S.L. 499.59 Art. 21Application for a taxi licence.

(1) An application for a taxi licence shall be made to the

Authority by the person in whose name the motor vehicle is to be registered and licensed as a taxi.

(2) Taxis shall only be driven by the licence holder himself where he is also a holder of a driver’s permit, or by a holder of a driver’s permit who is employed by the licence holder or who has a contract of service with the licence holder.

(3) An application for a taxi licence, shall, specify inter alia, whether the taxi will be used on the island of Malta or on the island of Gozo and, such information shall be recorded on the relative licence if and when this is issued. A taxi shall be used exclusively on the island which is specified on its licence: Provided that taxis which are registered and licensed to be used in the island of Gozo, may also carry passengers directly -

(a) from any place in Gozo to the Malta International Airport, or from the Malta International Airport to any place in Gozo; and

(b) from any place in Gozo to any hospital in Malta or from any hospital in Malta to any place in Gozo:

Provided further that while carrying out such trips, the taxi driver shall not, while driving in any road in the island of Malta pick up or drop off any other person: Provided further that taxis registered and licensed to be used in the island of Malta shall not be used to convey any person from any place in Malta to any place in Gozo or from any place in Gozo to any place in Malta.

(4) The vehicle licence holder shall when applying for a taxi licence:

(a) present to the Authority proof that the initial verification of the taximeter has been carried out; and

(b) present the vehicle to the Authority, or a body approved by the Authority, for a visual and technical inspection to ensure that the vehicle fulfils all the technical specifications, constructional requirements and other requirements laid down in these regulations: Provided that such verification or inspection shall not have been carried out earlier than forty-five days before the date of application.

(5) An application for a taxi licence shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed in the Second Schedule.

(6) The decision of the Authority to grant or refuse a taxi licence shall be communicated in writing, by registered post, to the applicant at the address specified in the application.

(7) Where the Authority refuses an application, it must specify the reasons for its refusal.

(8) Where the Authority intends to refuse an application, it shall give the applicant concerned notice in writing setting out the reasons for its intention to do so. Every notice of refusal shall state that the applicant has a right to make representations in writing, within ten days, to the Authority giving reasons why the application should not be refused and the Authority shall consider any representations so made before arriving at a final decision.

(9) The Authority shall notify in writing its final decision to the applicant concerned and when an application is refused by the Authority, the applicant may appeal to the Tribunal against the decision within a period of thirty days from notification of the Authority’s decision.

(10) A taxi licence shall be valid for a period of one year and shall be renewed every year thereafter.

(11) A taxi licence may only be transferable together with the taxi in respect of which it is issued:

Provided that taxi licences issued for the first time after the coming into force of these regulations shall not be transferable for a period of five years from when they are first inter vivos issued. This proviso shall not apply to electric mini cabs.

(12) Where a taxi is transferred inter vivos from one person to another as aforesaid within five years from when its taxi licence is issued in breach of sub-regulation (13), the taxi licence shall be forfeited and that motor vehicle shall no longer be licensed as a taxi. This sub-regulation shall not apply to taxis which were licensed as such at the date of coming into force of these regulations

(13) For the purposes of this regulation, where a taxi is registered in the name of or on behalf of a company, any transfers of shares within that company resulting in a share transfer of the controlling interest, whether in one transfer, or in a number of separate share transfers, shall be considered to constitute a transfer of the taxi.

(14) For the purpose of sub-regulation (14) "transfer of controlling interest" shall be considered to mean one or more transfers which singly or in total amount to fifty per inter vivos cent of the shareholding or of the voting rights of the company.

(15) Where the licence holder of a motor vehicle submits to the Authority, together with an application for a taxi licence, a request for the deletion of the licence of another taxi of which he is the registered licence holder, the taxi licence being applied for shall be considered as a replacement of the licence being deleted.

(16) The Authority may , upon payment of the fee stipulated in the Second Schedule, issue a temporary taxi licence to a licence holder -

(a) for a period not exceeding six months in respect of a motor vehicle which would have to be used instead of a licensed taxi operated by that licence holder where that licensed taxi has been damaged in an accident or has been written-off following an accident, or

(b) for that period in which a licensed taxi remains out of service due to technical faults in respect of a motor vehicle which would have to be used instead of a licensed taxi operated by that licence holder where that licensed taxi has to undergo repairs for such technical faults, or

(c) for a period not exceeding six (6) months in respect of a motor vehicle which would have to be used instead of a licensed taxi operated by that licence holder where that licensed taxi can no longer be so used for a reason which the Authority may, in its absolute discretion and after considering the circumstances of each case, determine to be valid:

Provided that the vehicle being temporarily licensed as a taxi under paragraphs (a) or (b) or (c) conforms to the provisions of these regulations other than regulation 20(1)(a), (h), (i) and (j), and is not more than ten years old: Provided further that where the temporary taxi licence is required for less than one month the vehicle temporarily licensed as taxi under paragraphs (a) or (b) may not conform to regulation 20(1)(g) on condition that such vehicle is operated as a taxi exclusively from taxi booths where fixed fares shall be applied in accordance with regulations 42(1) and 66.