GETTING LIQUOR, TRADING LICENCES EASIER

MBABANE - It’s a free for all when it comes to trading in liquor! A new era has been ushered in the business sector as those who apply for trading and liquor licences will no longer be required to first submit bank statements.

This is as a result of reforms that have been introduced by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade in order to develop and empower businesspeople.
The good news was relayed by Chief Commercial Officer, Magenius Hlophe, who stated that the ministry would no longer demand bank statements whenever people applied for trading licences.

Previously, it was a must that one submitted a bank statement together with other documents whenever they applied for a trading licence.
Besides the bank statement, other documents required for one to obtain a trading licence in urban areas included a lease agreement or proof of ownership, temporary residence permit if the applicant is not a liSwati, citizenship certificate (identity number and grated tax copies) and a certificate of incorporation among others.

For a private property or farm, the requirements include a health report, lease agreement or title deed, certificate of incorporation, minister’s authority, ID and graded tax copies plus memorandum of articles of association, among others.

Trading licences

Hlophe explained that people would now be awarded the trading licences by producing the other documents and not the bank statement.
The only time when the bank statement would be required, according to Hlophe, would be after 12 months when the businessperson applies for a renewal.
“We are doing this to remove the burden of having to go to the bank to open accounts first when people apply for licences.

What we will require is that after 12 months when the person comes to apply for a renewal, we will then demand the bank statement. This will be a perfect time to allow us to see if the person was really operating in the business that he had applied to trade in,” Hlophe explained.
He said for the trading licence, the reforms were already being used which means the new application forms no longer had the requirement of a bank statement.

For the liquor licence, Hlophe revealed that they had not only scrapped off the requirement for a bank statement but also the plan of the structure where one intended to operate their business.
“This touches on the structure that you have earmarked to use as a bar or supermarket. The idea here is that when you designed the structure, the municipality then approved it. So us demanding it is more like a repetition so we are removing the burden of doing it all over again,” he said.

Asked to explain the main reason why they decided to introduce such reforms, Hlophe said government’s aim was to develop and promote businesses in the country so that they could contribute to economic development.
However, it seems the reforms are not good news to everyone as a bottle store owner who asked not to be named minced no words in saying she did not support the idea.

In her view, the strict requirements used before were good in that they made the liquor business unique as it was not easy for just anyone to venture in it.
“This now means that anyone will wake up and decide to open a bar at any corner. In the end, there will be too many businesses and people like us who have been paying taxes for years will suffer a lot. We will also have trouble with the prices as we will have to keep them as low as possible,” she said.

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