About the Department
The Commerce Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network is responsible for markets, competition and trader licensing within the Velocity Interoperability Network. It licenses and supervises the markets at the sites of the Network, licenses the traders who sell at those markets and from premises elsewhere, applies the competition rules of the Network to agreements, conduct and mergers between undertakings, and publishes statistics on all three.
The Department was established on 6 September 2026. Before that date each member organisation of the Network made its own arrangements for the markets at its sites and for the traders who used them, and there were no common competition rules. During the transition period from 10 August to 5 September 2026 those arrangements were reviewed and carried into the Department's register, and traders were invited to register provisionally so that their licences would be in force from the day of establishment.
At establishment the Department's register holds twelve licensed markets with 1,084 pitches between them, and 3,146 trader licences are in force. Applications for new licences are accepted from 7 September 2026. The register is set out on the Markets page and the licensing procedure on the Trader Licensing page.
Organisation. The Department is organised in three offices. The Markets Office licenses and inspects markets and administers trader licensing at the six principal sites. The Competition Office reviews notified mergers, assesses complaints and conducts investigations. The Office of the Spokesperson publishes the Department's announcements, statistics and guidance. Each office is reached through the Department's single email address.
Responsibilities. The Department's work falls into five areas.
- Markets
- Licensing of the markets at the sites of the Network, maintenance of the register of licensed markets, and the common rules under which markets trade.
- Trader licensing
- Licensing of market stall, shop premises, itinerant and distance traders; assessment of applications; renewal, variation and revocation of licences.
- Competition
- Application of the competition rules of the Network to agreements between undertakings, to the conduct of dominant undertakings and to mergers above the notification thresholds.
- Market standards and inspection
- Inspection of licensed markets and licensed traders for compliance with the market rules and licence conditions, including the display of licences and prices and the accuracy of weights and measures.
- Fees, statistics and reporting
- Setting and collecting the fees and charges for licences and notifications, and publishing quarterly bulletins on licensing, market capacity and competition casework.
For the Department's origins and the milestones since its establishment, see History; for its figures at establishment, see Statistics. General enquiries may be sent to contact@commerce.gov.vin.