Cap. 368 Art. 18Motor vehicles brought into Malta temporarily. 

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act, the following vehicles may, subject to any conditions, restrictions or limitations prescribed by regulations, be used on the road without payment of the vehicle registration tax or part thereof and without the need to be registered with the Authority:

(a) any private motor vehicle registered in another country, which satisfies all the following conditions:

 (i) it is brought temporarily into Malta for a period, consecutive or otherwise, not exceeding seven months in any twelve month period;

(ii) by a person who has his normal residence outside Malta;

(iii) that person does not have a legally valid identification document issued in terms of the

Identity Card and other Identity Documents Act, or is, under the said Act, obliged to be in possession of a legally valid identification document or has not been issued with a residence permit in terms of the Immigration

Act; and

(iv) the vehicle is for private use or for business use: Provided that where a private vehicle registered in the country of normal residence of the user is used regularly for the journey between his residence in that country and his place of work in an undertaking in Malta, the exemption from the vehicle registration tax shall be without any time limit. For the purposes of the provisions of this paragraph -"business use" means the use of a vehicle in the direct exercise of an activity carried out for consideration or financial gain; "private use" means any use other than business use; "private vehicle" means an M1 motor vehicle, including its trailer, if any, a motor caravan, a motor home or an N1 motor vehicle or a cycle;

(b) any M1 motor vehicle or cycle registered in another country which is brought into Malta by a person who has been residing outside Malta for at least 185 days 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;

(c) any M1 motor vehicle or cycle which is imported or brought temporarily into Malta by a student who has his normal residence outside Malta for his own use and who is residing in Malta for the sole purpose of pursuing his studies in an educational institution authorized as such by the education authorities;

(d) any motor vehicle brought into Malta by a licensed motor vehicle trader as a representative sample of a particular vehicle to be displayed or used for demonstration with a view of obtaining orders for similar vehicles provided the vehicle was brought temporarily into Malta with the authorization of the Authority;

(e) goods vehicles registered in another Member State and operated by a haulier established and licensed in that Member State, brought into Malta to carry out international carriage of goods by road covered by a valid Community licence in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 as amended;

(f) passenger motor vehicles registered in another Member State and operated by a carrier established and licensed in that Member State, brought into Malta to carry out international carriage of passengers by road covered by a valid Community licence in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 as amended; and

(g) with the exception of such vehicles falling under paragraphs (e) and (f), any motor vehicle registered in another country which is used by a person who has his normal residence in Malta for a period of not more than thirty consecutive calendar days which are to be reckoned from the date of arrival of such vehicle in Malta: Provided that, upon arrival of the vehicle in Malta, that person shall notify the Authority and obtain, upon payment of the relative fee, a temporary circulation permit which allows the use of such vehicle in Malta for a maximum period of thirty consecutive calendar days: Provided further that, in the event that such motor vehicle registered in another country is used once again in Malta by a person who has his normal residence in Malta prior to the lapse of three hundred and sixty-five days to be reckoned from the previous date of arrival of such vehicle in Malta, such motor vehicle shall be subject to the payment of registration tax in terms of this Act.

(2) The exemptions under paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of the preceding sub-article shall be granted under those conditions, restrictions or limitations prescribed by the Minister responsible for finance.

(3) (Deleted by Act XIII. 2015.111).

(3a) Where a vehicle which is not subject to the exemptions stipulated in sub-article (1) is brought into Malta and is used on the road without payment of the vehicle registration tax, said vehicle shall be impounded and the owner shall be liable to the payment of the vehicle registration tax together with any administrative costs and penalties which may be established by the Authority and, following such payment, shall be obliged to either register the vehicle or take the said vehicle out of Malta within such time as may be prescribed by the Authority, from time to time: Provided that the owner may, instead of payment of the vehicle registration tax, pay the Authority an administrative penalty of two thousand euro (€2,000) and proceed to take the said vehicle out of Malta within such time as may be prescribed by the Authority.

(4) An M1 motor vehicle or a cycle which is hired or leased from a car hire undertaking established in another Member State by a person who is not a resident of Malta shall be exempt from the requirement to be registered with the Authority and from the payment of registration tax thereon if that vehicle is used in Malta for a continuous period of not more than thirty days, during which period it may -

(a) be re-hired once only to a person who does not have his normal residence in Malta with a view of the said vehicle being taken out of Malta, or

(b) be returned by an employee of the car hire undertaking whether or not the employee has his normal residence in Malta, and where the vehicle remains in Malta for more than thirty days it shall be registered with the Authority and it shall be charged to a registration tax at the rate or in the amount specified in the Second Schedule.

(5) (a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), for the purposes of this article, "normal residence" means the place where a person lives for at least 185 days in each year, because of personal and occupational ties, or, in the case of a person with no occupational ties, because of personal ties.

(b) Where the occupational ties of a person are in a place different from that of his personal ties and consequently lives in turn in different places situated in two or more countries, the normal residence of that person shall be regarded as being the place of his personal ties provided that, unless the person is living in another country in order to carry out a task of a definite duration, such person returns there regularly.

(c) A person who lives in a country primarily for the purpose of attending a school or university or other educational or vocational establishment shall not be regarded as having his normal residence in that country.

(d) Proof of normal residence shall be given by the person bringing temporarily a motor vehicle into Malta by means of a legally valid identification document, or utility bills, or documents relating to the acquisition of property or to employment or to other transactions carried out in the course of day to day living, and any other valid documents which the Authority may require or accept.