S.L. 549.43 Art. 21Registration.

(1) Producers shall, during the calendar year of putting packaging or packaging material on the market for the first time within the territory of Malta, apply to be registered with the competent authority and shall be provided with a registration number upon registration:

Producers shall make the registration number clearly visible on their invoices and fiscal receipts.

(2) Producer registered under sub-regulation (1) shall renew their registration on an annual basis with the competent authority by the 31st March of each year:

Provided that as from 1 April of each year the competent authority shall accept renewals until the end of the year at an additional fee of seventy euro (€70) per month or part thereof of the fee/s prescribed in Schedule 8.

(3) An application for registration or renewal by a producer shall:

(a) be made either online or in writing;

(b) be signed by any of the authorised signatories referred to in Schedule 13; and

(c) be accompanied by a fee as prescribed in Schedule 8.

(4) A producer shall not be deemed to be registered or to have renewed his registration until an acknowledgement notice is issued by the competent authority, approving the producer’s application for registration or renewal.

The competent authority shall issue the acknowledgement notice within:

(a) one (1) month of the date of receipt of an application for registration or renewal; or

(b) one (1) month after the date of receipt of further information or particulars requested by the competent authority in relation to such application, whichever is the later.

(5) Where a producer ceases to put packaging or packaging material on the market, the producer shall apply for deregistration with the competent authority the following year of his ceasing to do so.

An application for deregistration shall be signed by any of the authorised signatories referred to in Schedule 13.

(6) Without prejudice to the obligations and liabilities of the person applying for deregistration relating to the time when the person was a registered producer, the competent authority shall terminate a person’s registration with effect from the last day of the year during which such person ceased to be liable to be registered, and shall notify that person in writing:

Provided that any pending information is submitted by the person to the competent authority upon applying for de-registration according to sub-regulation (5).

(7) Without prejudice to regulation 28, any producer who either fails to apply for registration in accordance to sub-regulation (1) or who fails to renew his registration by the end of the year in accordance to sub-regulation (2) shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine as prescribed in Schedule 9.

(8) A producer who sells packaging or packaging material by means of distance communication directly to consumers in Malta and is established in another EU Member State or third country shall upon applying for registration according to sub-regulation (1) appoint a legal or natural person established in Malta as an authorised representative responsible for fulfilling his obligations in Malta, pursuant to these regulations, for the packaging or packaging material being sold on the territory of Malta.

(9) Appointment of an authorised representative shall be made by written mandate by means of a declaration as set out in Schedule 14.