The Association of Catering Establishments (ACE) welcomed the Leader of the Opposition's commitment for a future Nationalist Party government to reduce VAT to 7% for restaurants and kiosks within its first 100 days in office.

This is a measure which has been a priority on the association's agenda for the past five years, the association said Friday.

Following such announcement, the association invited the opposition for discussions to better understand the way such measure will be introduced within the announced time frame.

Meanwhile, ACE said it wanted to clarify that there are ongoing discussions with the government in order to determine the best way how such measure can be introduced. In line with such discussions, ACE agrees with the recent comments on the matter by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, that any meaningful reform in this sector requires a holistic approach - one that involves careful coordination with the fiscal authorities, including the VAT Department and the Ministry for Finance as well as a broader review of licensing, compliance, and operational structures.

Reference is made to what has been reported by several local media on the impact such measure will have on the end consumer. As reiterated by ACE over the past years, this is a measure primarily aimed at supporting the catering industry. The end consumer is an indirect beneficiary of such measure, the association said.

ACE stressed the need for common sense on the matter and to avoid turning the debate into any local party's political agenda. Such an important matter merits a constructive discussion between all parties concerned so as to ensure the well being of the industry, it said.