On 28th May 2012 Royal Decree Law 19/2012 for urgent measures for relaxing restrictions on determined trade and services entered into force.
Said Royal Decree pursues the removal of municipal licences linked to business establishments, their installations and certain building works prior to the initiation of the activity.
The scope of application of this Royal Decree Law includes businesses located in premises with a floor space of no more than 300 square metres. Various activities are affected by the measure and are set forth in the annex to the Royal Decree Law (fundamentally businesses established for selling shoes, textiles, foodstuffs, industrial products, electrical appliance, vehicle or home repairs).
As from the entering into force of this Royal Decree Law, a business activity licence shall not be required for the following:
a.- The initiation and carrying out of business activities and services.
b.- Changes in ownership of business activities and services.
c.- Building work related to the refurbishment of the business premises for the purpose of carrying out of the business activity.
Said licence has been substituted by a statement of liability or a prior communication. Once the statement of liability has been filed, the business activity may be initiated.
However, the administration reserves the right to inspect, sanction and control the fulfilment of the requirements of said activity.
The main consequence of this Royal Decree is the saving of time and money for those businesses no longer obliged to file for a business activity licence. In this way, once the business premises have been refurbished, the appropriate statement may be made, without the need for waiting for a municipal resolution, which, as a general rule, usually takes months to be issued.
For more information, please contact:
Ismael PERALTA: ipv@vila.es/en
