Trade Licensing Act Delayed for Further Public Sensitization

The Belize Trade Licensing Act 2024 still isn’t in effect and now, there’s another delay. Lawmakers have just approved the Trade Licensing Amendment Bill 2025, pushing the start date back by another month. This isn’t the first time the Act has been postponed. It was originally set to roll out earlier, then pushed to October and now, we’re waiting again. So why the holdup? We asked Prime Minister John Briceño what’s behind this latest delay. 

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

 “No, remember that has already been approved. Yes. Basically what we’re doing is just extending it by one more month because I don’t think, or we in cabinet don’t think, that the municipalities have done enough education to the public to the business sector for them to understand how is it that we’re going to be with produce new, not the regime. Hope. How you are going to be charged for the different businesses, different sizes of businesses. So we felt that’s best and because it’s already enacted in law that we have to change the law to extend it by one more month for it to be enacted. I think he said it was out to be October, now we’re changing it to November, so that there’s enough time. This will have at least another month of consultations and education. And so come November, then we’ll be able to take advantage of the new financial for the councils so they could produce the new bills under the use this new agent.”