Annual fee legal update August 2017
Premises licences – Annual fees
Every licensing board in Scotland will have sent out demands for the payment of annual fees to maintain premises licences. .
The notices will either be
- sent to the premises;
- sent to the premises licence holder;
- sent to the premises manager
Every year a large number of premises licences are revoked because these annual fees are not paid.
The means that you cannot sell alcohol on the premises until an application for new licence is granted or occasional licences are granted to cover the situation. In an over provision area where the licensing board believe there are too many licences an application for premises licence or occasional licence might not be granted and the business will be lost.
Please instruct senior staff to open the mail, please ensure your head office opens the mail and if it is a demand for payment of annual fees please ensure they are paid immediately. It can be fatal to put these demands in a drawer to pay later!
If you are
- a premises licence holder
- a premises manager
- senior member of staff
PLEASE CHECK TO ENSURE SOMEONE ON YOUR TEAM HAS PAID THE FEES
IF YOU have NOT received a demand for payment by mid September please call local licensing board which deals with your PREMISES LICENCE and ask them to either confirm payment has been made or to re-send the annual fee demand to you by email to ensure it is paid.
Letters get lost in the post. It is no excuse to say you did not receive the demand.
Your future is in your hands.