Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/809226
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 APRIL 2017 12 News IDENTITY Malta (IM), the government agency tasked with the administration of identity documents, passports, and work and residence permits, has denied the ex- istence of failures in its register, insisting the system used has recently been audited and found to be up to standard. Doubts were raised about the ID cards register after Nationalist Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami stated he was aware of individuals who had two identity cards, entitling them to a corresponding number of voting documents. This was followed by a report in The Malta Independent, citing leaked docu- ments from within the agency, which al- legedly showed the ID card system to have "collapsed". TMI said the leaked docu- ments showed 80 individuals out of a sam- ple of 300 taken by the agency had multi- ple ID card numbers listed in the register. But Identity Malta denied the claims, telling MaltaToday a recent audit carried out by Ernst & Young and the European Telecommunications Standard Institute on behalf of the EU had found Malta's sys- tem to be up to standard. Identity Malta also stressed that the leaked documents did not constitute a sample but the entire list of individuals as- signed a 'Provisional' ID card. "It is the full list (and not a sample) of persons having a 'P' ID card," said the spokesperson. "P stands for Provisional and it caters for Maltese citizens who for some reason or other were not able to pro- duce a birth certificate." The agency confirmed that these indi- viduals do have a right to vote and their number amounts to 283 "of whom 278 ap- peared in the last electoral register," with the vast majority – 276, it said – having been issued by the previous administra- tion. Asked about reports that some individu- als had more than one ID card number, and whether errors could occur in the reg- ister, the spokesperson said that the sys- tem "has no systematic faults". "The National Identity Database Man- agement Computer System provides for double and triple checking of the data be- fore the issuance of an ID card. All hard- ware and software supporting NIDMS are in line with international standards," the agency's spokesperson insisted, again pointing to the audit carried out in De- cember. The leaked documents do show a num- ber of entries that appear to have more than one identification number associated with them. Some, in addition to having a 'P' ID number, also have an 'A', 'L', or 'M' number listed under a different column. IM pushed back against claims that these individuals had two ID card numbers. "The fact that the document indicates that persons had different ID card num- bers is historical and provides a trail of that person's identification/ID card num- bers. It does not in any way mean that the person holds two valid cards at the same time," the agency said. It also pointed out that 'A' cards are not ID cards. "These documents are is- sued to expatriate persons who are resident in Malta, and they are not eligible to vote in general elections," said the spokesperson. "An 'A' card holder can be issued a 'P' if they have resided in Malta for 20 years or in cases where they have married a Maltese person but are unable to get an original birth certifi- cate from their country." She added that, in addition to 'P' cards: • Maltese citizens can be issued ID cards carrying one of the let- ters 'M', 'L', 'G' or 'H' • 'L' cards are issued to Maltese citizens registered in Malta after the year 2000, while 'M' cards are issued to Maltese citizens registered before the year 2000 • Similarly, 'G' ID cards are issued to per- sons whose birth was registered in Gozo before 2000 while 'H' cards are assigned to those registered after The spokesperson admitted that there had been one case of a Maltese citizen who held two ID card numbers at the same time. She said that this was picked up by the Identity Cards Unit when it carried out "routine internal checks", adding that the Electoral Office had been "informed accordingly". The agency also emphasised that when an individual has their document changed, the original is retrieved and invalidated. The Electoral Commission ultimately has the final say on "who is eligible to vote or otherwise" and Identity Malta is "not in any way" responsible for the electoral reg- ister, the agency said. "The agency has an agreement with the Office of the Electoral Commission whereby it receives applications to reg- ister as a voter on behalf of the Electoral Office. These applications are sent to the Electoral Office on a daily basis and it is this Office which has sole authority and is responsible for determining who is eligible to vote or otherwise," it said. MIRIAM DALLI FINANCE Minister Edward Scicluna has denied it was the Maltese Presidency's in- tention to "slow down" its drive against cor- porate tax avoidance, insisting that Malta will continue working on pushing forward the files. "Not at all… I don't know how one got that idea," the Maltese minister told reporters ahead of a meeting of the European Union's finance ministers who are meeting in Val- letta. Reuters reported that Malta's presidency of the European Union had presented a pa- per on Friday, suggesting that the EU should slow down its drive against corporate tax avoidance because it might hurt Europe's economy by increasing legal uncertainty. The paper, seen by Reuters, said, "a certain amount of time is needed in order to prop- erly formulate, assimilate and apply such legislation". But yesterday morning, Scicluna insisted that this was a misinterpretation. He said the OECD had launched a global initiative against tax avoidance, and that the Maltese Presidency had already presented amendments to rules against tax avoidance practices, amounting to a compromise solu- tion which was accepted. The solution provides rules regarding cor- porate hybrid mismatches and third coun- tries. He said that Malta was now working on VAT files, amongst others. "We want the European Commission to show its opinion at EU level. We are work- ing on multiple files which will be brought up in May or June, before the end of the president," he said. Scicluna insisted that it was "a big misin- terpretation" to interpret discussing tax cer- tainty papers as "slowing things down". "It's not," he said. "The OECD's base ero- sion and profit shifting (BEPS) strategy is a major roadmap which involved a lot of reforms in taxations. Whilst seeing that companies receive a clear signal against tax avoidance and that they cannot play around, at the same time we must ensure dispute resolution mechanisms." He argued that in view of the tax reforms requires, one should look at having clear rules that deter tax evasion but do not scare investors away. During his doorstep comments, Scicluna was asked whether Malta was "focusing on its interests" after Reuters had recalled the European Commission's proposals on clos- ing legal loopholes followed the Panama Pa- pers, which exposed widespread tax evasion and money laundering. "Not at all," Scicluna replied. "Malta always said that it was against tax avoidance. There are loopholes across several jurisdictions and our task is to close them." Identity Malta says ID card system up to international standards EU audit Identity Malta agency's National Identity Database Management Computer System (NIDMS) has recently been audited and certified to ETSI 101 456 Technical Standard. A spokesperson for the agency said that the NIDMS was found to satisfy the requirements of the eIDAS Regulation, a set of standards for electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the European Single Market. A copy of the audit report seen by this newspaper states that "no significant deviations from mandatory requirements of ETSI TS 101 456 were identified" and that while some recommendations were made, these had been rated as "low risk issues". The report also states that the audit was limited in scope and time and that "more detailed procedures may reveal issues that the [audit] had not." The current system – "a cluster of software segments" – started being using in January 2013 when it was used to produce residence permits, after which it started to be used for identity cards in June 2014. person holds two valid cards at the same time," the agency said. It also pointed out that 'A' cards are not ID cards. where they have married a Maltese person but are unable to get an original birth certifi- cate from their country." She added that, in addition to 'P' cards: • Maltese citizens can be issued ID cards carrying one of the let- ters 'M', 'L', 'G' or 'H' • 'L' cards are issued to Maltese Scicluna denies Malta slowing down anti-tax avoidance drive Edward Scicluna said Malta was against tax avoidance and that the presidency's task was to close loopholes across several jurisdictions