaded registration tax which you can find on the transport Malta website... source it in the UK and transport it over..... maybe even drive it over.
There are many reasons I picked the Yaris , reliability ,comfort, space.... yes these cars are spacious , air con being a biggie, economy..but mainly bargain prices in the UK..I paid just over £500 and bagged myself a superb little car. everything worked and has done since I purchased it off eBay in Feb 2016 and when I finally registered it only 660 euros on the Reg tax.
The last bit of this post covers the extra non published extra cost that I have emailed the transport minister about which is in my posts title.
Before that I will tell you about documents transport and Jevic certificates.
I am a Uk citizen who owns property in Malta who registered a car previously registered in the UK in Malta.
what I experienced will be different for you if you have Maltese ID and not a uk passport.
Before you contemplate taking a car you should get a fresh MOT make sure it's taxed ,have the V5 and at least think about a Jevic certificate ( google it ) although with a fresh MOT I didn't bother. Go through the car and fix any niggles... discs pads tyres etc.
It wasn't long before costings for driving it over and the risks were less attractive than driving it to a uk site for a Maltese carrier to take it on its way which cost 850 euro plus Maltese vat... approx 1000 euro in total.
Fuel , Hotels, ferry or tunnel not to mention aggro and breakdowns mean forget driving it for me.
I used Attrans as the carrier who you will find very helpful.. they are a big outfit in Malta who pickup from 2 or 3 locations in the Uk.
On arrival You can pick it up from their depot on the newish road between the airport and Mdina just past Lidl. Do not forget to get the arrival certificate as you will need it ,they are free from the carrier.
You have 7 months to register your car from the arrival date..... that is ,7 months if you are a UK citizen wanting to pay registration tax and own property in Malta. You can not do this if you are renting as far as I am aware, and that's after asking what if your renting here ? I don't think you can bring a car in ,you have to buy in Malta I think........ and I would do if doing it again. The prices on Maltapark are as far as I can make out a lot higher than the seller is prepared to accept.
If you are in tune so far then the next part is an experience to miss if you can.
By this time you should have a printed registration value and tax payable for your car choice.
Well you now have to go to Florianna to have it checked and stamped by the officials there..... I had been told it was in Paola now ,but no, that part is still in Florianna you must take the car there.
When you have your stamped valuation, then you can go to Paola with :
UK V5
Arrival certificate
MOT or Jevic cert.
Registration forms , completed. there are 2.
Passport
Local Insurance with everything correct on it , sounds simple but it's not .
Contract of sale for your property.. the original or certified copy... certified by the purchasing notary.
UK plates , mine went on and off 4 or 5 times till I got it right.
The valuation from Florianna
Enough Money in whatever form you decide... no cheques over 750 euro I think ,I used a debit card.
Lastly....... no expectations.
You have to go to the central desk on arrival get a ticket from the stfaff on there, then, sit and wait for your ticket to come up .Up to 2 hours if it's busy... take water as it's quite hot in there. The air on works best on the left side as you go in. usually it's desk 13 of about 18 that deals with you.. you have no chance if you are like me over 55 and don't have perfect hearing there is a 2 inch gap at the bottom of the glass partition and if it's busy you can't hear anything.
So you have it all correct and the clerk dissapears in the back....you assume for photocopying.
Well that might be correct, but, expect this next.
" I am sorry I will have to stop the registration process as the police checks are not coming back immediately "
Its referred to as Police Punching and that was the first I had heard about it.
" we had 5 people yesterday they were able to come back earlier today and finish it off......." great.
To be fair the clerk took my UK mobile number and email address and promised to contact me to go in when the checks were done. If your doing this whilst there on a week break, you arrive at the weekend or worse still a Friday then it's probably Tuesday or Wednesday by now and the thought of another visit to Malta transport in your week away may fill you with dread.
The next day may arrive and go without contact..... customer services by phone are of no help as currently they are at different premesis and my 5 or 6 calls to them drew nothing other than the line going dead after 10 minutes being on hold, the staff talk the talk but can't do much for you other than forward emails on to Paola.
The necessity to attempt a completion urged me to drive in the following day and be a little more pushy with the reception staff, not taking no for an answer and being referred to a breath of fresh air Brian Farrugia.
He asked if I gave a UK mobile number and said the staff don't like calling them....
I said that I was departing the next day for the UK and that it may well be outside the 7 month limit when I come back... which if I had been completely truthful was wrong but I would end up coming over especially to register my car.... not really how it should be.
He said for me to go and have lunch come back in an hour and it would all be sorted.
The reason was that the offices were closed to the public by this point and he was making an effort on my behalf to sort it... I said yes I would be back in an hour.
On my return there was no long wait.. about 5 mins but I can live with that, No Brian Farrugia but I was soon called to get my plates pay the tax and annual circulation tax.. Job done.
There is a problem...... how much are you wanting. ?
The breakdown of the payment was broadly as I was expecting Reg tax correct, number plates, inspection fees, admin fees 93 euros ... rip off but.. it was the annual circulation tax that made wince 370 euros..
After checking what it would be right at the start of costing this exercise I was expecting 131 euros plus maybe 10 to 20. euros following budget increases so 370 is !!,!.
I asked the clerk to check it, her reply was little Britain ish... The computer works it out for us.
I still have no idea how they get to this figure, I can't find it published anywhere and consequently have emailed the Minister of transport.
The bill I was expecting was just under double what is viewable on the websites ..
THINK LONG AND HARD BEFORE TAKING THAT CAR OVER THERE.