Cap. 368 Art. 2Interpretation. 

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"Administrative Review Tribunal" means the Administrative

Review Tribunal established under the Administrative Justice Act;

"Agency" means the Local Enforcement System Agency established by article 5 of the Local Enforcement System (Establishment as an

Agency) Order;

"agricultural tractor" means a tractor used primarily for work on land in connection with agriculture;

"amateur built motor vehicle" means a vehicle constructed for the personal use of an individual and that:

(a) the construction or assembly or substantial part of which was carried out by the individual and, or persons acting on his behalf; and

(b) the individual and, or other persons acting on his behalf during the period of construction or assembly of the vehicle did not have a business in which motor vehicles are normally constructed or assembled.

An amateur built motor vehicle is considered to be a new vehicle if, at least, the following parts of the vehicle are new:

(a) the chassis;

(b) the engine;

(c) the steering mechanism; and

(d) the axles and the gearbox; "ambulance" means a motor vehicle of category M, or of category N if manufactured before the 29th October, 2012, intended for the transport of sick or injured people and having special equipment for such purpose;

"Authority" means the Authority for Transport in Malta set up under the provisions of the Authority for Transport in Malta Act;

"autogas" means liquefied petroleum gas with specifications according to MSA EN 589 used for the propulsion of motor vehicles and includes liquefied natural gas; "autogas vehicle" means, for the purposes of this Act, a category M1 vehicle equipped with an autogas fuelling system; "brought into Malta" means the entry into Malta of a motor vehicle coming from:

(a) a Member State,

(b) the Channel Islands (Guernsey and Jersey),

(c) the Isle of Man,

(d) Monaco,

(e) Andorra,

(f) San Marino, or

(g) Northern Ireland, and which was put into free circulation in such Member State, or in the Channel Islands, or in the Isle of Man, or in Monaco, or in Andorra, or in San Marino, or in Northern Ireland as the case may be, prior to entry into Malta;"business use" means the use of a vehicle in the direct exercise of an activity carried out for consideration or financial gain; "categories L5e, L6e and L7e" shall have the same meaning as assigned to them in Annex I of Regulation (EU) No. 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of two or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles; "category M vehicles" means motor vehicles with at least four wheels designed and constructed for the carriage of passengers, and they comprise M1, M2 and M3 vehicles; "category T" includes all wheeled tractors as described in Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 February 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles: Provided that every wheeled tractor category shall be supplemented at the end by an ‘a’ or ‘b’ index according to its design speed as follows:

(a) ‘a’ for wheeled tractors with a maximum design speed below or equal to 40 km per hour; and

(b) ‘b’ for wheeled tractors with a maximum design speed above 40 km per hour;

"cc" means the cubic capacity of the engine of a motor vehicle; "certificate" means the certificate of registration issued in terms of article 14; "certificate of conformity" means the document issued by the manufacturer which certifies that a produced vehicle conforms to the approved type of vehicle and complies with all regulatory acts that were applicable at the time of its production;

"circulation licence fee" means the fee paid on the licensing of a motor vehicle and annually thereafter;

"circulation permit" means the permit issued annually by the Authority in terms of the provisions of the provisos to item 6 of the Fourth Schedule; "CO emissions" means the level of carbon dioxide emissions for a 2 vehicle measured in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 715/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2007 on type approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information as amended and contained in the relevant EC type-approval certificate or EC certificate of conformity, and where the vehicle is not type-approved, for that particular vehicle the emissions level contained in a document acceptable to the Authority, as prescribed in regulations, showing a level of emissions comparable to that in Regulation 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, amending Regulations (EC) No. 715/2007 and (EC) No. 595/2009 and repealing Directive 2007/46/EC;

"collectors’ motor vehicle" means a vehicle imported into Malta from a third country which is classified by the Customs Department under CN Code 9705000090 (collections and collectors’ pieces of zoological, botanical, mineralogical, anatomical, historical, archaeological, paleonthological, ethnographic or numismatic interest). "cycle" means a cycle fitted with an engine having a cylinder 3 capacity of more than 50 cm if of the internal combustion type and, or a maximum design speed of more than 45 km/h, and includes motor cycles, motor tricycles and quadricycles;

"depreciation" means, for the purpose of this Act, the reduction in value of a motor vehicle resulting from use and obsolescence. Depreciation is calculated from the vehicle’s date of first registration and allows for the original value of the vehicle to be modified for the purposes of tax deduction;

"Directive 70/220/EEC" means Council Directive 70/200/EEC of the 20th March, 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to measures to be taken against air pollution by gases from positive-ignition engines of motor vehicles as amended;

"Directive 88/77/EEC" means Council Directive 88/77/EEC of 3 December 1987 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous pollutants from diesel engines for use in vehicles; "Directive 1999/96/EC" means Directive 1999/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from compression ignition engines for use in vehicles, and the emission of gaseous pollutants from positive ignition engines fuelled with natural gas or liquified petroleum gas for use in vehicles and amending Council Directive 88/77/EEC;

"Directive 2002/24/EC" means Directive 2002/24/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 March 2002 relating to the type-approval of two or three-wheeled motor vehicles and repealing Council Directive 92/61/EC; "Directive 2005/55/EC" means Directive 2005/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 September 2005 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from compression ignition engines for use in vehicles, and the emission of gaseous pollutants from positive ignition engines fuelled with natural gas or liquified petroleum gas for use in vehicles; "electric vehicle" means a vehicle that derives its motive power exclusively from an electric motor, and it includes an electric motorcycle;

"Euro 2", "Euro 3", "Euro 4", "Euro 5", "Euro 6", "Euro II", "Euro III", "Euro IV", "Euro V" and "Euro VI" mean the emission standards set for all motor vehicles under Directive 70/220/EEC, Directive 88/ 77/EEC, Directive 1999/96/ EC, Directive 2005/55/EC, Regulation

(EC) No 715/2007 and Regulation 595/2009;

"European Union" has the same meaning as is assigned to it in article 2 of the European Union Act, and includes Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein; "goods carrying vehicle" means any N1, N2 or N3 motor vehicle as defined in this article;

"HDDF system" means a heavy-duty dual fuel system used on vehicles;

"heavy-duty dual fuel system used on vehicles" means a diesel engine retrofit system, as defined by United Nations Regulation No. 143, meant to allow a retrofitted diesel engine to operate both with a diesel fuel and a gaseous fuel simultaneously with both types of fuels being metered separately;

"heavy-duty motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle used for the carriage of goods or passengers which works with a compression-ignition diesel engine and has a maximum permissible mass exceeding two thousand, six hundred and ten kilograms (2,610kg), as defined in Article 1.1 of Part B of the United Nations Regulation No. 143, in Article 1.1 of United Nations Regulation No. 49 and Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No. 595/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 on type-approval of motor vehicles and engines with respect to emissions from heavy-duty vehicles (Euro VI) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information and amending Regulation (EC) No. 715/2007 and Directive 2007/46/EC and repealing Directives 80/1269/EEC, 2005/55/EC and 2005/78/EC; "hybrid vehicle" means a vehicle having at least two different energy converters and two different energy storage systems for the purpose of vehicle propulsion;

"hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle" means, for the purposes of this Act, an electric vehicle which uses a hydrogen fuel cell, instead of a battery, or in combination with a battery or supercapacitor, to power its on-board electric motor; "imported into Malta" means the entry into Malta of a motor vehicle from a third country; ''invoice'' means a document issued by the manufacturer or an authorised agent of the manufacturer or an authorised motor vehicle dealer to a buyer listing the vehicle or vehicles supplied and stating the sum of money due or paid and the chassis number of the said vehicle or vehicles; "Latest Euro Standard" means and corresponds to the dates set out in the current EU Directives and Regulations establishing emission limits for the registration of new motor vehicles;

"leasing" shall mean a contract under which the owner of a motor vehicle grants to another person the exclusive possession of the motor vehicle for an agreed period, in return for a consideration, and under such conditions that the possessor of the motor vehicle will be obliged to pay the full amount of the consideration, or a penalty, to the owner of the motor vehicle, should the contract be terminated before the expiration of the agreed period; "length of motor vehicle" means the length of the motor vehicle contained in the certificate of conformity, and where the vehicle is not covered by such a certificate, the length contained in a document acceptable to the Authority showing the technical specifications of that vehicle; "light passenger transport vehicle" means an M1 motor vehicle registered and licensed to be hired from a light passenger transport operator in accordance with the Light Passenger Transport Services and Vehicle Hire Services Regulations; "limousine" means a luxury passenger vehicle which either has a chassis or wheel-base that has been stretched, or is a sedan which is promoted as a luxury vehicle by its manufacturer;

"maximum authorized mass" means the maximum technically permissible laden mass of a motor vehicle as stated by the manufacturer; "Member State" means a Member State of the European Union;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for transport; "M1 motor vehicle" means a vehicle used for the carriage of passengers and comprising no more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat; "M2 motor vehicle" means a vehicle used for the carriage of passengers, comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat, and having a maximum mass not exceeding 5 tonnes; "M3 motor vehicle" means a vehicle used for the carriage of passengers, comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat, and having a maximum mass exceeding 5 tonnes;

"motor caravan" or "motor home" means a special purpose motor vehicle constructed to include living accommodation which contains at least the following equipment: - seats and table, - sleeping accommodation which may be converted from the seats, - cooking facilities, and - storage facilities. This equipment shall be rigidly fixed to the living compartment; however, the table may be designed to be easily removable; "motor cycle" means a two-wheel vehicle with or without a sidecar, fitted with an engine having a cylinder capacity of more 3 than 50 cm of the internal combustion type and, or having a maximum design speed of more than 45 km per hour, and including a motor tricycle; "motor route bus" means a passenger transport vehicle licensed to provide a public passenger transport service; "motor vehicle" means any vehicle which falls within any of the descriptions listed in the First and Second Schedules; "motor vehicle for hire" means a motor vehicle which is registered and licensed to be hired or leased from a vehicle hire services operator, and for the purpose of being driven by such hirer or lessee in accordance with the Light Passenger Transport Services and Vehicle Hire Services Regulations; "motor vehicle provisionally registered by the Authority" means a motor vehicle which is brought into Malta or which is manufactured in Malta and is registered by the Authority with the intention of being re-exported or exported, as the case may be, within a period of ninety days from -

(a) the date of its original entry into Malta; or

(b) from the release of the said vehicle from a bonded warehouse, in accordance with the provisions of article 20; or

(c) in the case of a vehicle manufactured in Malta, from the date of being provisionally registered by the Authority; "N1 motor vehicle" means a vehicle used for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes; "N2 motor vehicle" means a vehicle used for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12 tonnes; "N3 motor vehicle" means a vehicle used for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass exceeding 12 tonnes; "national holidays" means such national holidays as established in the National Holidays and Other Public Holidays Act; "New European Driving Cycle (NEDC)" means a driving cycle designed, to assess the emission levels of car engines; inter alia, "new motor vehicle" means, for the purposes of this Act, a motor vehicle which has never been registered in any country; "particulate matter" means the particulate emissions produced by diesel-powered motor vehicles as measured in accordance with Regulation (EU) 715/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2007 on type approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information, as amended;

"person" includes any body of persons; "person residing in Malta" means:

(a) a person to whom a legally valid identification document has been issued in terms of the Identity Card and other Identity Documents Act, or who is legally obliged to have a legally valid identification document issued under the Identity Card and other Identity Documents Act;

(b) a person, other than an individual, having his only or principal place of business in Malta; "plug-in hybrid electric vehicle" means, for the purposes of this Act, a hybrid electric vehicle that uses rechargeable batteries, or another energy storage device, that can be recharged by plugging it into an external source of electric power having a battery autonomy (or battery range) of not less than fifty (50) km; "private use" means any use other than business use;

"public passenger transport service" means the regular passenger transport services of general economic interest provided to the public on a continuous and non-discriminatory basis; "public holidays" means such public holidays as established in the National Holidays and Other Public Holidays Act; "quad bikes" means a four-wheeled bike whose maximum design speed is more than 45 km per hour and for the purposes of this Act includes wheeled tractors of category T that are supplemented by a ‘b’ index, category L6e and category L7e;

"quadricycle" means a motor vehicle with four wheels whose unladen mass is not more than 400 kg, or 550 kg for vehicles intended for carrying goods, not including the mass of batteries in the case of electric vehicles, and whose maximum net engine power does not exceed 15 kW;

"racing vehicle" means a motor vehicle specifically constructed for competitive purposes and may only be used in areas which are exclusively reserved for such competitive events;

"range extender electric vehicle" means, for the purposes of this Act, an electric vehicle which has a plug-in battery pack and electric motor, as well as a small internal combustion engine having battery autonomy of not less than fifty (50) km prior to switching to the range-extender mode;

"registration tax" means the registration tax charged and levied in terms of article 3;

"Regulation (EU) No. 167/2013" means Regulation (EU) No. 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 February 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles; "Regulation (EU) No. 168/2013" means Regulation (EU) No. 168/ 2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of two or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles; "Regulation (EC) No 715/2007" means Regulation (EC) No 715/ 2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council on type approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information;

"Regulation (EC) No. 595/2009" means Regulation (EC) No. 595/ 2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 on type-approval of motor vehicles and engines with respect to emissions from heavy-duty vehicles (Euro VI) and on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information and amending Regulation (EC) No. 715/2007 and Directive 2007/46/EC and repealing Directives 80/ 1269/EEC, 2005/55/EC and 2005/78/EC;";

"Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009" means Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for access to the international road haulage market; "Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009" means Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services;

"Regulation (EU) 2018/858" means Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, amending Regulations (EC) No. 715/2007 and (EC) No. 595/2009 and repealing Directive 2007/46/EC;";

"RV" means the registration value of the motor vehicle in terms of article 9; "road" means any national, arterial, distributor, access and local access road; Provided that the Chief Executive of the Authority may, under such conditions as he may deem fit to impose, grant permission to the public service garage for the self-drive motor vehicle intended for short term hire to be hired by a hirer or granted under leasing terms to Government departments and, or entities for a long term; "special purpose vehicles" means the same as the meaning assigned to it in Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, amending Regulations (EC) No. 715/2007 and (EC) No. 595/ 2009 and repealing Directive 2007/46/EC; "third country" means a country other than a Member State, the Channel Islands (Guernsey and Jersey), the Isle of Man, Monaco, Andorra, San Marino, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Northern Ireland (with exception for the Northern Irish territorial waters in accordance with Article 5(3) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland) on 1st January 2021 keep their status of Union goods even if they are registered in the UK;

"used motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle which is not a new motor vehicle;

"vehicle hire undertaking" means any undertaking established in Malta or in another Member State which is duly licensed under the laws of Malta of another Member State to operate the business of vehicle hire or leasing services; "vintage vehicle" means an authentic and genuine vehicle with an age of thirty years or more (to be reckoned from the date of manufacture), as certified by the vintage vehicle classification committee, which is kept in a state which is as close as possible to its original state as produced by the manufacturer and which respects the spirit of classic and vintage vehicle preservation;

"vintage vehicle classification committee" means a committee appointed by the Authority comprising a chairperson, a secretary and six (6) members, all of whom possessing the necessary technical competence, whose function shall be -

(a) to determine whether a vehicle should be classified as a vintage vehicle;

(b) to determine whether a vintage vehicle is fifty years or older (to be reckoned from the date of manufacture); and

(c) to calculate the registration value of any such vehicle for the purpose of calculating the registration tax payable on such vehicle, if applicable;

"Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP)" means a global, harmonized standard for the measurement of, inter CO emissions in traditional and hybrid cars which was alia, 2 developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe to replace the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) as the European vehicle homologation procedure.

(2) For the purposes of this Act a motor vehicle in respect of which any works have been done in Malta, including the fitting of an engine to a chassis or frame, shall be deemed to have been manufactured in Malta if the chassis or frame had not formed part of any motor vehicle imported into Malta or if the chassis or frame had formed part of a motor vehicle whose registration in Malta has been cancelled.

(3) Any reference in this Act to the owner of a motor vehicle shall be construed as including a reference to every co-owner thereof and to every person who has at the time relevant to such reference the motor vehicle in his possession or under his control.