Tribunal revokes withdrawal of VRT licence by Transport Malta

The Administrative Review Tribunal revoked and annulled an enforcement decision taken by Transport Malta against VRT operators and an employee, having found the authority's decision peppered with irregularities.

In July 2011, Transport Malta wrote to VRT operator Adrian Montanaro, claiming TM's technical officers had carried out a post-VRT inspection on a vehicle - originally certified to have been roadworthy by employee Ian Arpa - that however had cracked front brake-pipes, a loose middle-steering bush and a broken passenger seat.

Arpa had his testers' licence withdrawn for a year and penalised 170 points, amounting to a €1,870 fine.

The Administrative Review Tribunal found that while it was Arpa who committed the alleged offence, it was Montanaro who received the notification from Transport Malta. The Authority was duty-bound to notify the tester himself and not his employer. Evidence revealed that Arpa was only supposed to be penalised 90 points, rather than the 170 claimed by Transport Malta.

Furthermore, the Tribunal held that the authority neither had a right to impose an administrative penalty on the operator, when it was the tester who allegedly breached regulations, nor to convert the penalty points into a fine. The legal act regulating VRT operators states fines can only be imposed on VRT operators and not on testers.

The Administrative Review Tribunal upheld the claim filed by Adrian Montanaro and his employee Ian Arpa, and declared the Authority's decision null and void. The €1870 fine imposed by Transport Malta on Arpa was also revoked and the Authority was ordered to pay all expenses related to the case.