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The Belize City Council is preparing to implement a new trade license regime in 2026 aimed at modernizing business regulation and ensuring fairness across the city’s growing commercial landscape. A key feature of the revamped system is the formal inclusion of online peddlers and digital vendors, who will now be fully incorporated into the city’s licensing framework for the first time. City officials say the new regime reflects the rapid expansion of social media and e-commerce platforms, which have transformed the way goods are marketed and sold in Belize. From Facebook Marketplace and WhatsApp stores to Instagram and TikTok sales pages, online vendors have become a major segment of the local economy. However, many of these digital sellers have operated outside of traditional licensing systems, creating an uneven playing field for brick-and-mortar businesses that are required to meet existing trade license obligations. According to Mayor Bernard Wagner, under the updated framework, online peddlers will be required to register with the Belize City Council, obtain a trade license, and comply with established consumer protection, health, and business standards, bringing their operations in line with those of physical storefronts.
Bernard Wagner, Mayor of Belize City: “We would want, of course, in these days, when you are doing business, you will find quickly that if you want your business to grow, you have to have some sort of banking relationship. You have to have a banking relationship and the bank will not accept your funds from your business if you don’t have a trade. That is, everything is now tied in given the compliance issue and all the AML and all the anti money laundering and know your customer. So it serves any new business owner to register your trade. Within this act there are schedule one, schedule two, schedule three and that clearly show the type of business that is there. You have peddlers, you have what they call warehouse business. They got professional business like a doctor who would travel from here, from Belize and go and do services in the other districts. They have all the different sort of schedule activities which captures a flat rate.”
Love News understands that the licensing process will be made accessible through digital registration platforms, allowing online sellers to sign up, submit documents, and pay fees electronically, minimizing bureaucracy while encouraging compliance.
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