Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1322776
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 DECEMBER 2020 14 COMMERCIAL Cybersecurity: Identifying threats and taking preventive measures THE recent acceleration in dig- ital transformation served as a positive opportunity for agile businesses to improvise and adapt to new customer habits. Concurrently, the intensive shift to online commerce has brought about a corresponding surge in cybercrime. Bank of Valletta and The Mal- ta Chamber recently organised a free webinar, to raise aware- ness about the changing land- scape of cybersecurity and how businesses can reinforce resil- ience so as to mitigate poten- tial cybercrimes. "COVID-19 shifted busi- nesses from the office onto the web," commenced Marisa Xuereb, Deputy President of The Malta Chamber. "Businesses and even cus- tomers are therefore more exposed to cybercriminals, as the network of cybercrime continues to grow". Ms Xuer- eb particularly highlighted the increase in remote working to be a beacon that attracts online criminals. "Cybersecurity is no longer just a technological accessory, it is now a business issue," claimed Joseph Agius, Chief Technology Officer at Bank of Valletta. "The conse- quences of suffering a cyber- attack are massive, resulting in data loss, system outage and reputational damage." He described today's attackers as highly sophisticated ones, car- rying out hacks through mal- ware and identity theft among others. Mr Agius concluded that for such reasons, business- es should measure the efficien- cy of existing security controls, manage organisational risk and invest in adaptive and flexible IT infrastructure. With the intensive growth of digitalisation and the continu- ous switch to remote working, the exposure to cybercrime will increase. Being 100% safe can- not be guaranteed, but mitigat- ing risk is possible. Businesses should have a con- tingency plan of combatting cybercrime by seeking con- sultancy, setting up a security team, deploying multiple lay- ers of security and constant- ly educating employees to be cyber-smart. A recording of this webinar can be viewed on https://youtu.be/9hs9FgN- qdG4. Registration of vehicles imported from the UK and other non-EU countries TRANSPORT Malta has issued guidelines for car importers and car dealers, of both new and used vehicles imported from the UK or other non-EU countries. The following are the guidelines for the registration process of such vehicles in Malta as of the date in which the United King- dom (UK) (comprising England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) leaves the European Un- ion (EU) on the 31st December 2020 (the withdrawal date), in the eventuality that such event occurs without the implemen- tation of a withdrawal agree- ment. New guidelines are also available for both new and used vehicles imported from non-EU countries. Registration of new vehicles imported from the UK after the withdrawal date: All new vehicles that are ac- companied by a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) referring to a UK type-approval cannot be registered in Malta after the withdrawal date. A UK type-approval may be recog- nised from the type-approval number or from the type-ap- proval mark "e11" that is shown on the CoC. All new vehicles imported from the UK after the with- drawal date will only be regis- tered in Malta if they are ac- companied by a CoC referring to a type-approval issued by a Type-Approval Authority of any other EU member state. Any UK type-approval auto- motive items cannot be placed on the local market after the withdrawal date. Besides the applicable regis- tration tax, Value Added Tax (VAT), and other fees (such as administration and registra- tion plates fees), new vehicles which will be imported from the UK after the withdrawal date will also be subject to the applicable customs duties and VAT upon their registration in Malta. Registration of used vehicles imported from the UK and from other non-EU coun- tries after the withdrawal date: After the withdrawal date, all used passenger cars (M1), goods carrying vehicles (N1) and motorcycles (L) registered in and imported from the UK will only be registered in Malta if they are either accompanied by: a registration certificate referring to a type-approv- al issued by a Type-Approv- al Authority of any other EU member state; or a Single/Indi- vidual Vehicle Type-Approval Certificate issued by a Tech- nical Service designated by a Type-Approval Authority of any EU member state. All used passenger cars (M1), goods carrying vehicles (N1) and mo- torcycles (L) registered in the UK on or before the withdraw- al date but imported from the UK after the withdrawal date shall continue to be registered in Malta under the same pro- cedure that was applicable be- fore the withdrawal date, and shall therefore not be bound by the conditions stipulated in the preceding paragraph. However, besides the appli- cable registration tax, VAT, and other fees (such as admin- istration, inspection and reg- istration plates fees), all used vehicles which will be import- ed from the UK after the with- drawal date will also be subject to the applicable customs du- ties and VAT.Used passenger cars (M1), goods carrying vehi- cles (N1) and motorcycles (L) imported from other non-EU countries (such as Japan) will continue to be registered in Malta only if they are accom- panied by a Single/Individual Vehicle Type-Approval Certif- icate issued by a Technical Ser- vice designated by a Type-Ap- proval Authority of any EU member state. All the other conditions (Reg- istration and Licensing of Mo- tor Vehicles Regulations (S.L. 368.02)) for the registration of used vehicles in Malta, includ- ing those imported from the UK, shall apply. A minimum Registration Tax will also be applicable to all USED M1 vehicles which are five (5) years or older since the date of first registration/man- ufacture. Vehicles imported from the UK on or before the withdraw- al date, can be registered in Malta under the normal proce- dures. Owners have 30 days to register such vehicles. There- fore: • Authorised motor deal- ers already in possession of USED vehicles import- ed from the UK, or have such vehicles arriving in Malta by the 31st of De- cember 2020, may regis- ter them after the 1st of January 2021 under the normal procedures (i.e. no customs duty or VAT will be applicable); and • Documents (a copy of the Registration Certificate, Notice of Arrival and Invoice) of USED vehi- cles already in stock and bearing a UK registration plate must be deposited to Transport Malta offic- es by not later than the 23rd of December 2020. After the withdrawal date (i.e., as from the 1st of January 2021), all used vehicles import- ed from the UK shall be cate- gorised as used non-EU vehi- cles. Payment of customs duty and applicable VAT should be made at the Customs office prior to registering such vehi- cles with Transport Malta.