People opening a new business which is not health or food related will no longer have to apply for a licence with the Trade Department following changes to the licensing process aimed to reduce bureaucracy and increase efficiency.

The changes were announced this morning by Small Businesses Minister Jason Azzopardi.

The minister said that after obtaining the Mepa permit, a business owner would only have to notify the Trade Department that he was about to start the new commercial activity.

The businessman could do this up to 30 days after embarking on the new operation. The minister said he estimated that around 80 per cent of new commercial activities would benefit from this simplification.

Another new rule aimed to reduce bureaucracy is that when a new commercial activity is embarked upon, one would not have to submit copies of the Mepa certificates and floor plans but just the number of the Mepa permit.

The minister said that through these changes, the government was showing that it cared for the sector and was committed to offer Maltese and Gozitan businesses the best.

Other measures included reductions in the cost of several licenses. The Trade Director was also being given the power to cancel licences which would have remained unpaid for four consecutive years.