The Court has ordered the Malta Business Registry to reinstate three companies to its corporate registry, with the hope that this would make it easier for the Commissioner for Revenue to recoup at least some of the money it says the companies owe it.
In three separate judgements handed down by Judge Ian Spiteri Bailey, the Court ordered the reinstatement of Aujofa Sport Ltd, DIS Companies Ltd, and Toys ’N Kids Ltd to the Maltese register of businesses.
All three companies have had cases opened against them by the Tax Commissioner as it attempts to collect its dues. However, during separate sittings of the Administrative Tribunal related to each case, the Commissioner was “surprised” to find that the three companies in question had been struck off the corporate registry.
It argued that their effective dissolution “seriously prejudices” its ability to collect the money it is owed.
Aujofa Sport Ltd has VAT arrears amounting to €483,834. It is owned by Anderson Javite, currently residing in Uruguay. It was opened in 2012 and never filed the necessary annual reports and company accounts. It was therefore stuck off in May 2021.
DIS Companies Ltd has VAT arrears of €394,813. It is owned by Daniel Farrugia. It was opened in 2009 and last filed company accounts in 2011. It was struck off the registry in April 2020.
Toys ’N Kids Ltd (Chains Enterprises Ltd) has VAT arrears of €110,994. It was opened in 1991 and last filed an annual report in 1994. Since 2013, it has not had any officials. It was struck off in March 2021.
As per the Company Act, since less than five years have passed since the three companies were struck off, the Commissioner for Revenue – or any other creditor, for that matter – can ask for their reinstatement.
On its part the MBR argued that it had removed the companies as they had failed to honour their obligations as registered companies.
It added that it had complied with the legal procedure necessary down to the letter, including issuing public notices of their impending dissolution. The Commissioner for Revenue, however, did nothing at the time these notices appeared on the Government Gazette and on local media.
In his sentence, Judge Spiteri Bailey agreed that the MBR had indeed followed the correct procedure, and found no fault in the way it conducted its efforts.
However, given that there are pending court cases, the Judge deemed it best to once again include them in the registry – with the caveat that if the tax department fails to enforce its powers over the companies in question, the MBR can once again remove them in case of their continued abdication of responsibility.
