Health Ministry gives three months to take Tobacco Sales License

Ministry of Health announced yesterday that applications are now open for the Tobacco Sales License.

Under the first amendment to the Tobacco Control act, wholesale and retail sellers of tobacco products must obtain a valid license from the Health Ministry in addition to their trade license.

The ministry announced that the Tobacco Sales License must be taken within three months.

Applications for the license can be sent to HPA through the OneGov portal.

Four separate licenses are needed for tobacco sales. These are:

- License for wholesale or retail selling of tobacco products

- License for importing tobacco products

- License for re-exporting tobacco products

- Registration of new tobacco product

The ministry said that these licenses will be issued with a five year validity. Each license also carries a fee. Applications for renewal must be submitted 60 days before expiry of present license.

The fee for tobacco wholesale and retail is set at MVR 5000, with the same fee charged for renewal. For import and re-export, the fee is MVR 10,000. The fee for establishing smoking areas in cafe's and restaurants is MVR 10,000.

The license will be revoked in the instance that the regulations are breached in any way. The fines defined in the Act for such breaches is between MVR 1,000 and MVR 1,000,000.