Court Rejects Film Commissioner’s Attempt To Dismiss €1.2 Million Rebate Case
The Civil Court has shut down an attempt by Malta Film Commissioner Johann Grech to block a legal challenge over a disputed €1.2 million film rebate, ruling that the case can go ahead.
At the centre of the saga is Maximus Distribution Limited, a film company that applied for a 25% cash rebate under Malta’s film incentive scheme for its production Descending into the Unknown. The company had received initial approval back in October 2017, but things stalled after it submitted its final expenditure documents in August 2018.
Instead of a decision, Maximus was said to be hit with follow-up requests for clarifications and an external audit was launched. That audit reportedly flagged “excessive claims” and suspected abuse. Yet, despite repeated attempts by Maximus to get clarity, they did not receive a final answer. Eventually, the company was told it had been blacklisted – grouped with others connected to Russian production house U-Film.
With no movement and growing financial strain, Maximus filed a judicial protest in 2020, followed by a sworn legal application, accusing the Commissioner of unlawfully delaying the rebate and breaching basic standards of fairness.
In response, the Commissioner argued the case should be thrown out, citing a law that legal challenges to administrative decisions must be filed within six months of the person becoming aware of the act in question.
However, the First Hall of the Civil Court ruled against the Commissioner.
Judge Doreen Clarke ruled that the six-month time limit did not begin in 2018, as the Commissioner argued, but only started once Maximus became definitively aware of the refusal – which, the court noted, only became clear during the course of litigation in August 2020.
She criticised the Commissioner’s failure to communicate properly, stressing that public bodies have a duty to be transparent and must avoid taking advantage of procedural grey areas to frustrate claims.
The court also rejected the idea that the rebate had been silently refused just because more than five months had passed. The audit process, the judge noted, had effectively paused the timeline.
With this decision, the court has cleared the way for Maximus to take the case to a full hearing – and ordered the Commissioner to cover the costs of this initial legal round.