Businesses urged to complete stock form before provisional treaty rollout 

The Department for Business will today email all entities with a business licence a form that aims to collect data on what stock they currently hold ahead of provisional implementation of the UK/EU treaty, which is envisaged as from April 10. 

The form is not mandatory and there will be no penalty if it is not filled in. 

But at a business briefing in Ince’s Hall on Monday evening, Business Minister Gemma Arias-Vasquez urged businesses to comply. 

“We want to work alongside business and try and help businesses to come along with us on this journey,” she said. 

“We would encourage as many businesses as possible to answer the legacy stock declaration form, always bearing in mind that those who don’t answer might be the first to receive visits on their stock.” 

“So we would urge businesses to work with us on completing this legacy stock declaration form.” 

The form aims to ensure clarity on the types, origin and general value of goods in Gibraltar ahead implementation of the treaty, which will require goods sold in Gibraltar to comply with EU requirements. 

Details of the form were outlined at the well-attended meeting by Mrs Arias-Vasquez and John Paul Fa, the chief executive of Business and the Office of Fair Trading. 

Also present at the session were Attorney General Michael Llamas and Chief Secretary Glendon Martinez, as well as Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, who opened the discussion but was unable to stay for its entirety due to prior commitments. 

During a question and answer, Mr Llamas addressed a number of highly technical issues raised by the audience, although much of the “detail on the detail” is still being hammered out in meetings between Gibraltar Customs and its Spanish counterparts and will be made public in coming days. 

Mrs Arias-Vasquez noted though that many of the questions were already answered in an extensive FAQ on the dedicated website set up by the Government to inform on the treaty and its provisions (www.treaty.gov.gi). 

The Gibraltar Parliament is due to debate a motion today that will trigger the treaty ratification process in the UK by calling on the UK government to enter into the treaty on Gibraltar’s behalf. 

Mr Picardo said that, in his address today, he will outline some of the measures envisaged by the Government of Gibraltar to “start to ameliorate the immediate effects of the application the treaty” in the short timescale envisaged if the treaty comes into effect as from April 10, as all sides are aiming for. 

The Chief Minister also urged those present to seek answers to their questions from official sources and treat with caution speculative media articles and social media commentary. 

“We have to be responsible in what we understand the treaty is going to do and we have to be responsible in what we say that the treaty is going to do,” Mr Picardo said. 

He cited as an example a rumour doing the rounds that, if Gibraltar enters this treaty, it will no longer be able to import goods fitted with a three-pin plug. 

“It was news to the Irish, the Cypriots and the Maltese, who are in the European Union, who are in the Customs union, and who use the three-pin plugs that we use,” Mr Picardo said, only half in jest. 

And he added: “I give that as an example because a lot of the concerns that have been expressed are entirely legitimate, and we will deal with all of them, but I would counsel against speculating that the end of the world is nigh when we’re entering into this treaty.” 

“We’ve been very careful to carve out the things that are essential to our market, but that’s not to say that way that we do things is not going to change.” 

“But the change is not going to be perhaps as dramatic as might be anticipated.”