According to the Spirit License Act, “spirits” include any alcoholic liquids that are the end product of distillation. These include alcohol such as rum, brandy, whisky, gin, hollands, and arrack as well as any other distilled spirit. The type of license you apply for determines the quantity of spirit you can sell.
Categories of Spirit Licenses.
- Village retail license
- Tavern license
- Hotel license
- Occasional special license
- Club license
- Wholesale license
- Town retail license &
- Town-off license
Bars have always served as meeting places. People usually relax while listening to music, drinking liquor, and the banter with other customers. Bars in Jamaica are no different. Due to their popularity as meeting places, bars are regarded to be a successful industry. As a result, lots of people have started opening bars and selling alcohol. A common poster or sign on many bars in Jamaica states “It is my intention to apply for a spirit license at the next licensing session”. You may wonder what is the sign for. This is because, in Jamaica, the selling of any alcohol requires a license called a spirit license. The common sign does not permit anyone to sell alcohol. The sign is used to notify the public of your intention to open a bar and get your license.
Anyone who wishes to get a spirit license will be required to visit the parish court, tax office, police station closest to the establishment, and also the public health department. The spirit license session is the quarterly session held by the Licensing Authority. Any such session must be announced by the Court Clerk at least one month before the date of the session. Announcements can be made in the Island’s newspaper of general circulation and the Gazette. Before the hearing of the session, applicants must submit all of their applications, and they must appear in court to receive the license.
Spirit License Application Process
Spirit License Intention Sign
Anyone who wishes to get a spirit license must post a prominent sign on the property that clearly states their plans to apply for a spirit license. This sign declares your intention to create a bar rather than permitting you to sell alcohol. This gives those who are opposed to it the chance to voice their objections in person before a judge or the police.
Application Form
They must receive an application for a spirit license from the court clerk at the parish’s resident magistrate’s court or from the tax office. Application forms can now be downloaded online at https://parishcourt.gov.jm/content/court-forms. Applicants must also provide a copy to their neighborhood’s superintendent of police. The following information should be on the application form:
- The type of license that has been requested
- An accurate description of the proposed premises, including as much information as possible about their current state
- An unambiguous declaration stating whether you have ever possessed a license issued under this Act or Law 31 of 1905, which is now repealed, and if so, when, where, and whether your license was ever forfeited
- A clear statement stating whether the intended premises have received a license under this Act in the twelve months immediately before the application
- A clear statement stating whether you have ever during the five years before your application been convicted of any offense.
- Demonstrate that you are able to read, write, and keep account books in English.
License Duty and Stamp Duty
The Inland Revenue Department will be where you must make the license duty and stamp duty payments. You will be given a receipt as verification of your payment. You will have to take it to the resident magistrate’s court along with the application specified above. By looking through the Tax Administration Jamaica website, you may notice that there are various fees associated with each sort of license
Public Health Department
The applicant must visit the public health department to get a health certificate.
You will need to wait until the hearing date of the session once you have submitted all the necessary applications. The Clerk of Court will get in touch with you to let you know whether or not your application has been allowed once you have attended the hearing session.
Within around 14 days of the license’s issuance date, the clerk will get in touch with you to let you know if your application was accepted.
Why your application may be rejected?
Your spirit license application may be rejected for one or more of the following reasons:
- An applicant is a person of bad character
- The applicant has held a license within the previous five years in any part of the Island and has allowed his licensed premises to become a nuisance to his neighborhood
- The premises were deemed unfit for the purpose of the license applied for or are in the Licensing Authority’s opinion undesirable to be licensed
- The applicant is under the age of twenty-one
- The premises for which the application is made cannot be kept under effective police control
- The premises are likely to be an annoyance to the neighborhood
- There are enough licensed premises to meet the needs of the neighborhood
- The premises are likely to be a nuisance.
- Legally, the license cannot be issued.
A spirit license is required by the Spirit License Act for anyone selling alcoholic beverages. Anyone found guilty of selling alcoholic beverages without a spirit license risks facing a fine of up to $5,000 or, in the event that the fee is not paid, a sentence of six months in jail. Additionally, those with a license to sell alcohol should adhere to the limits specified in their licenses.
