Liquor Licensing 101
Today I want to start by giving prospective license holders a brief overview of the process of an application for a new registration. I am going to base my overview on licenses for the Free State Province, but will keep the info flexible and compatible to all Provinces.
The application for a new registration – the Mount Everest of the liquor licensing world. It might be a steep climb and conditions might be difficult – but the view from the top! Having the right support (your liquor license consultant) is hugely important. Your chosen liquor license consultant will manage the process and should keep you updated at all times, and of course the applicant’s cooperation is essential.
The application starts out with an application form, which has to be completed electronically. The attachments that need to accompany your application form depends on the type of business. The applicant needs to convince the Liquor Board that he/she is capable of responsibly managing a liquor license. Whatever you can add to bring this point across should be included in your application. The basic set of documents to be attached are listed on the index of the application form i.e. Municipal approved plans of the premises, a detailed description of the external and internal features of the premises, a comprehensive written motivation, proof of payment of the applicable application fees and the legal notices, to name but a few.
Every annexure should be individually planned and compiled, applications are not a copy and paste job and should be customized for each outlet. There are a lot of details to be kept in mind when preparing the annexures to be included in the application and for this reason it is best to appoint the services of a competent consultant.
Applications are lodged on the first Friday of every month and on date of lodgement the relevant notices (the applicant’s intent to lodge the application), should appear in both the relevant Provincial Gazette and a local newspaper, which is circulated in the area where the proposed licensed premises is located. This could be tricky to keep track of and the timeline of when the application will be complete and ready for lodgement should be planned accordingly to avoid unnecessarily wasted advertisement costs. Your liquor license consultant can advise in this regard.
When the application is lodged the Liquor Board will give a formal written acknowledgment thereof. This written acknowledgement together with a copy of the lodged application should be kept for easy referral later on. It could also happen that the application goes missing and the Board will then request a copy thereof to continue the process. ALWAYS keep copies of all documents submitted to or received from the Board.
The period between lodging and finalizing of an application can drag on for quite some time. This is a fact all prospective applicants need to accept. As long as your consultant is making regular follow up and providing the Board with additional documents or information on request thereof, the process is sure to come to an easy close.
Feel free to comment below or direct all queries to info@trunek.co.za.
Cheers!
