Author: SME Chamber

All Economic Operators are being informed that in accordance with the Transit Manual Working Document (TAXUD/A2/TRA/003/2016-EN), the proof of status is required at the final Union port of destination (discharge), issued and authenticated by the competent authority (T2L).

It is recommended that in these cases the proof of status accompanies the goods from the start of the transport operation. Proof of the customs status of Union goods through the invoice or transport document in lieu of the presentation of a T2L.

 

The invoice or transport document shall include at least the following information:

• •                 the full name and address of the consignor, or of the person concerned where that person is not the consignor;
• •                 the number and kind, marks and reference numbers of the packages;
• •                 a description of the goods;
• •                 the gross mass in kilograms;
• •                 the value of the goods;
• •                 the container numbers, if appropriate;
• •                 the symbol T2L or T2LF, as appropriate;
• •                 the hand-written signature of the person concerned

Note: the invoice or transport document must relate only to Union goods.

At the request of the person concerned, the invoice or transport document duly completed and signed by him shall be endorsed, by the competent office.

In the Union only: where the total value of the Union goods covered by the invoice or transport document does not exceed EUR 15000, no endorsement by the competent office is required. However, the name and address of the competent office shall be shown on the invoice or document, in addition to the above details.

In addition, the Department would like to remind you that ONLY original T2L/T2LF supported by an original copy 4 of the Single Administrative Document (SAD) and original invoices/transport documents are accepted.

This procedure also applies to Maltese Economic Operators who are sending community goods to another Member State.

For further information and clarification, you may wish to contact the Department’s Customs Economic Procedures Unit (CEPU) on Tel: 25685141/2 or by send an email to 

Notice to Economic Operators: Economic Operators Registration and Identification number (EORI)

Anyone importing commercial goods from outside the EU (or exporting in the opposite direction) needs an EORI number. The number is also used bycustoms authorities when exchanging information between themselves and government departments and agencies.  In accordance with the VAT Act, an Economic Operator is not required to apply with the VAT Department for importation purposes however the same EO needs to be VAT registered when declaring goods for export.

In this context, an EORI number may be issued irrespective of whether the Economic Operator is VAT registered or not.  If not VAT registered, the Economic Operator cannot access our National Export System (NES).

For additional information, you may wish to contact the Customer Services Unit (Tel: 25685123) or by sending an email to: 

Notice to Economic Operators: Obligations of the holder of the Union Transit Procedure and of the Carrier and Recipient of goods moving under the Union Transit Procedure

Malta, along with all other parties to the Common Transit Convention, has been investigating the high number of undischarged movements in NCTS. It has become clear that a major reason for non-discharge is that goods and/or the TAD are not being presented to Customs at the Office of Destination. In some cases, customs declarations are being made without reference to transit while in others no customs declarations are being made at all.

Some Consignees are not recognising the TAD as an official document and are not aware of their responsibilities according to the law.

This notice draws attention to the legal responsibilities of importers and carriers and explains what Customs are doing to promote compliance.

Article 233 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 (the Union Customs Code) provides that the principal is responsible for producing goods intact, within prescribed time limits, at the Customs Office of Destination. The Article goes on to provide that a carrier or recipient of goods who accepts goods knowing that they are moving under Community Transit is also responsible for meeting these obligations. The provisions are replicated in the Common Transit Convention.

Principals, carriers and consignees should ensure that they know when goods are moving under transit and make the necessary arrangements to comply with procedures. They should also ensure that both they and their employees are able to recognize a TAD as an official document. In a transit movement under the NCTS ‘Normal Procedure’, the TAD accompanies the goods and both it and the goods must be presented to Customs at the nominated Office of Destination. Customs retain the TAD and send an NCTS arrival message. If a TAD is included with paperwork received by the consignee there is a strong presumption that the transit movement has not been completed. In such circumstances the consignee should contact Customs immediately.

It is important to note that failure to fulfil these obligations may constitute offences in terms of the Union Customs Code (Reg (EU) No 952/2013) and/or of the Customs Ordinance (Chap. 37) and, consequently, subject to penalties/criminal offences.

Excerpt from the Union Customs Code

Article 233

Obligations of the holder of the Union transit procedure and of the carrier and recipient of goods moving under the Union transit procedure

1. The holder of the Union transit procedure shall be responsible for all of the following:

(a) presentation of the goods intact and the required information at the customs office of destination within the prescribed time-limit and in compliance with the measures taken by the customs authorities to ensure their identification;

(b) observance of the customs provisions relating to the procedure; and

(c) unless otherwise provided for in the customs legislation, provision of a guarantee in order to ensure payment of the amount of import or export duty corresponding to any customs debt or other charges, as provided for under other relevant provisions in force, which may be incurred in respect of the goods.

2. The obligation of the holder of the procedure shall be met and the transit procedure shall end when the goods placed under the procedure and the required information are available at the customsoffice of destination in accordance with the customslegislation.

3. A carrier or recipient of goods who accepts goods knowing that they are moving under the Union transit procedure shall also be responsible for presentation of the goods intact at the customsoffice of destination within the prescribed.

The scheme announced this morning by Bank of Valletta with the support of the Malta Development Bank is very good news for Maltese Businesses. Businesses will be able to apply for financing of their projects up to a maximum of Eur 750,000, at a 3.5% interest rate and lower collateral requirements.

GRTU welcomes this announcement as the first positive tangible step made by the Malta Development Bank. The development bank was the mover behind this scheme but GRTU thanks all the parties involved, both foreign and local, that came together to make this possible.

GRTU had campaigned for the establishment of a Development Bank for Malta for many years and what we are experiencing today was specifically the reason. Many businesses, especially SMEs, experience difficulties in accessing finance because of the high interest rates and collateral requirements, making access to finance very expensive.

This scheme puts businesses at par with many other EU countries when accessing finance. On average businesses will now pay the same for an investment as their counterparts would do in a number of Member States, not twice or three times as much.

The scheme is currently accessible through Bank of Valletta and GRTU encourages businesses to make the most out of this invaluable opportunity.

Business interested can contact GRTU for further information.

GRTU has taken note of information that came out today concerning a case related to the procurement process of a public tender. Such episodes shed a bad light and instill doubts on the good governance and transparency of the public procurement systems.

 

Although GRTU positively notes the decision to reverse this ‘illegal’ intervention, GRTU however expresses its disappointment on the fact that bidders had to resort to the avenues of appeal in order to protect and safeguard their interest.

CEO Abigail Mamo said that ‘A small business would have simply given up and would end up losing on what is his due to irregularities and inconsistencies. Fighting such unfairnesses is more taxing on the smaller businesses that have limited resources to pour into legal remedies.’

GRTU therefore notes that a fool-proof mechanism should be in place to monitor these irregularities and pro-actively avoid such situations. Systems must be applied across the board and any such human intervention prohibited.

GRTU insists that such cases must be thoroughly investigated and the root of the issue uncovered in a transparent manner and resolved through actions and penalties for all parties involved in any wrongdoing. Apart from prohibiting, the system cannot allow any kind of leniency in such grave circumstances and clear messages need to be given on the repercussions and lack of tolerance of such actions.

Tul l-aħħar snin saru numru ta’ apelli formali lill-kontrollur tad-dwana, biex jirregola id-dħul ta vetturi fi ħdan il-portijiet lokali u biex titieħed azzjoni immedjajta kontra persuni mhux liċenzjati li qegħdin jiġu permessi jidħlu fil-port u jagħmluha ta’ Burdnara. Għalkemm saru diversi apelli, sfortunatament, dawn l-apelli, waqgħu fuq widnejn torox.

Għal-darb’oħra, il-Burdnara Section Committee tinnota li Kap. 203, Artiklu 3 tal-liġi ta’ Malta jgħid li ħadd ma jista’ jagħmilha ta’ Burdnar ħlief  b’permess tad-dwana u skont permess tad-dwana mogħti għalhekk mill-kontrullur. Barra minnhekk Artiklu 9 tal-istess Kap jgħid li importatur, esportatur u sid ta’ merkanzija jistgħu jittrasportaw merkanzija minn jew għall-tinda tad-dwana, maħżen għal depożitu, veranda, mall jew post iehor ta depożitu, permezz tas-servizzi ta’ Burdnar liċenzjat.

Filwaqt li l- Burdnara Section Committee fi ħdan il-GRTU  għal-darb’oħra qiegħda iżżomm il-Kummissarju tat-taxxi responabbli għall-danni, spejjeż u nteressi li diġa’ sofrew u li jistgħu isofru b’konsegwenza ta’ dan, ttenni l-apell tagħha biex titieħed azzjoni mmedjata u jitwaqqfu persuni mhux liċenzjati li qegħdin jitħallew jidħlu fil-port u jagħmluha ta’ Burdnara.

Il-Burdnara Sectional Committee tapella ukoll lill-membri tagħha biex jassiguraw li jkollhom l-‘isticker’ tal-permess tad-dwana imwaħħal ma’ kull vettura irreġistrata dan biex jiġi ffaċilitat ix-xogħol lill-membri tad-dwana u jkun assigurat li kulħadd huwa konformi mal-liġi.

Il-Burdanra Sectional Committee ttemm billi tfakkar li aġir bħal dan jkompli jdajjef il-kompetitivita’ ta’ dawk li jimxu skont il-liġi u fl-istess ħin jibgħat mesaġġ li min jikser il-liġi jista’ jagħmel dan b’mod liberu u mingħajr konsegwenzi.

GRTU President Paul Abela said that not only was 2018 another busy year for GRTU but it was also an extraordinary year.

“This year GRTU started operating from its new headquarters in Floriana. At the same time we also started implementing the biggest EU funding project ever administered by GRTU in terms of value. This is helping GRTU be stronger and more effective, providing GRTU and its members with great benefits”, said the GRTU President.

Mr Abela also announced the start of a rebranding project which aims to give a new, revamped image to the organisation and one that better reflects what GRTU is and does today. The GRTU President mentioned that we will not forget where we started from, as our history is part of who we are today and we will endeavour to incorporate this into a new brand. This is a very exciting project for us and our members and it will drive GRTU into the future.

Mr Abela also mentioned that he is proud that GRTU has managed to become versatile, extending its membership of over 90 economic sectors to welcome gaming companies, companies in financial services and companies that are based on consultancies.

Ms Abigail Mamo, GRTU CEO, gave a detailed presentation on GRTU’s Annual Report.

Mr Marcel Mizzi, GRTU Vice President Finance and Administration, presented an overview of GRTU’s accounts to the General Meeting.

Mr Paul Abela expressed his gratitude towards GRTU’s staff and councillors for their hard work throughout the year.

On the 13th March 2019, Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri launched the National eSkills Strategy which runs between 2019 and 2021 and aims to, amongst others, address the need for existing and new digital skills that shall be required by nearly all jobs in the medium term was.

Speaking at the launch of the strategy, Mr Schembri said that the IT sector had become more and more important, with all business activites requiring some level of technology integration into their everyday running.

The National eSkills Strategy 2019-2021 gives strong strategic direction and trajectory, providing a set of recommendations with possible initiatives that Malta can undertake. Key recommendations include the adoption of a rolling strategy, training for SMEs in terms of applied emerging technologies for economic growth, developing local talent, focusing on the youth, shifting young people towards being participative rather than just consumers of technology, and assessing digital skills in education, amongst other relevant recommendations.

GRTU’s Vice President (Finance & Admin), Marcel Mizzi was appointed as a member of the Strategic Consultative Committee. The committee was created to provide feedback to Government regarding changes to the strategy as well as assisting in the uptake of the intiatives that the Strategy will include.

 

On the 9th February the Falsified Medicines Directive was implemented in the whole of the European Union. GRTU is at the forefront in implementing this directive and was instrumental in founding MAMVO, the Maltese Medicines Verification Organisation. In less than 7 months, significant investments were made in order to assist pharmacies and wholesale dealers implement software and systems enabling them to comply with this directive.

 

So how does it work ? How does the Falsified Medicines Directive tackle this threat? The EU passed legislation in 2011 – known as the Falsified Medicines Directive (Directive 2011/62/EU) – to prevent falsified medicines infiltrating the legal supply chain and ultimately from reaching European patients. Measures to tackle the threat include: A requirement for medicine packs to carry special safety features in the form of an anti-tamper device (e.g. foil seal, breakable cap) and a barcode containing ‘unique identifiers’ (including a serial number) to enable the authenticity of the pack to be checked prior to dispensing. A common, EU-wide logo to identify legal online medicines suppliers, making it easier to distinguish them from illegal operators. This is essential for peace of mind and patient safety.

GRTU is there to assist its members, Pharmacy owners and Wholesalers, in every way it can. It has done so in many ways, the FMD being just one of them.

GRTU organised no less than 15 well attended meetings in Malta and Gozo in order to help members gear up and comply with the directive. In a comment’ GRTU’s head of the Pharmacy division, Mr Mario Debono, thanked all pharmacy owners and their staff and especially his hard working committee members, Dr Claire Shoemake and Mr JoJo Grima, for their work and assistance in this very major project. The work continues.

This morning, GRTU published the results of it’s annual Business Performance Survey. The study is conducted online and on the phone by GRTU’s own team. This year, the number of respondents was 250 and these included many different types of businesses. The locations of the respondents are from across the Maltese Islands and include retail establishments that are located in shopping centers. The main aim of the study is to compare business performance in 2018 as compared to 2017.

The survey results show clearly that overall, 2018 was a better year for business than 2017. The increase in turnover is coupled with a lesser although significant increase in profits it was reported.

The results show that clearly, the most significant challenge that businesses are facing is employee shortage. Data shows that in spite of this, staff turnover is not overly significant. Businesses report that they are having to raise the wages of their employees so that they can reduce staff turnover.

 

DOWNLOAD FULL SURVEY

 

Respondents that reported an increase in turnover where asked to what they attributed this change. The replies were varied with introducing new products and services on top followed by the increase in the population. The latter is an element which was repeatedly mentioned in the survey results. Quite a high number of businesses claimed that the increase was also due to better consumer spending power. On the other hand, those that reported a reduction in their turnover attributed this mostly to an increase in competition both from local companies and foreign ones. Illicit trading mostly from Italy was also a significant factor as was online shopping. Lack of human resources as well as traffic and parking problems where also selected as reasons for a decline in sales.

Respondents where also asked if they are selling online and 30% reported that they sell appoximately 5 to 10% of their total turnover online. This is an increase from 2017 when only around 20% claimed to be selling on line. A significant number, this year, also reported that they are in the process of setting up shop online in the near future. Businesses that are not selling online were asked to pin point reasons. The largest proportion claimed that their products cannot be sold online or that their clients do not buy online. Others claimed that it is too time consuming to keep an eCommerce site updated and that they are too busy anyway.

Turnover during the Christmas festivites was reported to be good with Black Friday featuring as one of the top days. Black Friday sales were not reported to have a significant effect on the turnover of the whole year.

Finally respondents were asked their expectation for 2019 and 41% are expecting 2019 to be a better year for business and a significant number stated that they expect to enlarge their business in 2019.

 

Conclusions

Although the results show clearly that business was better in 2018 then in 2017, undoubtedly, Maltese Business are facing challenges and at the top of the list is employee shortage. Businesses are having to shelve new projects because finding employees has become such a challenge. To further aggravate the situation businesses are reporting that when they are using resources to bring foreign employees, they are finding it very difficult to open Bank accounts and many cannot afford lodging in any case. Another major challenge is the traffic situation and parking. Deliveries and logistics have become much more expensive due to higher wages to retain employees and the much longer time that each task is taking to complete due to the constant traffic congestion which has now become daily and at most times.

Many businesses rightly complain about Italians coming to Malta selling goods without VAT and other charges resulting in unfair trading. They also mention that it is unfair that foreigners can set businesses in Malta and pay much less taxes then their Maltese counterparts. Unfair practices are reported to being carried out regularly through online channels including social media as well and that they are not being controlled in any way.

 

 

 

Illum waqt il-laqgħa li l-GRTU ħejjiet għall-membri tagħha, l-uffiċċjali tal-GRTU u l-membri tal-Kumitat tal-Pompi tal-Petrol spjegaw l-andament tal-laqgħa mall-Ministru Mizzi u r-riżultati li wasslu f’arranġament, pendenti I-konferma mill-membri.

Il-GRTU għamlet enfasi li issa l-importanza qiegħda li ż-żmien qasir li fadal jintuża b’mod għaqli. Se naħdmu flimkien sabiex ma jintilifx żmien ħalli kemm huma b’mod individwali, kif ukoll Malta bħala pajjiż ma jkollomx inkwiet għaliex d-Direttiva ma tiġix osservata fiż-żminijiet stipulati.

Is-Sidien tal-Pompi urew l-apprezzament tagħhom għax-xogħol li għamlet il-GRTU u għal kull min kien strumemtali biex intlaħaq l-arranġament.