The ordinance approving the forms to be used in the Zero Licensing programme was published in the Official Journal today, thus putting into practice another of the 60 measures that make up the Azorean Agenda for Employment Creation and Business Competitiveness.
"As its designation suggests, this is a measure intended to reduce the costs of context for companies by eliminating licenses, authorisations, inspections and previous requirements for the activities included the commerce, restaurant, beverages, services and storage sectors," stated the Vice-President of the Government of the Azores.
For Sérgio Ávila, the Zero Licensing programme is expected to have "a significant impact on the activity sectors covered by this measure by reducing and simplifying procedures, which allows economic to start their activity by simply filling an installation or modification form."
In this regard, the government official stressed that licenses and administrative approvals will be replaced by a mere notification of the information needed to verify the compliance with legal requirements, although it is expected that, subsequently, applicants will be subject to the supervision of the authorities.
The implementation of the Licensing Zero programme was expected by the end of the first quarter of this year. The fact that it is entering into force in the first week of February is "a clear sign that the Regional Government is determined to act quickly and well so that all these measures may result in the creation of jobs and the revitalisation of the regional economy." stressed Sérgio Ávila.