Malta has implemented an Order for ‘Mutual Assistance for the Recovery of Claims relating to Taxes, Duties and other Measures’ through L.N. No. 153 of 2012. This replaces ‘The Implementation of Directive 76/308/EEC (Mutual Assistance for the Recovery of Claims relating to Certain Levies, Duties, Taxes and other Measures) Order’ which had become effective in 2004.
The Minister for Finance is the competent authority to administer a central liaison office to serve as the main contact under this Order. Any information may be requested by EU member states, so far as it not excluded or may be refused as directed under the Order.
Request for information
The provision of information may be refused where it cannot generally be obtained in the recovery of similar claims arising in Malta, where it would disclose a commercial, industrial or professional secret and where the disclosure of which would prejudice the security or be contrary to the public policy of Malta. Should there be a ground for refusal the requesting authority is to be informed without delay.
Information held by a financial institution, a nominee, a person acting in an agency or fiduciary capacity, or information which relates to an ownership interest in a person is not considered as privileged information. This means that unless it may be refused on the basis of the above reasons, the information must be disclosed.
Request for notification of documents
Upon receipt of a request for notification of documents, an application is to be made requesting the Courts to order the document, including documents of a judicial nature, to be served upon the person to whom the notification is required.
Request for recovery of a claim
A request for recovery of a claim which is subject to an instrument permitting enforcement in the requesting member state will be treated as a recovery of a debt arising in Malta. Malta shall also charge interest for late payment according to Maltese law. Interest is payable on the amount of the claim as from the date on which the recovery request is received.
A request for the recovery of a claim in Malta may be refused if the claim has been contested in the applicant member state and the applicant authority has not specifically requested the recovery of such contested claim. Recovery may also be refused if the applicant authority has not exhausted the procedural remedies in its jurisdiction.
In some cases the applicant authority may submit a request without making recourse to the recovery procedure in its member state. This arises where the debtor has no assets in that state or his assets are not sufficient to satisfy the claim, where the applicant authority has been informed that the debtor has assets in Malta and where recourse to the procedures in the applicant state would give rise to disproportionate difficulties.
Malta may refuse to grant assistance if the recovery of the claim would create serious economic or social difficulties in the requested Member State or if the request for assistance is in relation to a claim which was due in the applicant member state five years prior to the date of the initial request.
Costs
No costs shall be due between the applicant authority and the requested authority for assistance given in pursuance of this Order.
Official secrecy
The information which is communicated pursuant to this Order is subject to official secrecy. The information may be used as evidence by the Maltese courts and authorities.
This article is intended to be of a general nature and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any individual or entity. The authors shall not be responsible for any damage which may arise from reliance on information contained in this article. Specialist advice should also be sought before any action is taken on this basis.
