Importing cars to sell as a tourist

Hi, I'm new to the forum

I have searched high and low for all the details regarding this subject but there are still things that I feel I am missing.

A few months ago I visited Malta for the first time with my Uncle who used to have a holiday home in Malta. I am a self employed car trader in England and couldn't help but notice the extremely high prices of cars in Malta. Having thought this is too good to be true I did some research and found out about the registration fees and a few other details and realised there is still a big difference in price between UK and Maltese cars. Well some anyway.

As the title suggests I am interested in bringing some cars over, as I mentioned my uncle used to have a holiday home in Malta and is interested in moving on a permanent basis, at least splitting his time between UK and Malta. So I would drive a car over and fly back when I visit. Obviously leaving the car to be sold. As a way of paying for my trips mostly.

So to my question, is it possible for a tourist to drive a car from the UK, register and then sell the car in Malta for a profit?

Thank you in advance

As far as I understand you would need to be a resident here and you would have to pay to import the cars here as you would not have owned them for two years.

Thanks for your reply, I understand that I would have to pay for the registration of the cars I'm just wondering if there is any kind of law that would stop me from doing this? Do I have to be a Malta resident to register a car?

Jb1128 wrote:

Do I have to be a Malta resident to register a car?


I think the short answer is yes!  Also you would need to be here long enough each time to see the process through. I also believe you would have to spend a minimum of 183 days a year here to be a resident.
There are businesses here who do just that and I know an individual resident who tried bringing a couple of vehicles across and he did not make enough to make it worth while.
Also there are companies who will simply transport a car across that you have bought and register it for you, all for a fee, but probably less than you would need yourself to make it worth while.

Good Luck.