Retailing of alcoholic drinks and tobacco products will not be subject to licensing

The retailing of alcoholic drinks, including beer, and of tobacco products will be excluded from the list of activities subject to licensing. The Government approved a respective bill this week. The project authors said that such a measure must be implemented because the economic agents that want to practice such activities are now obliged to obtain two documents from the local public administration simultaneously: authorisation to locate the retail outlets and the licence. After the Parliament passes the bill and the law takes effect, the authorisation for the location of retail outlets issued by the mayoralty will also provide for the right to sell the respective products or will not provide for such a right. At the same time, the bill envisages the extension of the list of activities subject to licensing, by including the import, wholesale trade or retail of gasoline, diesel oil and liquefied gas and licensing the supply, transportation and distribution of natural gas. The import, keeping and wholesale trade of meat will be also subjected to licensing. Through such measures, the authorities aim at protecting people from communicable diseases transmitted from animals or birds to humans, including the bird flu. The list of activities subject to licensing will be supplemented with the production and sale of homemade wine, provision of universal postal services, technical examination of motor vehicles and trailers, and the import of mineral water.