CLAMPING AND REMOVAL OF
ENCUMBERING OBJECTS - TRAFFIC ġ S.L.65.13 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 65.13
CLAMPING AND REMOVAL OF ENCUMBERING 
OBJECTS - TRAFFIC REGULATIONS 
27th June, 1997
LEGAL NOTICE 94 of 1997, as amended by Legal Notices 192 of 1999,
123 of 2001 and 405 of 2003.
Title.
Encumbering Objects - Traffic Regulations.
Interpretation.
Substituted by:
L.N. 192 of 1999;
Amended by:
L.N. 123 of 2001.
2. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise
requires-
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Police, members of
the Police Corps or any contractor duly authorised by him for
specific purposes of these Regulations;
Cap. 363.
"Council" means a local council established under the provisions
of the Local Councils Act, or any contractor duly authorised by the
Council for specific purposes of these regulations;
"derelict vehicle" means an abandoned motor vehicle which is
unfit to be used on the road and, where its identification can be
established, in respect of which the road licenses for the current
and previous year have not been paid;
"Director" means the Head of the Licensing and Testing Department;
"encumbering objects" means any motor vehicle, seacraft or any
other thing obstructing or otherwise causing any nuisance or
inconvenience in any street, road, quay, wharf or other place;
"maritime officer" means such officer of the Malta Maritime
Authority as may be responsible for the registration of sea-going vessels
less than 24 metres in length.
S.L. 65.05
"clamping zone" and "towing zone" means any such place or area
as may be indicated by notice issued by the Commissioner and by
means of signs and markings in terms of the provisions of the
Traffic Signs and Carriageway Markings Regulations, where the
prohibited parking of vehicles is subject to the fixing of clamps to
the wheels or the towing away of such vehicles from such zone, as
the case may be.
Removal of 
encumbering 
objects from a 
towing zone.
Amended by:
L.N. 192 of 1999;
L.N. 405 of 2003.
3. (1) The Commissioner or the Council may remove, store
and dispose of any encumbering object which is causing any
nuisance, inconvenience or obstruction and is in a place or space
which is not lawfully permitted to be used for such purpose, or if
such place or space is specifically indicated as a towing zone:
Provided that any encumbering object which has been so
removed or stored or is still in the process of being disposed of,
shall not be returned to its owner before a fee levied by the
Commissioner or the Council, in terms of these Regulations, has
been paid.
(2) The Commissioner or the Council may remove any vehicle
2 ġ S.L.65.13
CLAMPING AND REMOVAL OF
ENCUMBERING OBJECTS - TRAFFIC
whose road licence has not been paid for any current year,
whenever the renewal of such licence is overdue by more than three
months:
Provided that such vehicle shall not be returned to its owner
unless and until the road licence of the said vehicle is paid in
addition to the fee levied by the Commissioner or the Council as
stipulated in regulation 9( b ) and ( c ):
Provided further that the provisions contained in these
regulations applicable to encumbering objects shall also apply to
any such vehicle as is referred to in this subregulation.
Fixing of clamps in 
a clamping zone.
Amended by:
L.N. 192 of 1999.
4. It shall be lawful for the Commissioner or the Council to
fix wheel clamps to any motor vehicle parked or left unattended in
an area specifically indicated as a clamping zone.
Removal of 
clamps.
Amended by:
L.N. 192 of 1999.
5. The wheel clamps shall neither be removed by the
Commissioner or the Council nor shall the vehicle be returned to its
owner before a fee levied by the Commissioner or the Council in
terms of these Regulations has been paid:
Provided that should the owner of the clamped vehicle fail
to pay such fee within a reasonable time not exceeding 24 hours,
the clamped vehicle shall be removed from the clamping zone, and
the provisions of regulation 9( b ), ( c ) and ( d ) shall then apply.
Liability 
exemption or 
otherwise.
Amended by:
L.N. 192 of 1999;
L.N. 123 of 2001.
6. The Commissioner or the Council shall be exempt from
any liability for damages arising in connection with the fixing of
clamps or the removal thereof, and the storage and disposal of
encumbering objects or derelict vehicles in accordance with
regulations 3, 4, 5, 8 and 8A:
Provided that a person who acts with malice or is guilty of
gross negligence in the performance of his duties during such
fixing or removal of clamps, or storage or disposal of the vehicle,
shall not be exonerated from liability for damages caused.
Notice of removal 
and storage.
Amended by:
L.N. 192 of 1999.
7. (1) The Commissioner or the Council shall publish a notice
of removal in the Gazette, describing the encumbering object
removed and indicating the exact locality from where it had been
removed.
(2) The Commissioner or the Council shall also indicate in the
same notice the place where the encumbering object is being
stored.
Disposal of 
encumbering 
objects.
Amended by:
L.N. 192 of 1999;
L.N. 123 of 2001.
8. (1) The Commissioner or the Council may order the sale of
an encumbering object when it is not retrieved by its lawful owner
within one month from the publication of a notice of removal by
the Commissioner or the Council in the Gazette and three other
local newspapers, calling on such owner to retrieve such object
after producing sufficient proof of his entitlement thereto, or such
guarantee which the Commissioner, or the Council, may deem
sufficient indemnifying him against any claim in connection with
the return of such object to its lawful owner.
(2) The Commissioner, or the Council, shall utilise the
proceeds of the sale first to compensate any outstanding removal or
CLAMPING AND REMOVAL OF
ENCUMBERING OBJECTS - TRAFFIC ġ S.L.65.13 3
storage fees due to him, and subsequently to refund any remaining
balance in favour of the persons who would have been entitled to
retrieve the encumbering object.
(3) Any sale made in terms of sub-regulation (1) of this
regulation shall be made either by public auction or after a call for
tenders.
(4) The Commissioner or the Council may, in his discretion,
dispose of those encumbering objects which have not been returned
or sold by public auction or after a call for tenders, after having
given at least one month’s notice to the Minister responsible for
Finance.
(5) Where the encumbering object removed is a sea-going vessel
which is less than twenty-four metres in length, the Commissioner or
Council, as the case may be, shall notify the Maritime Officer in writing
within eight days of the removal about the registration particulars of
such sea-going vessel and the manner and circumstances in which such
vessel came in his possession.
Disposal of derelict 
vehicle.
Added by:
L.N. 123 of 2001.
Amended by:
L.N. 405 of 2003.
8A. (1) In the event that the object to be removed is a derelict
vehicle the Commissioner or Council may affix a notice on the
vehicle, in which it will be indicated that the object is being
considered to be a derelict vehicle. In this notice there shall be
included:
( a ) the date when the notice was affixed on the derelict
vehicle; and
( b ) a warning stating that if the derelict vehicle is not
removed within eight days from the date of the notice
issued in accordance with paragraph ( a ), the said
vehicle shall be removed by the Commissioner or
Council, as the case may be, at the expense of the
owner, if known.
(2) The Commissioner or Council shall immediately remove
the said derelict vehicle, or order its removal, from its location
after the expiration of the period in the notice issued in accordance
with subregulation (1) hereof.
(3) A derelict vehicle that is removed by the Commissioner or
Council in pursuance of the procedures mentioned in
subregulations (1) and (2) shall be sold or destroyed following the
issuance of an order by the Commissioner or Council if such
vehicle has not been claimed back by its legitimate owner within
three days from when the vehicle was removed by either of them in
accordance with these regulations:
Provided that without prejudice to the right of the
Commissioner or the Council to dispose of the derelict vehicle as
aforesaid, the Commissioner or the Council shall have the right to
impose a fee of not more than five hundred liri.
(4) A private contractor who removes a derelict vehicle on the
order of the Commissioner or Council, as the case may be,
following the procedures mentioned in subregulations (1) and (2),
shall deal with and, or dispose of the derelict vehicle as he deems
4 ġ S.L.65.13
CLAMPING AND REMOVAL OF
ENCUMBERING OBJECTS - TRAFFIC
fit after the lapse of three days from when it was removed by him in
accordance with these regulations.
Notification to be 
given to Director.
Added by:
L.N. 123 of 2001.
8B. The Commissioner or the Council shall notify the Director
in writing within eight days of their coming into possession of any
vehicle, whether derelict or not, in consequence of any action taken
by them in accordance with these regulations, and the manner and
circumstances in which the said vehicle came into their possession:
Provided that the Commissioner or Council shall not be
required to notify the Director in the event that the said vehicle has
been reclaimed by its lawful owner within the eight days limit
specified under this regulation.
Fees to be levied 
by the 
Commissioner or 
the Council.
Amended by:
L.N. 192 of 1999;
L.N. 123 of 2001;
L.N. 405 of 2003.
9. There shall be payable to the Commissioner or the Council
the following fees: 
Provided that when additional expenses in excess of each
particular fee in paragraphs ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ) above have been
incurred, the Commissioner or the Council shall also have the right
to collect such expenses and subsequently to detract them for the
proceeds of any sale or disposal of the object and to exact payment
thereof before surrendering any object either to its lawful owner or
to the purchaser in the event of a sale by auction.
Criminal and civil 
actions to remain 
unprejudiced.
Amended by:
L.N. 192 of 1999.
10. Every measure taken by the Commissioner, or the Council,
under these Regulations shall not prejudice any criminal or civil
action. 
Offences.
Amended by:
L.N. 192 of 1999;
L.N. 123 of 2001.
11. (1) Any unauthorised person who attempts to remove, or
removes, wheel clamps fixed to a motor vehicle, or attempts to
remove, or removes, a motor vehicle with clamped wheels, or an
encumbering object which has been removed, stored or still in the
process of being disposed of under regulation 3, or attempts to
remove, or removes, the notice referred to in regulation 8A(1),
shall be guilty of an offence against these Regulations.
(2) In the case of any person who obstructs or otherwise causes
any nuisance or inconvenience by means of an encumbering object
in any street, road, quay, wharf or other place, the court may at the
request of the prosecution, in addition to the punishment applicable
to any such offence, inflict an additional penalty equivalent to the
fees due to the Commissioner under regulation 9.
( a ) for the removal of clamps ..................... Lm30
( b ) for the release, towing or removal of the
encumbering object or derelict vehicle
and storage thereof during the first 24
hours or part thereof ............................. Lm45
( c ) for the storage of the encumbering
object or derelict vehicle after the first
24 hours, per day or part thereof ........... Lm3.
( d ) for the disposal of derelict vehicles ...... Lm500.
