PUBLIC AUCTION ġ S.L.342.01 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 342.01
PUBLIC AUCTION REGULATIONS
1st June, 1991
LEGAL NOTICE 69 of 1991.
Citation. 
Regulations.
Interpretation.
Cap. 342.
"antique" and "auctioneer" have the same meaning as is assigned
to them in article 2 of the Act, and "auctioneering" means the
business of auction run by an auctioneer;
"buyer" means the buyer of a lot at an auction;
Cap. 339.
"Librarian" means the librarian mentioned in article 3 of the
National Archives Act, who is Curator of the National Archives;
"lot" means one article, or more than one article grouped
together, intended for sale at an auction;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for trade and includes,
to the extent of the authority given, any person authorised by the
Minister in that behalf for any purpose of these regulations;
"reserved price" means the price below which a seller is
unwilling to sell a lot and has notified the auctioneer to that effect;
"seller" means the owner of a lot put up for sale at an auction.
Receipt of articles 
by auctioneer.
3. (1) An auctioneer shall issue a signed receipt to a seller for
lots received by him for sale by auction.
(2) The receipt referred in sub-regulation (1) shall contain the
following information:
( a ) the name, surname and address of the auctioneer and/
or the name of the company or partnership on behalf of
which the auctioneer is exercising his business and the
name, surname and address of the seller;
( b ) a description of each lot;
( c ) the reserved price, if any;
( d ) the auctioneer’s fee and any storage or other fees and
commissions chargeable by the auctioneer to the
seller;
( e ) the amount, if any, which the seller shall pay to the
auctioneer if the seller retrieves the lot or if the lot is
not sold;
( f ) any other condition of auction which the seller and the
auctioneer may agree thereon.
(3) An auctioneer may refuse to accept a lot for sale in an
auction.
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Catalogue. 4. (1) An auctioneer shall, in respect of each auction to be
conducted by him, publish a catalogue of the lots being put up for
auction.
(2) The catalogue mentioned in sub-regulation (1) shall
contain the following information:
( a ) the name of the auctioneer and/or the name of the firm
or partnership on behalf of which the auctioneer is
trading and the address of his office;
( b ) the place where the auction is due to be held;
( c ) the dates and times for viewing of the lots on auction
and the dates and times of the auction;
( d ) the lots due to be auctioned on each day of the auction;
Cap. 364.
( e ) the conditions of the auction and the fees due to be
paid by the buyer of a lot at the auction in addition to
the purchase price and other charges permissible or
imposed by law, including duty imposed under the
Duty on Documents and Transfers Act;
( f ) the deposit to be made by the buyer;
( g ) a sequential list giving a correct description of each lot
to be auctioned;
( h ) the lots having a reserved price, below which the seller
is unwilling to sell the lots, should be marked by an
asterisk in the catalogue;
( i ) any lots which are the property of the auctioneer;
( j ) the price of the catalogue.
(3) Catalogues shall be available for sale at the place where the
auction is due to be held on the days fixed for viewing of the lots to
be auctioned and on the days of the auction.
(4) A copy of the catalogue shall also be exhibited in a
prominent place for public viewing in each room of the building
where the auction is being held.
Public 
notifications.
5. (1) An auctioneer shall publish in at least two daily
newspapers the time and dates of the place of viewing and of the
auction together with a general description of the lots to be
auctioned.
(2) Such publication shall take place at least one clear day
before the first day of viewing.
Viewing. 6. (1) On each day of viewing an auctioneer shall allow a
minimum time of two hours for the viewing of the lots to be sold by
auction.
(2) No article may be withdrawn from the auction either by the
auctioneer or by the seller at any time after the commencement of
the period of viewing by the public.
(3) There shall be charged no fee by the auctioneer or by any
other person for entry to the place where the auction is to be held
either during the days of viewing or the days of the auction.
The auction. 7. (1) An auction shall be conducted by the auctioneer
PUBLIC AUCTION ġ S.L.342.01 3
specified in the catalogue referred to in regulation 4:
Provided that where the auction is to be conducted by an
auctioneer other than the auctioneer notified in the catalogue,
notice to that effect shall be given to the public attending the
auction at the commencement of the auction on each of the auction
days and a written notice to the same effect shall be prominently
displayed at the place of auction throughout the auction days.
(2) An auctioneer shall auction all the lots entered in the
catalogue in the order set down therein.
(3) An auctioneer shall identify each lot to be auctioned by the
lot number and description of the lot as generally set out in the
auction catalogue.
(4) An auctioneer shall not himself or through any other
person acting on the same auctioneer’s behalf place bids, and an
auctioneer shall not in any way buy lots at an auction being
conducted by himself.
(5) An auctioneer shall not bid or buy, directly or indirectly, at
his auctions for any other person.
(6) An auctioneer shall not take account of a bid unless it is
made clearly and publicly.
(7) An auctioneer shall not raise the price of a lot until and
unless a genuine higher bid has been made by a bidder.
(8) An auctioneer shall knock down the lot if, after repeating
the last bid three times, no further bids are made.
(9) An auctioneer shall either assign the lot to the highest
bidder making the last bid, or shall, subject to the provisions of
regulation 8, remove the lot from the auction by declaring it as
"bought in".
Reserved price.
auctioneer cannot declare a lot sold if no offer at least equal to the
reserved price has been made.
(2) When no reserved price has been set against a lot and a bid
is made for that lot, the auctioneer may not withdraw the lot from
the auction or declare it "bought in".
(3) A lot may not be bought in if the reserved price thereof has
been equalled or exceeded by the last bid, and the auctioneer shall
not declare a lot as "bought in" if a bid at least equivalent to its
reserved price has been made.
Buyer’s deposit 
and receipt.
9. (1) The buyer may be required by an auctioneer to make a
deposit in respect of the lot purchased by him. provided that no
deposit may exceed ten per cent of the price at which the lot was
knocked down and assigned to the buyer.
(2) A deposit made by a buyer shall be forfeited to the
auctioneer in the event that the buyer does not collect the lot and
pay the balance of the purchase price and the fee and the charges
due by the buyer in terms of regulation 4( e ) by the end of the
second working day subsequent upon the last day of the auction.
4 ġ S.L.342.01 PUBLIC AUCTION
(3) On forfeiture of a deposit, out of which deposit the
auctioneer is entitled to retain the equivalent of the commission
chargeable to the buyer under regulation 14, the sale of a lot to the
buyer shall be considered rescinded.
(4) In handing over a lot to a buyer, the auctioneer shall
require the buyer to provide him with a receipt for the lot.
Records. 10. (1) Where an auctioneer conducts other business,
auctioneering shall be kept and run as a separate business, and
separate records, books, accounts and other documents as required
by these regulations or by any other Act shall be kept.
(2) An auctioneer shall keep records showing in respect of
each sale by auction and in respect of the lots sold therein -
( a ) the date or dates of the auction;
( b ) the address where the auction was held;
( c ) the lot number of each lot sold;
( d ) the name and address of the sellers of the lots sold by
auction;
( e ) the name and address of the buyer of each lot, or, in
the case of a lot which has been bought in, a statement
to that effect;
( f ) the price at knock down where a lot has been sold.
(3) An auctioneer shall keep books of account in conformity
with the principles of regular book-keeping, as well as documents
and receipts given out to sellers and secured from buyers.
(4) The accounts, documents and receipts shall be kept at the
main office of an auctioneer for not less than three years from the
end of the calendar year in which the accounts were made and the
documents and receipts were collected.
(5) The obligation to keep books of account and to preserve
documents according to any other law or regulation shall remain
unaffected.
Minister’s powers. 11. (1) An auctioneer shall furnish any information requested
by the Minister within a period of fifteen days from the date of
service of a written request upon an auctioneer to that effect.
(2) The Minister shall have the right to inspect all books of
accounts, documents and other records kept by an auctioneer in his
premises or elsewhere.
Antiques. 12. (1) An auctioneer shall notify in writing the Director of
Museums of any antique, and the Librarian of any printed work,
map, print, manuscript or other document of bibliographic or
historical importance, due to be auctioned at least seven days
before the first date fixed for the viewing of lots due to be sold at
the auction.
(2) The auctioneer shall, together with the notification in
writing referred to in sub-regulation (1), furnish the Director of
Museums and, or, the Librarian. with two copies each of the
catalogue of lots to be sold at that auction.
PUBLIC AUCTION ġ S.L.342.01 5
(3) The Director of Museums and, or, the Librarian may, not
later than two working days before the commencement of the
auction, give an auctioneer directions regarding the sale of an
antique due to be auctioned, and the auctioneer shall abide by such
directions.
Levy of fee for the 
issue or renewal of 
a licence.
13. There shall be paid to the Director of Trade, in respect of
the issue or renewal of a licence under article 4 of the Act, a fee of
one hundred liri (Lm100)  per annum  or part thereof.
Commissions.
of a lot sold at an auction shall not exceed, in respect of -
( a ) the seller, 10 per cent, and
( b ) the buyer, 5 per cent,
of the price at which a lot is knocked down.
Unsold lot.
reserved price of which was not reached at an auction, charge the
seller a fee which shall not exceed the seller’s commission on the
reserved price of the lot.
(2) An auctioneer may require a seller to collect an unsold lot
after the lapse of seven days from the service of a written notice to
that effect.
(3) In the event that the seller does not collect the unsold lot
within a period of one month from such notice, an auctioneer shall
be entitled to auction the lot without reference to the reserved price,
if any, and shall pay to the seller the proceeds derived from such
sale after deducting the commissions and charges due to him.
(4) In the event that the seller does not collect an unsold lot
after a written notice given to him by the auctioneer to that effect,
the auctioneer shall also be entitled to charge the seller a storage
fee with effect from a day occurring fifteen days after the date of
service of the notice, and such storage fee shall not exceed five per
cent of the seller’s commission in respect of every storage period of
one month or part thereof.
Retrieval fee.
auction catalogue and before its viewing by the public, the
auctioneer shall be entitled to charge the seller a fee which, in case
a reserved price had been fixed, shall not exceed one-half of the
seller’s commission.
Payment to the 
seller.
17. An auctioneer shall, within one month from the last day of
an auction, pay to the seller of a lot the proceeds derived from the
sale thereof after deducting the fees and commissions due to him.
Qualifications of 
auctioneers.
18. (1) In order to qualify for the grant of a licence to act as an
auctioneer, a person must -
( a ) be a Maltese citizen;
( b ) be not less than eighteen years old; and
( c ) be of good moral character and not have been
convicted of a criminal act relating to fraud or
misappropriation of money or other articles.
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(2) A person qualified in terms of sub-regulation (1) must also
satisfy a board of examiners set up from time to time by the
MInister in order to assess -
( a ) his ability to evaluate works of art and antiques with
special reference to the national patrimony;
( b ) his knowledge of:
(i) auctioneering legislation and procedure;
(ii) laws and regulations relating to antiques; and
(iii) general commercial practice:
Provided that this regulation shall not apply to auctioneers
in possession of a relevant, valid and official licence before the 1st
June, 1991, and to persons who have exercised the business of
auctioneering continually and exclusively during a period of five
years immediately preceding the 1st June, 1991.
