OFT begins checks targeting unlicenced cross border businesses

The Office of Fair Trading [OFT] yesterday began checking cross border businesses for local licences and registration upon entry into Gibraltar.

This comes after the Ministry for Business and OFT last year confirmed there would be a crackdown on unlicenced traders operating in Gibraltar.

A spokesman for No.6 Convent Place said the exercise is part of the “Government's continued commitment to driving a level playing field among all businesses operating in Gibraltar”.

Business Minister Gemma Arias Vasquez has previously said that Spanish businesses are operating locally “unpoliced and unregistered”, creating an element of unfair competition that is causing serious challenges in some sectors.

This exercise began last year with an awareness campaign primarily in Spain, and at the time Mrs Arias Vasquez said this would be followed by tougher enforcement action.

The awareness campaign has included the display of a bilingual video on the LED screen on the Spanish side of the border and a social media video.

The Government has also published a two-page infographic in Spanish providing basic information on the registering and licencing requirements of foreign businesses operating in Gibraltar.

The enforcement campaign brings together several Government departments, agencies and authorities.

These include HM Customs, the Department of Employment and the Office of Fair Trading. 

In an interview with this newspaper last month, Business and OFT CEO John Paul Fa said the OFT has had to balance how it tackles this issue to ensure that the impact does not negatively impact customers.

He added OFT has engaged with unlicenced business operating in Gibraltar and underscored the need for them to register and licence locally. 

So far, he said, there has not been resistance from cross-border businesses who have been contacted.

According to the OFT, independent workers who earn less than £20,000 do not need to licence as a business but do need to register.

For more information visit the OFT website: www.oft.gov.gi