Commission urges Malta to end road tax discrimination against EU car imports

Brussels raises eyebrows over Malta’s discriminatory road tax regime on vehicles registered before 1 January 2009

Malta's road licence regime discriminates against vehicles first registered in an EU member state before January 2009
Malta's road licence regime discriminates against vehicles first registered in an EU member state before January 2009

The road licence regime in Malta is discriminatory against cars coming from other member states, the European Commission said in a reasoned opinion communicated today. 

The European Commission was commenting on the annual circulation tax regime that was amended on January 2009. It urged Malta to end the discrimination.

The annual road licence for cars registered in Malta after 1 January 2009 is generally higher than that for cars registered before this date as a result of how the tax is calculated.

However, the system does not take into account cars that were first registered in another EU member state before January 2009. This means that a car that was first registered in the EU before 2009 and later imported to Malta, does not benefit from the old taxation regime like cars first registered in Malta.

The Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion after Malta failed to amend its rules on car taxation, which it deems to be incompatible with the EU treaty that prohibits discrimination against imported products. It gave Malta two months to remedy the situation.

“The Maltese car taxation system has a discriminatory effect with respect to motor vehicles coming from other Member States. If Malta does not act within the next two months, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice,” the Commission said.