Any voluntary organisation – even if it has no income – has three months to enlist with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations or face a fine and other penalties.

While the Commissioner’s office – or any other entity – could never be in a position to know how many organisations were not enrolled or registered, it was keeping a watchful eye, it has warned.

People in different sectors of society formed informal groups all the time, and it was not necessary that they all did this as defined by the law, a spokesman for the office told the Times of Malta.

“However, the office is on guard to monitor media and other sources, including but not limited to complaints to check and also investigate any people claiming to be organisations.”

The office was contacted after it urged organisations to enlist if their annual income was less than €5,000 or nothing at all, or enrol if it was more than €5,000.

The office is on guard to monitor media and other sources

Any organisation that failed to do so by June 30 would be disqualified from benefiting under any grant, sponsorship, any other financial aid from the government or any policy supporting voluntary organisations or from being the beneficiary of any exemptions, privileges or other entitlements.

Additionally, administrators who failed to enrol an organisation or notify the commissioner of its existence could be slapped with a fine of at least €120 and an additional fine of €11.65 for every day that such default continues.

The spokesman told this newspaper that new law amendments had come into force in November, bringing about “a very important change” – the legal necessity for registration or enrolment of voluntary organisations.

Organisations are being given three months to enrol as the procedure included the formulating and provision of certain documentation, including a statute, administrator details and charts that the office believed would inevitably take some time.

More information on www.voluntaryorganisations.gov.mt