Government Notices published in Government Gazette No. 21,042 of 21st April 2023

The President of Malta has been pleased to approve the transfer of Lieutenant Colonel James Grixti from the Regular Force of the Armed Forces of Malta to the Regular Reserve Force, on retirement, with effect from 21st April, 2023.

IN SUPPLEMENT

IT is notified for general information that the following Bill is published in the Supplement to this Gazette:

Bill No. 53 entitled the Arbiter for Financial Services (Amendment) Act, 2023.

IT is notified for general information that Dr Daniel Attard, LLD, will be resigning from Official Curator and Advocate for Legal Aid (Malta) with effect from 1st May, 2023.

Appointment of Notary Delegate/Keeper

It is hereby notified that in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 20 of the Notarial Profession and Notarial Archives Act, the Court of Revision of Notarial Acts has appointed Notary Dr Emma Amato to be notary delegate and keeper of the Acts for Notary Dr Pierre Cassar for the period between the 19th of April 2023 and the 3rd of May, 2023, both days inclusive.

ADV. MARIA RUTH Ciantar, Dip. Laws of Proc. (Melit.), LLB (Hons) (Melit.), M. Adv. (Melit.), M. Not. St (Melit.)

Deputy Registrar, Court of Revision of Notarial Acts

Upper Barrakka Gardens

It is notified for general information that as enabled by Section 2 of the Public Gardens (Closing) Ordinance (Cap. 34) the Director of Agriculture has approved that Upper Barrakka Gardens will be closed to the public on Sunday, 30th April, 2023, from 3.00 p.m. onwards,  and will be under the control of OPM.

Notice in terms of Article 61(1)

In terms of the proviso to article 61 (1) of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act, the Commissioner for Revenue hereby notifies the persons listed  hereunder to call at the Capital Transfer Duty Department, 46, Triq il-Merkanti, Valletta, to collect the notices made on such persons.

THE Commissioner of Inland Revenue notifies that, on the date shown hereunder, the price of gold and silver on which valuations made by the Consul for Goldsmiths and Silversmiths are based has been fixed for the purposes of article 14 of the said Act as follows:

AND ANIMAL RIGHTS

Boat Restoration Scheme

This scheme shall help in the cultural preservation of the local fishing fleet and is aimed at the professional categories (MFA / MFB). Registered wooden fishing vessels which year of construction dates prior to 2007 (base year also included). Only MFA or MFB registered vessels, which vessel type is either a: Firilla, Frejgatina, Kajjik and Luzzu, shall be considered as being eligible. Apart from financial and sectorial aspects, these vessels have also a cultural and historical value and should therefore be preserved.

1. Definitions

In this scheme, unless the context requires otherwise:

“Minister" means the Minister responsible for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights.

“Director" means the Director responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

 “Owner/s" means the natural or legal person/s under whom the ownership of a fishing vessel is registered.

“Applicant" carries the same meaning as “owner".

2. Who is eligible for such assistance?

Owner/s of fishing vessel/s which are made entirely of wood, are registered in the professional categories (MFA/MFB), which year of construction was 2007 or earlier. Only MFA or MFB registered vessels, which vessel type is either a: Firilla, Frejgatina, Kajjik or Luzzu, shall be considered as being eligible.

This measure will be implemented in line with the provisions of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 of 27 June, 2014, on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector (OJ L 190, 28.6.2014, p. 45) as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2020/2008 of 8 December 2020 amending Regulations (EU) No 702/2014, (EU) No 717/2014 and (EU) No 1388/2014, as regards their period of application and other relevant adjustments (OJ L 414, 9.12.2020, p. 15), and as further amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2514 of 14 December 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 as regards its period of application (OJ L 326, 21.12.2022, p. 8).The DFA shall request for a signed declaration from the undertaking concerned about any other de minimis aid received during the previous two fiscal years and the current fiscal year. Applications shall not be considered as eligible unless the above regulatory provisions are met.

3. How does a person acquire the right for this assistance?

1. Eligible vessel owners should fill in an Application Form to formally register their interest in this scheme. All declarations and documentation should be provided as per instructions provided in the Application Form;

2. Interested applicants are encouraged to fill in the attached Application Form with the necessary documentation and then return it by hand to the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture by not later than the 08/05/2023, unless otherwise notified by the DFA;

3. All eligible applicants shall be notified via an official letter;

4. Payments shall be processed in a single batch, following the submission of itemised valid fiscal receipts with a photo of the restoration work done on the vessel or a photo of the materials purchased related to the restoration of the vessel;

5. Following the vetting of receipts, all applicants will receive their submitted amounts to their personal bank account.

4. How support is calculated

The maximum financial allocation shall be calculated on the registered vessel length in meters as per below pre-defined length categories, each having a corresponding financial value. In under no circumstance shall the value of maximum support received exceed the stipulated value. The total value of aid provided  shall be capped to this pre-defined limit.

Category 1: 00 – 05.99M - €1300 (Max Support)

Category 2: 06 – 11.99M - €2700 (Max Support)

Following the last submission of receipts, eligible applicants shall not be entitled in any manner for any pending unclaimed balance.

Vessel owner/s in possession of more than one eligible vessel shall be entitled to apply for multiple vessels, which financial support shall then be calculated following the same principles as stipulated in the above schedule, depending on the applicable category.

The Grant can only be availed of / applied for once (per vessel), by the applicant (registered person/s) owning the vessel/s.

The DFA reserves the right to revise the total Eligible Maximum support value if required.

5. What does such assistance consist of?

This measure will be implemented in line with the provisions of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 of 27 June 2014 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the fishery and aquaculture sector (OJ L 190, 28.6.2014, p. 45) as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2020/2008 of 8 December 2020 amending Regulations (EU) No 702/2014, (EU) No 717/2014 and (EU) No 1388/2014, as regards their period of application and other relevant adjustments (OJ L 414, 9.12.2020, p. 15), and as further amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2514 of 14 December 2022 amending Regulation (EU) No 717/2014 as regards its period of application (OJ L 326, 21.12.2022, p. 8).

Only the following or similar expenditure shall be considered as being eligible:

Decorative, protective and antifouling paint (or similar);

Solid, laminated, plywood wood sheets and planks (or similar);

Copper nails, bolts, rivets and screws (or similar);

Glues, epoxy, sealant and caulking (or similar);

Direct labour costs (up to a maximum of 20% of the total eligible support).

The following or similar expenditure shall be considered as being non eligible:

Equipment (or similar);

Engine parts, engine oils, lubricants (or similar);

Power tools and hand tools (or similar).

The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture reserves the right to determine the eligibility of submitted receipts/claimed expenditure, as per parameters stipulated above. All expenditure eligibility shall be subject to the scrutiny, interpretation and acceptance of the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. Expenditure defined as being eligible or non-eligible by the Department shall be deemed as final.

The English version of both the Application Form and the Terms and Conditions shall prevail in case of conflict or interpretation with the Maltese version.

6. How shall it be paid?

The payment will be processed and paid via the applicants' bank account.

Registered vessel owner/s benefitting from this scheme cannot decommission their vessel for a period of 5 years following the date of acceptance of support, unless support received is entirely refunded back to the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture by the applicant / owners benefitting from this scheme. If during the 5-year period the boat is sold or transferred, the original applicant/owner shall still remain legally responsible of actions incurred.

7. Whenever false information is given or failure to conform to the provisions of the scheme

Any false declaration/s shall be defined as being a criminal offence. The applicant shall be held personally liable to return back any monies received, if payments would have already been processed. One will also be automatically disqualified from the scheme. This clause does not have an applicable time limit and shall remain in force indefinitely.

8. Duration of the scheme

This is a scheme which was launched in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and is being launched once again during 2023. It will be implemented in 2023 and concluded in 2024.

Receipts shall only be considered as valid if the expenditure incurred/receipt date falls between the period 01/03/2023 and 28/11/2023.

9. Amendments to the scheme

The Minister shall make the necessary amendments to this scheme by publishing the said amendments in the Government Gazette.