The Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Communications has announced that the hearses market is to be liberalised. Therefore, the 14 requests for the 17 hearses that have been submitted to the Malta Transport Authority will be accepted, as will other requests from people interested in working in the sector.

This sector was previously protected with a restriction policy, which did not allow anyone other than those who already had a licence to operate in the sector. This policy was a great disadvantage to consumers because it limited their choice. In fact no new licences for hearses have been issued in the past 36 years.

In the spirit of fair competition, the government said that it has decided that the issuing of new licences is to be administered through the Trade Department and the Malta Transport Authority will be responsible for licensing the vehicles. Anyone who satisfies the established criteria will be eligible for a licence.

The Malta Transport Authority will therefore be issuing a licence for any hearse that satisfies the established criteria, hearses are only to be imported brand new and no hearse which has been on the road for more than 20 years will have its licence renewed.

The government will also be removing the exemption on the registration tax for hearses, and will instead impose a 30 per cent registration tax on the value of the hearse. The government will also be removing the fixed charges, which the government said are in reality never applied, and open up the market to fair competition.

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