Off-licence stipulation concerns CSNA
The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association has been discussing with both the Revenue Commissioners and Junior Minister for Small Business John Perry a move by the National Excise Office to have over 1,000 holders of an on-licence apply for an off-licence certificate through the courts should they wish to retail wine off the premises.
Print28 June 2011
The NEO, which was set up in June 2009, sent out a letter last February to 1,000 holders of wine on-licences pointing out that their wine on-licence “does not apply to traders who are selling wine ‘off’ the premises such as shops and/or supermarkets.
“Since 6th July 2000 any person who wished to sell wine for consumption ‘off’ his/her premises could apply for a Wine Retailers Off-Licence. However, from 2008, a Court Certificate in the name of the trading entity is required to be produced to the Revenue Commissioners in order for a Wine Retailers Off-Licence to issue,” stated the NEO, continuing, “If you are correctly licensed at present, please advise this office in writing. Otherwise, you will need to obtain a Court Certificate in order to renew your licence that expires on 30/9/2011.”
Such an application through the courts would meet with additional costs such as €150 for the new certificate plus solicitors’ costs and costs for submitting drawings etc, argues the CSNA.
The National Excise Office believes that only a licence specifically for off-sales allows retailers to sell off the premises and it does not consider the present on-licence to be sufficient even though on-licence holders have on the obverse of their on-licence a condition permitting them to sell it on- or off-, points out CSNA Chief Executive Vincent Jennings.
It is not known why this change in legislation came about. According to advice from legal expert Joe Mooney issued in Shelflife magazine in March 2010, “It seems unusual that it is now required to get a court certificate to get a wine retailers off-licence while it is still the case that it is not required to get a court certificate for a wine retailers on-licence”.
The 2008 Act introduced a number of changes with respect to off-licences while Section 6 brought in the unexpected provision relating to the need to obtain a court certificate in order to take up a new retailer of wine off-licence from the Revenue. This means that retailers are now required to obtain a special court certificate in order to get a wine off-licence.
Although easy to miss, Section 6 states, “The Revenue Commissioners shall not grant a new wine retailers off-licence to a person unless a certificate is presented to them which has been received by the person from the District Court and which entitles the person to a wine retailers off-licence.”
While the actual application itself is quite straightforward, it’s also necessary to serve notice parties, to advertise, to produce plans of the premises, to produce the title to the premises and to have an architect or someone deal with proving the plans and compliance with the planning and fire safety aspects of the premises.
It should also be noted that the application for a new wine retailers off-licence will have to be included with every application for a new off-licence which will now be made up of the two licences, ie the beer retailers off-licence and the spirit retailers off-licence, previously applied for, together with the new wine retailers off-licence. Unless mention of the wine retailers off-licence is included in the application, the judge may end up granting an off-licence without the entitlement to sell wine, advised Joe Mooney.
cap: The National Excise Office believes that only a licence specifically for off-sales allows retailers to sell off the premises.
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