Thousands queued outside the Labour Party's headquarters in Hamrun yesterday to sign up for a court case urging the government to refund the VAT charged on their car registration tax.
More than 6,000 applicants had been processed by noon, while an unspecified number of people were also said to have queued up in Gozo.
The campaign was launched after EU Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs said that VAT should not have been charged on registration tax. The government insisted that only the European Court could decide the issue.
If the judgment goes against the government, anybody who has bought a car since 2004, including those who have not been part of the court case, will be eligible for a refund. This would set the government back around €50 million.
Although a number of people have already started court action against the government individually, the Labour Party's move was intended to up the pressure.
Besides the thousands that enlisted with Labour's cause, 14 people joined Alternattiva Demo-kratika's court case.
Pressure is also mounting from within the Nationalist Party. MEP candidate Roberta Metsola Tedesco Triccas yesterday called on the government to "give the money back".
She said that having agreed to change the rules to come in line with the EU, it was not fair for this change to come into effect later than accession.
"The spirit of the government on this matter should be that we do not hide behind the technicality of the letter of the law in the applicable date," Ms Metsola Tedesco Triccas said.
The EU Commission's head of representation in Malta, Joanna Drake, also appealed for a just solution to be found.
Addressing a press conference outside the PL's headquarters, leader Joseph Muscat said the people's response to Labour's call was beyond the party's expectations. He said this was not just a political issue and that people of all ages and political creeds had signed up.
"Just like the government found €80 million to rebuild the Opera House site, it should now find €50 million to pay back to the people what is rightfully theirs," he said.
Dr Muscat explained that this was just the first phase in the fight against the unjustly charged VAT, and promised to continue fighting until the end, even if it had to reach the European Court.
He added that this would be an ideal time for the government to issue the refunds, especially because of the delicate economic situation. The event was blessed with good weather so the people queuing up were in high spirits, except for a few who questioned why the process could not have been done more efficiently, perhaps by applying online.
Many said they were not politically-motivated to turn up, and were only interested in getting back what is rightfully theirs. Some said they had been "robbed" by the government and that Dr Muscat was making a just effort to fight for their rights. "If the EU is telling us that we are entitled to this, we must be right," one of the women in the queue told The Sunday Times. Another woman said if she gets a refund she will donate it to the Labour Party.
A PL spokesman said the average amount people would have to receive in refunds was between €1,000 and €1,500, but this depended on the price of the car.
The applicants were told to bring a photocopy of their log book and their ID cards, and had to fill in a detailed application form - but the expenses will be footed entirely by the Labour Party.
cperegin@timesofmalta.com