Prior to last Monday’s Budget, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry said that it had voiced its concern with respect to the uncertainty that had prevailed from the possibility of increased indirect taxes.

“Now that the Budget Speech has confirmed increases in Excise Duties on a variety of products and services including beer, sprits and tobacco products,” the Malta Chamber said that it “must reiterate its concern on the probability of increased illicit trading into Malta stemming from the country’s poor track record in enforcing indirect taxes.

“The country still lacks a fair and effective system of market surveillance to the detriment of Government coffers, the consumer and tax compliant businesses.”

The Malta Chamber added, “without a fair and effective market surveillance system, it is tax compliant operators who bear the brunt of increased investigations because they present a more convenient target to the authorities. Meanwhile, these operators need to face unfair competition from illicit traders who – on a daily basis – are allowed to place competing items on the Maltese market without the fulfilment of any fiscal, environmental or consumer safety obligation. This state of affairs is no longer tenable.”

“With higher Excise Duties in place,” the Malta Chamber said that it “insists on the establishment of a unified entity responsible for performing organised and effective market surveillance on both the fiscal and technical levels in a concerted effort to fight the problem of illicit trade.

“This authority must be armed with the necessary resources and executive powers to be in a position to, once and for all, proactively enforce taxes, laws and regulations on those that operate below the radar and beyond the knowledge of any authority including fiscal,” the Malta Chamber concluded.

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