SHOPS FOR THE SALE OF WINE, BEER OR SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS (LICENCES, GOOD ORDER AND PUBLIC DECORUM) [ S.L.10.09 SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 10.09 SHOPS FOR THE SALE OF WINE, BEER OR SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS (LICENCES, GOOD ORDER AND PUBLIC DECORUM) REGULATIONS 18th October, 1929 GOVERNMENT NOTICE 392 of 1929, as amended by Government Notices: 418 of 1932, 9 and 175 of 1934, 336 of 1935, 191 of 1939, 127 of 1944, 123 of 1946, 62 and 90 of 1948, and 608, 722 and 828 of 1949; Legal Notices 64 of 1964 and 92 of 1969; Act XIV of 1969; and Legal Notices 147 of 1993, 31 of 2002, 273 of 2009, 86 of 2011, 31 of 2013 and 185 of 2025; and as adapted by Acts XXVII of 1970 and XXXIII of 1974. 1. The title of these Regulations is Shops for the Sale of Wine, Beer or Spirituous Liquors (Licences, Good Order and Public Decorum) Regulations. Title. Added by: L.N. 92 of 1969. 2. These Regulations shall apply only to shops in which wine, beer or spirituous liquors are sold to be consumed on the premises, or are sold in quantities less than one whole bottle. Applicability. Licences 3. Applications for licences for the sale of wine, beer or spirituous liquors shall be addressed to the Commissioner of Police. Licence. 4. A licence for the sale of wine, beer or spirituous liquors may, with the approval of the Prime Minister, be granted to any person who is of age, provided that - Grant of licence. Amended by: L.N. 92 of 1969; XIV. 1969.19; L.N. 31 of 2013. (
- a)the application is not open to objection, in the opinion of the Commissioner of Police, on any of the following grounds: (
- i)the character of the applicant, or of his wife or her husband; (
- ii)the sufficiency of shops, holding similar licences, to meet the requirements of the public in the neighbourhood; (iii) the proximity of the premises in respect of which a licence is applied for, to be calculated in the manner to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Police, to a place of public worship; (
- iv)the proximity of such premises, to be calculated in the manner to be prescribed by the Commissioner of Police, to other shops licensed for the sale of non-intoxicants; (
- v)the connection of such premises with a dwelling house; (
- b)no objection is raised by the Department of Health on sanitary grounds; (
- c)no objection is raised by neighbours whose premises are within eighteen metres of the proposed shop. 1 2 [ S.L.10.09 Renewal of licences. Amended by: L.N. 92 of 1969; XIV.1969.19. SHOPS FOR THE SALE OF WINE, BEER OR SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS (LICENCES, GOOD ORDER AND PUBLIC DECORUM) 5. Licences granted as above shall be renewed annually, provided that (
- a)the renewal of the licence is not, in the opinion of the Commissioner of Police, open to objection on any of the following grounds: (
- i)Cap. 10. the non-observance on the licensed premises of any of the regulations respecting licences; (
- ii)the conviction of the licensee of any of the contraventions referred to in articles 184, 185, 188, 189 and 193 of the Code of Police Laws, or in articles 3, 9, 10, 117, 121, 125 and 128 of the Food, Drugs and Drinking Water Ordinance *; (iii) the character of the licensee, or of his wife or her husband, during the past twelve months; (
- iv)the surrender of the premises for which the licence was granted; (
- v)the fact that the premises have been generally ill-conducted; (
- b)no objection is raised by the Department of Health on any of the following grounds: (
- i)neglect of sanitary conditions and precautions; (
- ii)sale of adulterated liquors or food unfit for consumption; (
- c)no objection is raised, on grounds which are considered reasonable by the Prime Minister, by neighbours whose premises are within eighteen metres of the shop. Cancellation of licence. 6. The Commissioner of Police may, if he considers that a licensee is ill-conducting the premises or if the licensee is convicted of a serious crime, apply, at any time in the course of the year for which the licence is valid, for its cancellation. The Police Licences Advisory Board may recommend that the licence be cancelled. Transfer of licence. 7.
(1)All licences under these Regulations shall be personal, and no such licence shall be transferred except with the permission of the Commissioner of Police. Any transfer not so authorised shall entail the forfeiture of the licence.
(2)No application for a total or partial transfer of a licence shall be granted by the Commissioner of Police, unless he is satisfied that no objection is raised to the proposed transferee or partners by neighbours whose premises are within eighteen metres of the shop, on grounds which are deemed reasonable by the Commissioner of Police.
(3)Where a licence is applied for by more than one person, it may be issued in the name of only one of them who, for the purposes of the law, shall be considered to be the licensed person. *Repealed by Act XL of 1972 (Chapter 231). SHOPS FOR THE SALE OF WINE, BEER OR SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS (LICENCES, GOOD ORDER AND PUBLIC DECORUM) [ S.L.10.09 3
(4)No application for a personal transfer of a licence shall be considered, pending criminal investigation against the licensee.
- Temporary licences for the retail of intoxicating liquors may be granted by the Commissioner of Police, on the occasion of festivals, exhibitions, races, or special gatherings of people, on payment of the appropriate fee prescribed under the Police Licences Act. Temporary licences. Amended by: G.N. 828 of
- Cap.
- Applications for the transfer of licences from one shop to another within the same town or village shall be dealt with by the Commissioner of Police: Transfer of licences from one shop to another. Provided that, where objection is raised by any neighbour or if the Commissioner of Police for any special cause which he considers reasonable so directs, any such application shall be dealt with in the same manner as an application for the grant of a new licence.
- The Commissioner of Police shall have the power to grant licences to keepers of bona fide restaurants to serve wine and beer to customers during meals: Licence to serve wine and beer. Provided that the Commissioner of Police shall have the power to cancel, at any time in the course of the year, licences granted under this regulation on the ground of non-observance of any of the conditions imposed in the licence or if, in his opinion, the premises are ill-conducted.
- No person holding a licence for the sale of wine and beer, or of either wine or beer, shall have on the premises, in respect of which the licence is granted, any intoxicating liquor which he is not licensed to sell. No intoxicating liquor in unlicensed premises. 12.
(1)Save as provided in sub-regulation
(2)of this regulation, the foregoing regulations shall not apply to such shops as, in the opinion of the Commissioner of Police, form part of premises used bona fide for the purposes of a hotel. Hotel premises.
(2)Regulation 11 shall also apply to premises used bona fide for the purposes of a hotel.
- In these Regulations, the expression "neighbours" means the tenant or occupier, or, when the house is unoccupied, the owner of the house, or, in the case of a family, the head of the family residing in the house; and in the case of a library, school, club, office or institution, the respective representative thereof. Meaning of ''neighbour''. Maintenance of order and public decorum
- No person holding a licence under these Regulations shall permit any person, not regularly employed in the shop, unless such shop, in the opinion of the Commissioner of Police, is used bona fide for the purposes of a hotel, to remain therein during the hours in which such shop is closed; nor shall he permit the supply, on payment or gratuitously, of any article during that time. No person to remain in shop after closing hours.
- No person holding a licence under these Regulations shall knowingly permit any person belonging to the Armed Forces of Malta to enter or remain on the licensed premises if the holder of Members of the Armed Forces. Added by: G.N. 191 of
- 4 SHOPS FOR THE SALE OF WINE, BEER OR SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS (LICENCES, GOOD ORDER AND PUBLIC DECORUM) [ S.L.10.09 the licence has been served with an order to this effect by the Commissioner of Police. Barmaids. Amended by: G.N. 722 of 1949; G.N. 828 of
- Deleted by Legal Notice 185 of
- Waitresses and female cashiers. Added by: G.N. 418 of
- Revoked by: G.N. 9 of
- Added by: G.N. 123 of
- Deleted by Legal Notice 185 of
- Persons under seventeen years of age. Added by: G.N. 62 of
- Amended by: L.N. 273 of 2009; L.N. 185 of
- Where licensee is a widow. Amended by: G.N. 828 of
- It shall not be lawful for any person holding a licence under these Regulations to allow any person under seventeen years of age to enter or loiter at the entrance of any bar or other premises; nor shall it be lawful for any such person to enter or loiter at the entrance of any such bar or premises or to infringe any order given by any member of the Police Force to quit the neighbourhood thereof.
- Deleted by Legal Notice 185 of
- Employment of persons of good character.
- No person holding a licence shall knowingly employ in his shop any person to whom a licence has been refused under these Regulations or who is not of good character. Employment of substitute or agent. Amended by: L.N. 147 of
- No person holding a licence shall employ in his shop any person as his substitute or agent, without the permission in writing of the Commissioner of Police. Playing of music. Amended by: G.N. 90 of 1948; G.N. 608 of 1949; L.N. 31 of
- 22.
(1)No person holding a licence shall permit in his premises the playing of musical instruments or the replay of any music recorded by any means whatsoever, or the amplification of any such music by any electronic, electrical or other means, without the permission of the Police.
(2)Such special permission shall not be granted by the Police if any objection is raised thereto by any neighbour whose premises are within eighteen metres of the shop in respect of which the permission is requested, on grounds which are deemed reasonable by the Director of Public Works, the Commissioner of Police and the Chief Government Medical Officer, or the officers acting on their behalf. Annoyance to neighbours. 23. No person holding a licence shall permit, either by day or by night, any singing, or noise in the shop, which may cause annoyance to neighbours or otherwise disturb them, and he shall remove from the shop any person who is in a state of drunkenness, or who by words, gestures, or in any other manner may have shown an intention to cause a breach of the public peace. SHOPS FOR THE SALE OF WINE, BEER OR SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS (LICENCES, GOOD ORDER AND PUBLIC DECORUM) [ S.L.10.09 5 24.
(1)No person holding a licence under these regulations shall keep any amusement machine or gaming device or permit any such amusement machine or gaming device to be kept on the licensed premises, unless the necessary licence or authorisation required in terms of the Lotteries and Other Games Act * has been issued or granted. Amusement machines and gaming devices. Amended by: L.N. 64 of 1964. Substituted by: L.N. 86 of 2011. Cap. 438.
(2)For the purposes of this regulation the terms "amusement machine" and "gaming device" shall have the meaning assigned to them in the Lotteries and Other Games Act†. Cap.
- No person holding a licence shall suffer any act contrary to law or morality to be committed in his shop. Acts contrary to law or morality.
- No person holding a licence shall make or use any internal communication, not duly authorised, between any licensed and any unlicensed premises, or shall make in the licensed premises any alteration contrary to any instructions given by the Police, or by the Department of Health. Communication between licensed and unlicensed premises. Amended by: XIV.1969.19
- Every person holding a licence under these Regulations shall put in a frame and exhibit in a visible place in the shop, a copy of any licence or permit granted by the Police having reference to the shop, as well as a printed copy of these Regulations. Copy of licence.
- For any infringement of these Regulations or of any laws or other regulations applicable to wine and spirit shops, the Commissioner of Police may order such wine and spirit shops to be closed for a period not exceeding seven days, or, subject to the concurrence of the Prime Mini st er, f or a lo nger period not exceeding one month independently of any punishment to which the offender may become, or may have become, liable according to law. Infringement of Regulations. Amended by: G.N. 127 of 1944; L.N. 92 of
- *Repealed by Act XVI of
- †Repealed by Act XVI of 2018.