The Amendment to the Trade Act intends to reduce the administrative burden for entrepreneurs

The propounded Amendment to the Trade Act removes the limitation for entrepreneurs, to whom the trade licence was cancelled, to run a business in the related field, or to participate on such related business. The Amendment also removes such limitation for persons being members of statutory body participating on the business of legal entities the trade licence of which was cancelled. Further, the Amendment cancels these persons’ impossibility to run a licensed business in the related field for the period of one year (or to participate on such related business in the position of a member of the legal entity’s statutory body). The above-mentioned limitation regarding the business in the related field is cancelled also with respect to the natural persons in the position of authorized representative.

Further, duration of the obstacle for running a business shall be unified for category of persons to whom such obstacle relates (currently, there is an obstacle for the period of three years from effectiveness of the decision on cancellation of the trade licence, and for an unlimited period).

Another change relates to information obligation of entrepreneurs. The Amendment cancels the entrepreneurs’ obligation to provide the trade authority with identifiable information of members of the legal entity’s statutory body and heads of organizational body of the business branch of the foreign legal entity registered with the commercial register. In the course of notifying the business or applying for a licensed business, legal entities shall not be obliged to provide the trade authority with identifiable information of members of its statutory body or head of organizational body of the business branch of the foreign legal entity. The trade authority will ensure such information by itself. Data registered in the trade register shall correspond to those filed in the respective public register the legal entity is registered with.

On the other hand, the Amendment will enable to use data from the trade register only for personal use as publication of such data shall be prohibited. The explanatory report to the Amendment provides more details, i.e. the applicant may use the respective data only for personal use (e.g. gaining a contact details of an entrepreneur for the purpose of concluding a business agreement) and is not allowed to make them publicly available (e.g. in media, websites etc.) or to provide them to the third persons. 

Act no. 289/2017 Coll., amending the Act on Trade (Trade Act)
With effect from: 30 September 2017