A commercial fair/exhibition involves the sale of goods or services from the location where the event is held or from elsewhere.
An
application for a licence to hold a commercial fair or exhibition must be submitted at least ten days prior to the proposed event.
Application is to include the following information:
a) The name, address and identification number of the person organising the fair and/or exhibition.
b) The name and address of the premises from where the fair and/or exhibition will be held.
c) The name of each person participating in the fair and/or exhibition and the type of products that will be sold, together with the VAT No of each participant.
d) The date or dates when the fair and/or exhibition will be held.
Moreover, applications are to be supported with a copy of the permit issued by the authority responsible for planning, showing that the sale by retail or the hosting of fairs or exhibitions at the premises indicated in the application is indeed allowed.
The Trade Licensing Unit will inform the applicant about the outcome of the application within five working days from complete submission, or otherwise it will request further documentation or information. This period may be extended by ten days. When an extension is applied the applicant will be informed.
An issued licence will be valid for seven consecutive days including Sundays and Public Holidays, except Good Friday. If a Commercial Fair and/or Exhibition is organised for more than seven consecutive days a separate licence would be required. Consecutive separate licences may be issued, but the total uninterrupted term cannot exceed thirty days. Moreover, there cannot be more than four commercial fairs or commercial exhibitions of the same product in one calendar year.
A licence may be refused for reasons of public policy, public safety, public security, public health, protection of the environment, safeguarding of national heritage, town and country planning and for safeguarding national or local projects.
Should an application be refused and the applicant feels aggrieved by the decision of the Trade Licensing Unit or the Local Council, the applicant may file an appeal in writing to the Licensing Appeals Board within ten (10) working days from the date of notification, in accordance with the provisions of Part VI of the
Trading Licences Regulations SL441.07 The appeal can be sent to tradelicenceapplications@gov.mt or to Commerce Department, Trade services and Projects Directorate, Lascaris Bastions, Daħlet Ġnien is-Sultan, Valletta, VLT1933, Malta. Any person making an appeal to the Board shall, upon filing of such appeal, pay a fee of fifty-eight euro (€58).
There are no fees associated with the application or the licence.
Date of last update – 04.06.21