S.L. 409.16 ст. 7OPCs and marketing companies promoting timeshare. S.L. 409.05

(1) (a) No person shall operate and provide services of a marketing company for the promotion of timeshare and timeshare-like products unless such person has previously applied for and obtained a licence for that purpose issued by the Authority. Any such licence shall remain valid until the thirty-first day of December next following the date of issue and may be renewed from year to year or for such further periods as may be specified by the Authority:

Provided that the renewal of such licence shall only be subject to the continued fulfilment of the relevant applicable requirements and tourism policy current at the time.

(b) All applications for the issue of licences to marketing companies to market and promote timeshare and timeshare-like products are to be made to the Authority in the form established for the purpose.

(c) The Authority shall issue any such licence if it is satisfied that the person applying to operate and provide services of a marketing company for the promotion of timeshare and timeshare-like products has submitted the information and documentation as requested by the Authority. Such information and documentation includes:

(i) proof of the identity, place of residence, contact details and legal status of the applicant;

(ii) the registration number and the articles of association when the applicant is a body corporate;

(iii) good character reference or certificate of good conduct of the applicant; when the applicant is a body corporate, the character reference or certificate of good conduct shall be of the person or persons who hold the legal representation of the company;

(iv) total itemised inventory of the timeshare units or timeshare-like products to be marketed by the applicant in Malta; including the main features of the immovable property or ancillary services;

(v) declaration by a trustee confirming the itemised inventory referred to in sub-paragraph (iv);

(vi) proof of the identity, contact details, legal status, place of residence or place of incorporation as applicable, and registration number of the trustee making the declaration referred to in sub-paragraph (v).

(2) (a) The marketing company shall not market and promote an operational resort for timeshare and timeshare-like purposes through the off-premises system unless any OPC representative carrying out such activities is licensed by the Authority in accordance with these regulations.

(b) The marketing company which is marketing and promoting an operational resort for timeshare and timeshare-like purposes through the off-premises system shall apply to the Authority for every resort it promotes.

(c) The marketing company shall be held responsible by the Authority for its OPC representatives, whether these are engaged on a full-time or part-time basis or any other contractual basis or terms of engagement, to conform fully with the provisions of these regulations, with any other applicable law and with the conditions of their licence.

(d) The marketing company shall deposit a bond in favour of the Authority, at a bank and an account indicated by the Authority, for the amount of two thousand and five hundred euro (€2500) for every OPC representative it employs or otherwise engages.

(3) Any OPC representative licensed by the Authority shall:

(a) display prominently the identity document issued to him by the Authority, which identity document shall be of a colour different from those of other marketing companies and shall show the name of the OPC representative and the marketing company in bold clear letters;

(b) if using a car -

(i) for the last twenty-five metres, approach the tourist and public on foot;

(ii) strictly adhere to the driving code of conduct;

(iii) not approach and contact a tourist while the OPC is in the car;

(iv) not utilize another OPC as a driver but shall ensure that such a driver, if utilized, waits for him in the car;

(c) not conduct his activities in the company of more than one other OPC in the same area;

(d) not conduct his activities within fifty metres of another OPC marketing the same resort;

(e) show respect towards other OPCs, whether these are engaged by the marketing company he represents or are engaged by another marketing company; he shall furthermore not at any time argue, shout or engage in an argument whatsoever with any other OPC;

(f) respect the privacy of tourists and the responsibility of the Authority’s officials in carrying out their duties and shall not, in any way, cause emotional distress to any person by verbal or physical harassment or coercion;

(g) not loiter within a distance of twenty metres of any commercial outlet and shall not carry out his activities from inside any commercial outlet unless so authorised by the licensee of the same outlet;

(h) not misinterpret, in any way, the operational resort and the product he is marketing and shall provide true and genuine information of such resort and product to the tourist he is contacting; and

(i) be properly dressed at all times.

(4) (a) A marketing company using the services of OPC representatives who are not licensed by the Authority shall become liable to pay a penalty of two thousand and three hundred euro (€2,300), and may also have the maximum number of its OPC representative permits reduced by two for a period of twelve months from the day the fine has been imposed by the Authority.

(b) The licence of a marketing company to market and promote an operational resort shall be suspended by the Authority if, within seven days of the order by the Authority to reduce its OPC representatives by two in terms of paragraph (a), has failed to comply with such an order.

(c) The licence of a marketing company to market and promote an operational resort shall be suspended by the Authority for one year, and the OPCs’ licences engaged by the same marketing company shall be immediately withdrawn, if it is found by the Authority that the licensee of the marketing company is permitting any person to carry out OPC activities while the licence of the same OPC was suspended by the Authority.

(d) The Authority shall impose fines for breaches of the regulations by OPCs as indicated in the Schedule.

(5) The Authority shall:

(a) immediately suspend the licence of any OPC, and such OPC shall not be issued with a subsequent licence for a period of twenty-four months following such suspension if the OPC is found to have tampered with the identity document issued by the Authority in his name;

(b) immediately withdraw the licence of any OPC found by the Authority to have acted in an abusive and incorrect manner with tourists or with the officials of the Authority or to have acted in liaison with any unlicensed OPC;

(c) not issue a licence to a person to act as an OPC, if that person was previously found by the Authority to have acted as an OPC without a licence for that purpose issued by the Authority;

(d) suspend the licence of an OPC for a period of twelve months, if such OPC has been found by the Authority to have breached these regulations or the conditions of his licence for three consecutive times within the preceding twenty four months.

(6) (a) Any amounts withdrawn by the Authority from the bond deposited with it by the marketing company to cover fines imposed as per these regulations shall, within seven days of the imposition of the fine, be replaced by the marketing company with the same amount withdrawn by the Authority in order that the bond deposited shall at all times remain equivalent to the amount of two thousand five hundred euro (€2,500) for every OPC engaged by the marketing company.

(b) The fines imposed by the Authority in terms of these regulations shall, following notice in writing to the marketing company, be withdrawn from the bond deposited by the marketing company with the Authority unless the marketing company or its representative shall supply proof to the satisfaction of the Authority that the breach has not been effected.

(c) Before withdrawing amounts from the bond deposited with the Authority by the marketing companies to cover fines, and before imposing fines on OPCs and marketing companies for breaches of these regulations, the Authority shall inform the marketing company or the OPC, as the case may be, of its intention and shall give the marketing company or the OPC an opportunity to make representations.

(d) If the marketing company or OPC is aggrieved by any decision of the Authority, the marketing company or OPC may lodge an appeal from such a decision in accordance with the provisions of the Third Schedule to the Act on the payment of the fee set out in the Fees (Tourism) Regulations.