S.L. 499.68 Art. 7BApplication for an SOV operator licence.  

(1) The application for the granting of an SOV

operator licence shall be submitted to the Authority and shall be in such form and contain such details as may be required by the

Authority from time to time, and shall be submitted together with:

(a) a conduct certificate issued by the Director,

Department of Justice within the Ministry responsible for justice in accordance with article 4 of the Conduct Certificate Ordinance containing either a declaration to the effect that the applicant and, or the person referred to in regulation 6(2) and, or (3) are of good conduct, or a declaration containing an indication of the convictions of the said person by any court of justice, whether in Malta or abroad, which are recordable in accordance with the Conduct Certificate Ordinance:

Provided that if the applicant and, or the persons mentioned in regulation 6(2) and, or (3) are not normally resident in Malta, it shall be sufficient for them to provide an apostilled extract from their judicial record or an equivalent apostilled document issued by the competent judicial or administrative authority of their country of origin or the country they are coming from; VEHICLE HIRE SERVICES

(b) details of the number and class or description of each motor vehicle for special occasions that is intended to be used in the business of passenger transport for special occasions. Such vehicles shall be registered with the Authority;

(c) a declaration that the applicant has at his exclusive disposal a garage indicated on his licence, which is of sufficient size to accommodate the parking of all vehicles registered under his licence, in a manner that each vehicle may access and exit the garage without the need to move any other vehicle. The applicant shall also undertake to the Authority that, for the duration of the validity period of his licence, all vehicles registered under his licence shall, when not in use for the provision services, and except as provided in regulation 17, be parked in the applicant’s listed garage:

Provided that if the applicant declares that he does not hold absolute ownership of the garage described in this paragraph, said applicant shall also provide a declaration signed by the owner and, or any co-owner, stating that they authorise the applicant to enjoy the exclusive use of the described garage for a period of not less than twelve (12) months from the date of issuance of the licence;

(d) a report signed by a warranted perit regarding each garage listed in the applicant’s application for the operator’s licence, which shall:

(i) include the addresses and site plans of each listed garage;

(ii) include a declaration that the applicant has exclusive use of the garage indicated on the licence and specify under which title he holds such exclusive use over the listed garage;

(iii) include the address of the applicant’s operational centre;

(iv) specify the total number of vehicle spaces in each listed garage;

(v) certify that each listed garage is of sufficient size to accommodate the parking of all vehicles registered under his licence; and

(vi) provide the relevant permit approving the use of the garage for parking the vehicles as a public service garage, along with details of any such permit: Provided that if the applicant declares that he does not hold absolute ownership of the garage described in sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii), the applicant shall also provide a declaration signed by the owner and, or any co-owner, stating that the applicant is authorised to enjoy the exclusive use of the garage for a period of not less than twelve (12) months from the date of the issuance of the licence:

Provided further that an applicant for an SOV operator licence who applies to register, and or renew four (4) special occasion vehicles or less under his license shall not be required to submit the documentation described in sub-paragraph (vi):

Provided further that an applicant for an SOV operator licence who exceeds the maximum number of special occasion vehicles established in the preceding proviso shall only be obliged to submit proof that he enjoys the exclusive use of a garage conforming to the specifications in sub-paragraph (vi) with respect to those vehicles exceeding the threshold of four (4) special occasion vehicles:

Provided further that the Authority reserves the right to send its perit to verify the accuracy of the information submitted by the applicant in his application, and the applicant shall not obstruct the Authority’s officials in any way when they conduct unannounced inspections of the premises indicated as garages and, or the applicant’s operational centre, as applicable.

(2) The documents prescribed in sub-regulation (1)(a) shall not be accepted if they are produced later than three (3) months from the date of issue.

(3) The Authority may require the applicant to provide all details submitted in relation to the application mentioned in sub-regulation (1) in a formal statement or sworn affidavit in the manner specified by the Authority.

(4) An application for the issuance of an SOV operator licence shall be accompanied by the payment of the fee stipulated in the First Schedule:

Provided that when the applicant has more than one (1) garage, the application fee shall nevertheless be as stipulated in the First Schedule for all garages.

(5) The issuance of an SOV operator licence by the VEHICLE HIRE SERVICES

Authority automatically excludes such operator from registering his motor vehicle for special occasions under, or in any way making available his services on, any intermediary booking platform authorised to offer globalised services online for the provision of light passenger transport services.