Governor John Rankin has assented to a long-awaited act designed in part to streamline and improve the licensing process for businesses that sell liquor.
The Liquor Licences Act 2022 — which received assent on Jan. 4 and was Gazetted Jan. 12 — grants liquor vendors longer licence periods and allows for more frequent opportunities to get a licence, but it also comes with higher application fees and stiffer penalties for violations.
Additionally, the bill provides for the formation of a Liquor Licensing Board, which will be responsible for overseeing vendors and administering licences for small retailers, wholesale retailers, nightclubs, member clubs, hotels, restaurants, bars and vessels.
The board is also charged with maintaining a Liquor Licence Register, meeting for licensing days, and enforcing penalties for violations.
Previous delays
Similar bills have been before the HOA multiple times in recent years, but legislators repeatedly deferred them for further consideration. Lawmakers, for instance, debated a previous version in 2020 and planned to reconvene in closed-door committee to review it line by line before voting on it, but then-Premier Andrew Fahie reported that members wanted to deliberate further and the review was temporarily suspended.
Last November, however, government launched a series of public meetings soliciting feedback on the bill.
Meeting attendees suggested amendments including adding a tourism professional and sister-island representative to the licensing board.
Hours, fees
The act lists hours that licence holders are allowed to sell liquor. Most licences permit selling between 7 a.m. and midnight, with the exception of nightclub and members’ club licences, which allow selling until 4 a.m. and 2 a.m., respectively.
Licences range from $50 to $1,800 annually, with a $25 processing fee. Penalties for the sale of liquor without a licence start at $2,000 for a first conviction and go up to $5,000 for a second conviction.
Other offences
The act also outlines penalties for other offences like refusing to admit an inspector to enter on premises. Those fines start at $250 and go up to $500 per offence.