Amendments to the Trade and Business Licensing Law will further streamline the application process for a Trade and Business License.
These changes will go into effect today, Monday, 18 June and include updates that were announced earlier this year.
Among the amendments announced earlier is the enabling of the Trade and Business Licensing Board to access, with an applicant’s consent, company documents relevant to the application that had been filed with other government entities.
Another amendment exempts Caymanians and Permanent Residents from submitting a police clearance if they have lived on island for more than five years, and if their company does not fall into a category of business where the Board will require a police clearance (eg. child care services).
Applications for renewals will also be able to self-validate their health insurance and pension information on the application form, with first-time applicants not being required to provide these details.
Three other changes will also come into effect on 18 June. One of those amendments is that Caymanian applicants will not be required to submit a bank reference or current utility bill with their application; non-Caymanian applicants will still need to provide this information.
Another change gives Cabinet the power to make regulations that exempt certain applicants or categories of applicants from any or all provisions under the Law.
“Creating a strong economy to help families and businesses is a major priority outlined by the unity government,” notes Minister for Commerce, Hon. Joey Hew.
“One of the key tasks needed to do that, was to remove the unnecessary regulation and bureaucracy for small businesses. These amendments to the application for a Trade and Business License do that. We’ve now eased some of the burden on business owners and enable the Ministry to push forward with other initiatives that will help to make it easier to do business in the Cayman Islands.”