Does your business comply with Liquor Licence requirements?

It may be an excellent time to check whether your business complies with the requirements of the Western Cape Liquor Act in respect of its liquor license.

 The following issues need to be considered:

 Correct licence holder

 When a business is restructured, it often happens that a new entity now sells the liquor (and not the holder of the liquor licence).

 Under these circumstances, the licence must be transferred from the current holder to the entity which now sells the liquor.

Restaurants operated by lessee

 A license holder may not permit another person to conduct business on its licensed premises or sell liquor under its license. This means that a landlord who holds an on-consumption license for a restaurant but leases the restaurant to another business, must also lease its liquor licence to the operator of the restaurant in terms of an application procedure provided for in the Liquor Act.

 Structural alterations or extensions

 If liquor is sold in buildings other than the building originally licensed for or in areas added later, then the licence holder must apply to extend the licensed premises to include these areas.

 If a licence holder does not know which areas are included under its licence, one can apply to the Liquor Authority for a copy of the plan submitted when the licence was originally issued to compare with it the current situation.

 A licence holder may not sell liquor in additional areas unless the required extension has been approved.

 Appointment of managers

If the licence holder is a company, the appointment of a person responsible for the business must be available for inspection.

 If the manager was appointed in terms of the previous Liquor Act, the appointment would refer to “Section 39”. If he/she was appointed after 1 April 2012, it would refer to “Section 52”.

 This is one of the first areas that Liquor Authority inspectors check when visiting premises.

 Copy of original licence

 When premises are inspected, Liquor Authority inspectors usually request a copy of the original liquor licence. A copy of the licence and its conditions has to be displayed on the premises.

 This is not the renewal notice issued every year by the Liquor Authority.  The licence is issued only once and would refer to “Form 4” in the case of licenses issued before 1 April 2012. If it was issued after 1 April 2012, it would refer to “Form 11.”

 If a licence holder does not have a copy, one can apply to the Liquor Authority for a copy.

 Signage

 The name of the premises, the type of licence issued, the trading hours and the licence number must be displayed on the front door or window of the licensed premises.

 The name of the premises refers to the name on the renewal notice.

 For the type of licence “micro manufacturers licence” should be used for wineries with such licenses, “on-consumption licence” for restaurants, function venues, hotels etc. and” off-consumption license” for supermarkets, liquor stores and wine shops.

The trading hours are those in terms of the relevant municipality’s Liquor Trading Hour’s Bylaw. 

The licence number is the number beginning with WCP which appears on the renewal notice or the licence itself.