You are opening a restaurant and retail alcohol but do not know if you need to apply for a license to sell alcohol or not and how to apply for this license? Let LYT Việt Nam advise you on the procedure to apply for a liquor retail license to help you better understand this issue!
Is a liquor retail license required for the Restaurant?
Alcohol business activities, including: Production, import, distribution, wholesale and retail of alcohol; selling alcohol for local consumption. The State manages all issues related to alcohol production and trading in order to limit the harmful effects of alcohol on consumers’ health.
According to Decree 105/2017/ND-CP, amended and supplemented by Decree 17/2020/ND-CP, alcohol trading is on the list of conditional business investment lines. Retailers of alcohol with an alcohol content of 5.5 degrees or more must have a license. Therefore, based on the above legal provisions, if a restaurant business trader has alcohol retail activities, he/she must carry out the procedures for applying for a Liquor Retail License.
If the liquor store does not apply for a license, it will be fined when the market management team checks it. Pursuant to Article 25 of Decree 98/2020/ND-CP stipulating penalties for violations in commercial activities, production and trading of counterfeit and banned goods and protection of consumers’ interests, establishments may be fined from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 for acts of selling alcohol with an alcohol content of 5.5 degrees or more for on-site consumption or trading in alcohol with an alcohol content of less than 5.5 degrees without not registered with the Economic Office or the Economic and Infrastructure Division at the district level as prescribed.
Conditions for applying for a liquor retail license
According to Article 13 of Decree 105/2017/ND-CP as amended and supplemented by Decree 17/2020/ND-CP, individuals and organizations who want to apply for a liquor retail license need to meet the following conditions:
– Being an enterprise, cooperative, union of cooperatives or business household established in accordance with law.
– Having the lawful right to use a fixed business location with a clear address.
– Having a written introduction or a contract in principle of a wine producer, alcohol distributor or alcohol wholesaler.
Rights and obligations of licensed liquor retailers
- Buy and sell alcohol of legal origin;
- Posting up a valid copy of the license granted by a competent authority at the merchant’s liquor sales locations and only buying and selling alcohol according to the contents stated in the granted license, except for the case of with merchants selling alcohol for local consumption.
- Buy alcohol from domestic alcohol producers, alcohol distributors, and alcohol wholesalers according to the content stated in the license;
- Selling alcohol to merchants selling alcohol for consumption on the spot or selling directly to buyers at merchants’ business locations according to the content stated in the license..
How to apply for a liquor retail license for a restaurant?
To carry out the procedures for applying for a liquor retail license, traders need to prepare a dossier and send it to the Economic Division or the district-level Economic and Infrastructure Department in the area where the trader registers. Basic profile traders need to prepare include:
- Document proving ownership (or lease agreement) of a liquor retail location
- Contract + Liquor production/distribution/wholesale license of supplier
- Announcement slip
- Business License
- After preparing all documents, individuals and organizations must submit their documents in person or online to the competent authority for approval. Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid application, the Economic Division of the district will appraise and issue a license to retail alcohol. In case of refusal, a written reply will be given, clearly stating the reason.
- In case there are not enough valid dossiers, within 03 working days from the date of receiving the dossiers, the licensing agency must make a written request for supplementation.
Thus, LYT Việt Nam has just advised readers about specific information about “Do alcohol retailers need a license?”. This is a mandatory procedure, the restaurant owner needs to do it soon for the business to be convenient and legal. If you still have problems in the process of applying for a liquor retail license, please contact LYT Việt Nam immediately for advice.
LYT Việt Nam VIETNAM is a unit specializing in providing professional and prestigious wine business license services. We are committed to providing our clients with the fastest and most economical legal services!
