The government has imposed a one year pause on granting new business licences across several industries to manage market saturation and allow time to refine administrative processes.
Existing businesses in Anguilla will not be affected and will be able to renew their licences as usual.
Commerce minister Kyle Hodge announced the move in a press conference on 9 March, describing it as a “step to ensure better management and balance within several sectors of our economy”.
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The temporary moratorium will apply to barber shops, bars, beautician and cosmetology services, and hairdressers, he said.
It will also affect management consultants operating as sole practitioners, management services firms, real estate businesses and real estate developers.
“This temporary moratorium is not focused on stopping business activity in Anguilla – it is to fix a licensing system that is fragmented, inefficient and difficult for the various departments to properly manage,” he said.
Hodge explained that the current process places a heavy administrative burden on the Labour, Immigration and Inland Revenue Departments.
“It has also created loopholes that allow some individuals to exploit the system and operate outside the law,” the minister added.
He said that in addition, Department of Trade, Investment and Commerce data shows that some of the sectors are already heavily saturated relative to the island’s population.
“This temporary moratorium will allow the government to modernise the licensing process and ensure a fair and level playing field for legitimate businesses to operate,” Hodge said.
In June last year, a government moratorium on new business licences for supermarkets and hardware stores that lapsed in December 2024 was reinstated to protect existing businesses.
“It was rolled over at least on two occasions to continue the restriction of additional supermarkets and hardwares – because we have enough based on our population size,” Hodge said at the time.
The Licensing of Businesses Act, which came into effect on 31 December 2021, allowed the minister, with the approval of of Executive Council, to issue ministerial orders prohibiting the issuance of licences in specific industries.
