Muscat Municipality Urges All Not to Engage in Unlicensed Businesses
- Periodic inspection visits to commercial activities in all Muscat
- Ongoing raids on homes used as places to carry out unlicensed commercial activities
- Complying with municipal laws and regulations is a necessity for business continuity
Statistics registered with the Muscat Municipality show that the number of fines issued against unlicensed businesses from January to May 2021 monitored by the Muscat Municipality in Seeb was (31) fines, all monitored through 1317 visits.
In Bousher, there were 30 inspections campaigns to shops, while Mutrah Directorate registered 20 inspections and observed 35 houses in which unauthorized business activities were carried out. In Qurayyat there were 3 visits to shops, resulted in 8 fines. Muscat Municipality in al-Amirat recorded 720 inspection visits and only one fine issued.
Muscat Municipality affirms the illegality of such unhealthy practices, as local ordinance No. 1/2006 on public health prevention, Article 2, stipulates that the municipality has the right to close food establishments and shops if one of the following cases is proven: to engage in activity without obtaining a municipal licence.
The risks of this act is the higher possibility of commercial fraud in food, the presence of insects or rodents in the facility where food is prepared, food or sewage leaks, which could lead to mass poisoning or epidemic due to rotten food.
The Municipality therefore calls on the community to contact the communications centre of Muscat Municipality (1111) or through the media accounts of the Municipality on social networking sites or communicate with the directorates of Muscat Municipality for any similar observations.