Liquor Licence Renewal - Forget and you may lose your business

Liquor Licence Renewal - All liquor licence holders must renew their licences every year – irrespective of the kind of liquor licence. The process is different for each province.  Make sure of and don’t miss your final licence renewal payment date!   Failure to pay on time results in a licence becoming invalid.  This means no selling, manufacturing or distribution of liquor.  

Renewal reminder registration - Register HERE.  Licence holders are encouraged to register for licence renewal reminders with licence specialists – such as The Licence Co. The Licence Co sends reminders to licence holders on their renewal database on a regular basis.

NB - It remains the sole responsibility of a licence holder to renew on time.  It is futile to blame an employee who neglected to make the payment on behalf of the licence holder.

New Eastern Cape Liquor Act Proposed

Eastern Cape Liquor Act -  The Eastern Cape Provincial Government recently gave notice of its intention to introduce  a new Eastern Cape Liquor Act.  Fourteen (14) months ago, extensive amendments to the current Eastern Cape Liquor Act was published.   Why not proceed to implement the amendments?  It seems that the provincial government thinks it will be easier to replace the current Liquor Act in total, instead of implementing the amendments of July 2015. Comment can be submitted on or before 8 November 2016 – allowing only 14 days to comment.

The highlights are summarised below.  Contact Us if you need information or advice on the proposed new Eastern Cape Liquor Act. 

1. There are definite links between National and Provincial Legislation – numerous definitions follow the definitions contained in the National Liquor Act.

2. It provides for a system of delegated powers to allow officials to exercise functions of the CEO

3. Creates 7 categories of licences

4. Creates a threshold above which no liquor may be sold

5. Introduces new licensing criteria

6. New supporting documents required

7. No automatic renewal

8. New fines / prison sentences.

Western Cape Liquor Authority - Guidelines for Special Event & Temporary Licences for 2016/2017 December Holiday Period

Western Cape Liquor Authority ("WCLA") - The Western Cape Liquor Authority (WCLA) has advised the following guidelines for special and temporary liquor licence applications for events and functions for the 2016 Holiday season :

Period of function: 1 December 2016 to 13 January 2017 
Cut off time for lodgement : 16h00 on 1 December 2016
Late Applications : Considered only after 13 January 2017

NB : Only certain events qualify for a special event licence, the rest must apply for a temporary liquor licence.   Contact Us to ensure you apply for the correct licence. 

Note 1 : All Special Event & Temporary Licence Applications must still be lodged with the WCLA at least 14 days before the first day of the event. 

Note 2: The Liquor Licensing Tribunal will be in recess from 13 December 2016 to 6 January 2017.  

Contact Us for applications for your Special Event & Temporary Licences for this season.