Shop owners caught in breach of the recently revised legal notice banning the sale of alcohol after 9 p.m. would face a sixth-month suspension of their licence and a €5,000 fine.
If they breached the law again, they would face a revocation of their licence and a fine of €10,000. The present deterrent for those caught abusing is a fine of a mere €116.
Parliamentary Secretary for Trade Jason Azzopardi told The Times yesterday that the revised legal notice did not withdraw any rights that confectioneries enjoyed at present.
He explained that a law enacted in 2002 banned confectioneries from selling any alcoholic beverages. That was revised in 2006 to allow for the sale of alcohol.
However, this brought with it abuse as many shops with confectionary licences, which allowed them to remain open 24 hours a day, started operating as bottle shops – outlets selling alcohol in bottles cheaply in places of entertainment like Paceville.
The legal notice issued on Tuesday is now restricting the sale of alcohol at these shops after 9 p.m.
As opposed to the one issued in March, confectioneries do not have to close the doors of their business but simply would not sell alcohol. However, this comes with a surge in the penalty that shop owners could face if caught abusing.
The government’s move was met with mixed reactions, with the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises slamming it but other stakeholders praising it. These included the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and the Federation of Language Teaching Organisations of Malta.
The government agency Sedqa joined the fray yesterday, saying the move would “significantly” help reduce binge drinking and stop street-drinking in tourist areas.
“The legal notice will significantly help to reduce binge drinking especially among the younger generation, since alcohol will be less available,” the agency said.
Sedqa referred to European statistics, saying that at least 20 per cent of Maltese 15- and 16-year-olds drank alcohol on at least 10 occasions or more in a month, compared to an 11 per cent European average.
Various studies established a strong correlation between alcohol abuse, availability and pricing policies of alcohol and controlling the availability of alcohol was part of the solution, Sedqa said.
It hoped that this measure was one of a series aimed at restricting the availability of alcohol as recommended by international health organisations.
However, it was important that these regulations were “dutifully and consistently enforced” for the benefits of this legal notice to be reaped, Sedqa said.