By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

LIQUOR stores will have to register through a new Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) online portal starting September 1 - with a renewed focus on ensuring such businesses are not close to schools and churches.

Registration is now mandatory nationwide and applies to both new and existing liquor businesses, with a certificate of registration and a business licence required. 

DIR acting director Shunda Strachan said applications are submitted via an online portal and the DIR is required to notify the public and conduct consultations as part of the process. The acting director said the consultation period for new businesses is approximately two weeks.

The change comes through the insertion of Section 9A and the “Fifth Schedule” of the Business Licence Act, which outlines the registration requirements.

Mrs Strachan warned that having a current licence does not guarantee approval for registration.

She said: “The things that Inland Revenue is going to consider when we make the determination as to whether or not the registration certificate should be granted, we’re going to consider the concentration of liquor stores in the area that you’re trying to open the liquor store in.

“Of course, as I said before, proximity to schools and places of worship, the suitability of the premises and that’s a new thing. That’s something, while our sister agencies, Physical Planning and Ministry of Works, paid attention to the structure and the location, we now have this new thing called the suitability of the premises.”

She said authorities are closely monitoring the rise of drive-up or walk-up liquor services. She added whether a business must cease operations during the process will depend on the specific circumstances outlined in the act.

The DIR acting director explained numerous complaints about noise from liquor businesses near residential areas and will consider such issues during the registration process. Business owners will have the right to object to decisions or restrictions imposed.

Mrs Strachan expressed concern over an “overwhelming amount” of liquor businesses in school zones and near churches, admitting to being “stunned” by the figures.

When asked if the process signals the start of a crackdown on drive-through and takeout bars, she said: “That’s how it sounds.”

Housing Minister Keith Bell announced in June that the government will amend the Business Licence Act to impose tighter regulations on the approval and location of liquor stores and bars — a problem flagged by the Urban Renewal Authority’s Street Level Survey.

He said on one major commercial artery, there are 32 liquor establishments flanked by 73 abandoned buildings.

The Department of Physical Planning issue a reminder in May stating that no commercial land use applications for liquor licences would be approved within the specified distance of protected sites.

Town Planning Committee chairman Keenan Johnson said that the policy is not new, but it had not been consistently applied due to limited public awareness. 

It has been argued by some the oversaturation of liquor businesses is due to a lack of enforcement and existing businesses may suffer because measures were not enforced by relevant agencies.

Pressed on this dilemma, Mrs Strachan answered: “That’s a very good question — one not for me to answer. I’ll say this to you, the Department of Inland Revenue is reasonable. We’re reasonable in what we do. Let’s say, for instance, you already have a liquor establishment, but we now deem your premises unsuitable, right? Your premises are not suitable, and so we’re not going to register you.

“I don’t know what that’s going to look like. It probably will look like us, of course, going through a period of consultation. Can you amend your premises to make it suitable?

“But in any event, the DIR has strict guidelines to follow, which we will follow — we have no choice. Once we follow them, if a decision is given and it’s not a decision that the business owner can accept. There’s a whole process of appeal.”

Mrs Strachan said the department is finalising procedures and will begin publishing registration notices and seek public feedback by September, aiming to get ahead of the 2026 registration period.

The registration fee is $100 for liquor stores and $50 for other establishment such as bars and restaurants. For new businesses, registration must be completed 90 days before applying for a liquor licence.