Over 200 tobacco sales licenses issued to date

To date, over 200 tobacco sales licenses have been issued.

According to the first amendment to the Tobacco Control Act which came into effect in November last year, tobacco products can only be sold after obtaining a special license. Health Ministry announced in April a three month window within which to obtain the license.

According to information shared by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), when the deadline was reached on July 17, 767 applications were received seeking the license, including from cafe's and restaurants. The agency has completed verification of 652 application forms to date.

This includes:

- 608 applications for the sale of cigarettes

- 15 applications to register new tobacco products

- 28 applications for tobacco imports

- 1 application for re-export of tobacco

HPA said that 244 forms were cancelled as they did not meet the application criteria. 177 forms are being held as it requires amendment.

As of now, 209 licenses have been issued.

The Tobacco Control Act amendment states that four licenses are needed for tobacco sales. These are:

- license to sell tobacco products wholesale or retail

- license to import tobacco products

- license to re-export tobacco products

- registration of new tobacco products

The licenses will be issued for a period of five years when the required fee is paid. Applications for license renewal must be submitted 60 days before the date of expiry.

A fee of MVR 5000 is charged for license to sell tobacco products retail or wholesale. The same fee is applied for renewals. For import and re-export, the fee is MR 10,000, while the license for tobacco use in cafe's and restaurants is MVR 10,000.

After the set three months, sale of tobacco products without the necessary license is an offence. The law sets a fine of between MVR 1000 and MVR 1,000,000 for offenders.