Satellite dish fee to go

The cabinet yesterday decided to remove the Lm25 annual licence fee on satellite receivers in order to comply with the EU provisions on the freedom of goods and services, sources close to the government told The Times.

The move comes after a deluge of complaints from owners of satellite dishes, who argued that the government was breaching EU rules by imposing the fee after Malta joined the EU on May 1. There are 15,580 registered satellite dishes in Malta, according to National Office statistics for the period between April and June.

The sources said the decision would be backdated to May 1, and anyone who had paid the fee in the interim would be entitled to a refund.

Complaints have flooded the media since May 1, as the Wireless and Telegraphy Department was fining satellite dish owners an extra Lm25 if they did not pay up, and threatening them with legal action.

However, many owners stood defiant and threatened to seek redress through the EU since the European Court of Justice had ruled against the imposition of such fees.

At least two Maltese MEPs had openly stated they disagreed with the fee and said they would campaign for its removal, while the EU itself was openly raising eyebrows at the situation in Malta.

The satellite licence fee generated an income for the government of around Lm390,000 a year, though the number of registered satellite receivers dropped by 3.2 per cent, or 532, over April and June in 2003.