"Municipality": From Warning to Closure to Rectify the Status of Establishments
Al-Azmi: Adding an activity without a license is a "serious violation"
Inas Awad
The Municipality continues its inspection and awareness campaigns to ensure that shop owners comply with licenses and permitted activities, as part of the "License Your Activity... Take the Right Steps" campaign. This initiative aims to rectify the status of commercial activities, curb violations, and regulate their practice in accordance with approved conditions and regulations.
In this context, Abdulaziz Al-Azmi from the Municipality’s Advertising Licenses Department clarified in a televised statement to the News Channel that inspection campaigns focus on scrutinizing the nature of activities conducted by commercial establishments and verifying their compliance with the issued licenses.
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Al-Azmi stated that inspection teams verify the shop’s activity and review the commercial license to ensure that the registered activity matches what is actually being practiced. He pointed out that one of the main violations encountered by teams is some shops adding new activities without obtaining the necessary license from the Municipality.
He emphasized that adding an activity without a license constitutes a "serious violation" that may lead to legal measures, including closing the shop. He clarified that the primary goal of the campaigns is not to shut down businesses, but to raise awareness among activity owners about the necessity of rectifying their status and adhering to the correct legal procedures.
Cooperative Societies Activities
Al-Azmi noted cases involving some investors within cooperative societies, considering them areas with a service-oriented nature. He explained that some investors may not be aware of the need to add activities and obtain the required approvals from relevant authorities. He clarified that some commercial licenses permit the trade of specific types of materials, while other activities do not allow this. He affirmed that the Municipality’s role is to verify the validity of the license for the activity actually being practiced and its compliance with prevailing conditions and regulations.
"License Your Activity... Take the Right Steps"
These rounds are part of the "License Your Activity... Take the Right Steps" campaign launched by the Municipality at the beginning of August this year, to enhance awareness among commercial activity owners about the importance of obtaining correct licenses before practicing their activity, and to ensure compliance with the nature of the location and regulatory conditions. Al-Azmi stressed that the campaign is primarily educational rather than focused on issuing violation notices. It aims to alert investors and inform them of the correct procedures for issuing licenses to avoid penalties resulting from continued violations.
He explained that procedures begin with warnings and notices to allow the activity owner an opportunity to rectify their status. If there is no compliance, a second notice may follow, leading to the closure of the shop if the violation continues and its causes are not addressed according to legal procedures. The campaign seeks to raise awareness about the importance of choosing a suitable location for the nature of the activity, whether in commercial, investment, service, industrial, or craft areas, and to organize the distribution of activities according to the nature and conditions of each area, while curbing arbitrary practices.
