The European Commission decided on Thursday 19 May to refer Malta to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the grounds that Malta taxes second-hand vehicles imported from other Member States more heavily than those purchased on the Maltese market.
Despite the lack of harmonisation of vehicle taxes, the Commission considers that Malta does not respect Article 110 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which prohibits discrimination against imported products.
Currently, vehicles registered for the first time in Malta after 1 January 2009 are subject to a generally higher annual circulation tax than those registered before that date. However, this system does not take into account the date of first registration of the vehicle when this took place in another Member State, but the date of registration in Malta. Vehicles registered in other Member States before 1 January 2009 and brought into Malta after that date are therefore subject to a higher annual circulation tax than similar vehicles already registered in Malta before that date. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)