Abu Dhabi’s Department of Economic Development (ADDED) on Monday issued a decision allowing licensing of food trucks provided the business follows certain regulations and is either 100 per cent owned by Emiratis or with an Emirati partner.
In a statement on Sunday, the department said it will allow restaurants that provide services through mobile vehicles to obtain licensing subject to an existing restaurant or foodstuff catering licence.
The licenses will be subject to initial approval from ADDED’s Commercial Protection Directorate. The approval, however, does not permit those who obtain it to start up business until the final approval is issued.
The licences also mandate specifications on the food trucks’ design.
“The ADDED’s Directorate of Commercial Protection will be mandated to decide on the locations where vehicles or trucks can practise this activity, and to stop such a permit if it detects any violation by the licensee,” it said.
Moreover, there are certain specifications to be folowed by vehicles’ manufacturers as they should be exclusively designed to practise such an activity,” said Mohammad Al Mansouri, executive director of the ADDED Business Centre.
Business owners may apply at any of ADDED’s branches, which will then send the applications to ADDED’s headquarters for initial approval while applicants complete the rest of the requirements.
It urged clients to review the application form on the department’s website as it includes all the requirements and controls for operating food trucks.
These include mandates that refrain trucks from actions like parking in unpermitted locations, selling unpermitted items, using a vehicle that is not compliant with the specifications, non-commitment to the set timings, and continuing for extra hours.
Food trucks must also refrain from leaving waste in the location, producing noise or loud music, putting tables and chairs outside dedicated places, putting up unpermitted stickers or advertisements, and operating on public roads and causing traffic jams.
If applications are approved, they will then be referred to the Permits and Advertisements Section, which will issue letters to external bodies for their approvals, followed by the final permit from the Permits and Advertisements Section.
The decision to issue such licences comes as part of ADDED’s efforts to boost the services sector in the emirate, and was issued in cooperation with the Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, the Civil Defence General Directorate, and the Abu Dhabi Traffic Department.
Ahmad Al Qubaisi, acting director of ADDED’s Directorate of Commercial Protection, said the department is now developing a comprehensive software that covers all the procedures for issuing a permit for mobile restaurant activity as part of the e-services package provided to clients.
Food trucks, while more abundantly present in Dubai than in Abu Dhabi, bring in queues of hungry diners wherever they go in the UAE, with the food trend expected to only get bigger.
Source: Gulf News
