The Naxxar trade fair will not start today as had originally been planned because the organisers have yet to get a licence from the Trade Department.

The chairman of Trade Fairs Exhibitors Association Ltd, Paul Abela, confirmed that an appeal from the department's decision to reject the licence application had been filed but, so far, had not yet been heard.

"We are not here to defy the law. They decided not to grant us a licence for their own reasons and reasons which were already mentioned in court. So we filed an appeal and are waiting for the appeal to be heard. In the meantime, our trade fair has to be put on hold again," he said when contacted.

"It is very embarrassing for us, especially when the court has already ruled that the Naxxar fair grounds, from where we have operated for the past 50 years, is licensed for the holding of fairs," he added. All they needed now was the Trade Department to grant a licence to hold this specific fair, which was usually almost automatic once the premises were already licensed, he said.

The annual Malta trade fair had moved from Naxxar to Ta' Qali in 2007, organised by a rival business group, but TFEA Ltd have been trying to hold a second major fair back at Naxxar. It was denied a trading licence last January when the department insisted the venue required a planning permit. The company contested the decision in court and, on June 18, the Civil Court ruled that no planning permit was needed and that the original licence to hold a fair at Naxxar had to be reactivated after being "irregularly terminated".

The following day, TFEA Ltd announced that, on the strength of the court's decision, it had set the ball rolling to hold the Malta International Trade Fair between July 16 and 25. But the Trade Department still turned down the application for a licence to hold the fair, at the same time that it appealed the court's decision.

Mr Abela said the appeal before the Civil Court had not yet been appointed as lawyers were still making their submissions in writing.

More stories from The Times in the News section.