Those who intend to run a retail business selling fresh food in shop units will only have to register with the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) from next month, a change from the current situation in which businesses are required to obtain a licence first, according to a new administrative regulation which was promulgated in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday.
Government-drafted administration regulations, aka by-laws, do not require the legislature’s approval.
The new administrative regulation, which will take effect on February 1, will not cover wet-market stalls and vendor stalls.
The new law regulating the operation of the city’s wet markets took effect on January 1, 2022.
Currently, Macau also has specific regulations on the operation of vendor stalls.
Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon announced during a press conference on Friday that the government has decided to replace the current licensing system with a registration system for fresh-food retail businesses with the aim of making it easier for residents to launch and run their business.
Cheong underlined that the government has drawn up the new administrative regulation after carefully studying residents’ consumption preferences and the current conditions of the city’s fresh-food retail businesses while ensuring food hygiene and the protection of consumers’ rights and interests.
Fresh food listed by the new regulation comprises vegetables, meat, and aquatic products.
Fresh-food shops can only open after obtaining a registration certificate from the Municipal Affairs Bureau, which, according to the new regulation, shall issue such a certificate within 30 days after a businessperson submits the required documents.
According to the new regulation, those who have not registered before running a fresh-food retail business will be fined 20,000 patacas.
Operators of fresh-food shops failing to meet the officially required standards will face a fine of between 15,000 patacas and 35,000 patacas.
According to the new regulation, existing fresh-food shops that had been holding a valid licence until December 31 last year will be regarded as having completed the required registration, regardless of whether the respective licence holders have applied to renew their licence for 2024.
Meanwhile, the government has amended its current regulation on licensing restaurants and eateries enabling businesses to obtain a licence in a shorter time.
The amended regulation will take effect on Thursday next week.
While the operations of restaurants and eateries are licensed by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM), applications for a licence are also assessed by various other public entities such as the Fire Services Bureau (CB) and the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU).
This photo taken on Sunday shows staff working in a shop selling vegetable on Rua dos Mercadores near the S. Domingos wet market. – Photo: Tony Wong
