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1.
Do you need a trade license?
2.
When should you apply for a
Trade License?
3.
How should you apply for the
License?
4.
What happens after you submit
the application form?
5.
What is the Trade License fee
applicable to your Trade?
Do
you need a trade license?
If you are setting up a new business, you may be
required to obtain a trade license under the regulations of the CMC. A list
of trades requiring licenses is provided in Table
I (Section IV) of this handbook.
If you already have a licensed business, you need to renew your license on
an annual basis. However, if any of the following instances apply to your
business, you may need to apply for a new license before expiry of your
existing license:
1.
You have changed the location or premises from which
your business operates and it falls under Colombo city limits
2.
The ownership of the trade in question has changed
e.g. you have just purchased a new business/ trade
3.
You have changed the nature of your business e.g. you
have converted your barbershop to an eating house/ restaurant
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When
should you apply for a Trade License?
In case of a newly
set up business, you should apply for and obtain a trade license prior to
starting operations. In case you are an existing license holder but are
required to apply for a new license (as per the conditions listed above),
you should apply for a new license at the earliest and definitely before
expiry of you existing license.
If you are an existing business
owner, the CMC will initiate the process of renewing your license by the
September of the preceding year i.e. for renewing your license for 2009,
the process would be initiated by September 2008. Typically, the process of
renewal would be completed latest by March 31 of the year for which the
license is valid e.g. in the illustration provided above, the license would
be issued latest by March 31, 2009.
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How
should you apply for the License?
Your business is eligible to obtain a license only if
it meets with requirements prescribed by the Fire Service Department (see requirements of Fire Service
Department), the Public Health Department (see requirements of Public Health
Department) and the City Planning Division (see
requirements of City Planning Division) of the CMC. Accordingly, the
first step when applying for a Trade License is to ensure that you have
complied with all requirements with respect to your trade. Details of the
requirements of each of the Departments/Division for each licensable trade
are provided in the next section.
Once you have ensured compliance with the requirements
of the CMC and are ready to apply for a license, the following steps may be
followed:
1.
Obtain an application form for a new license. These
are available at the Revenue division of the Treasurer’s Department of the
CMC with the Subject Clerk and the Chief Clerk
2.
Carefully fill in the application and provide all
required information. Detailed instructions on how to fill the form are
included with the form itself . The information required of you
in the form includes:
·
Personal information: Name, designation,
National Identity Card number
·
Contact details: Telephone and
mobile number, email address
·
Information on the trade: Name, nature
(activities to be carried out), business registration number and date,
previous year’s license number
·
Contact
details of trade premises: Telephone number, address
·
Ownership of trade premises: Whether rented/
owned/ leased
·
Details of owner: Name, Telephone,
Email, Mobile
and Address of the owner of the premise
·
Details of premise building: Reference number
and Date of Approved
Building Plan and
Certificate of Conformity, Deviations from approved building, Usage of
premises/building, change of use certificate
The Application form is provided in Annexure I
3.
Ensure that all required documents have
been attached with the application form (the Application form has been
provided in Annexure I on Page 44). The documents to be attached include:
1.
Mandatory for all trades:
1.
Copy of Business Registration Certificate
2.
Copy of National I.D Card / Passport
Number in case of non resident
3.
Copy of Certificate of Conformity
4.
Copy of Water bill
5.
Copy of payment receipt/ agreement with
solid waste removal agency
6.
Copy of Change of Use certificate: Mandatory in all
cases where the existing usage of the building/ premises differs from the
approved usage
7.
Copy of Certificate for Change of
Occupancy (if existing occupancy is different from the approved
occupancy; from the Fire Services Department): Mandatory in all cases where
existing occupancy differs from approved occupancy (e.g. change from residential
occupancy to business/ office etc)
8.
Copy of Machinery Permit & Renewal: Mandatory for all
trades using machinery and/ or generating a noise level of 50 decibels or
above (to check if your trade requires a Machinery permit, see Table 1 in Section IV of this handbook)
9.
Copy of Noise Level Report: Mandatory for
trades requiring a Machinery Permit and/ or generating a noise level of 50
decibels or above (to check if your trade requires a Noise level report,
see Table 1 in Section IV of this handbook)
10.
Copy of
Registration with the Labour Department: Mandatory for
factories/ other trades as defined by the Public Health Department (to
check if your trade requires registration with the Labour Department, see Annexure II on Page 50)
11.
Copy of the
Environment Protection License from the Central Environmental Authority: Mandatory for
trades defined under the National Environment Act No. 47 of 1980 (to check
if your trade requires a Environment Protection License, see Annexure III on Page 52)
12.
Copy of Police
Report / Grama Sevaka Report / Justice of Peace Letter: Mandatory for
lodging houses
13.
For Trades dealing
with Food/ Drinks (including manufacture of food/ eating houses,
restaurants, bakeries/ Canteen / Snack Bar / Tea and Coffee Shop / Retail
Shop/ hotel etc):
§
Copy of Water Test and Food Test report
§
Copy of Sketch of kitchen
§
Copy of Medical reports of employees
§
Copy of Trained food handler’s certificate
(at least 1 employee)
§
Copy of Certificate of commendation/ mini
HACCP
4.
Once the form is complete in all respects (including
all required information and documents), it is ready to be submitted. Four
copies of the form (one original and 3 copies) are to be submitted along
with the attached documents (only 1 set of documents is required to be submitted).
The submission may be made to the Subject clerk or the Chief Clerk of the
Revenue Department at the office of the Municipal Treasurer
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What happens after you submit the Application Form?
You can expect your license within
25 days from the date on which the application was submitted at the counter
of the office of the Municipal Treasurer. The process followed for
processing your application and subsequently issuing the license is as
follows:
1.
On receipt of your application, the office of the
Municipal Treasurer will request a Revenue Inspector to visit the premises
from which your trade is to be operated. The RI will verify the details
provided on the application form about the owner of the trade and the
nature of business
2.
If all details are found to be accurate, the RI will
submit a recommendation report approving the distribution of the form
to three other Departments: Public Health, Fire Services and City Planning
3.
Each of these three departments will also conduct
inspections at the trade premises to verify that all requirements mandated
by the respective departments are met. Details of the requirements for each
Department are provided in the next Section of this handbook.
4.
If all requirements are met, each of the Departments
will submit a recommendation to the Treasurer’s Department that the Trade
license be issued
5.
The Treasurer’s Department, on receipt of a
recommendation from all three departments will issue you a notice to pay
the requisite Trade License fee and collect your license.
6.
On receipt of the notice, you may pay the fee at the
counters of the shroffs in the Revenue Division at the office of the
Municipal Treasurer and collect a receipt for the same
7.
This receipt should then be produced before the
Accountant in the Treasurer’s Department and the license may be collected
8.
The License should be displayed at a prominent
location on the Trade premises
The detailed requirements of each
Department are provided in the next section of this handbook. It is
recommended that you study these and ensure compliance with the same prior
to initiating the application process. In case any instances of
non-compliance are noticed at the point of submission of the application or
during the Inspections by the Departments, your application may be
rejected. This would lead to inconvenience for you and delay in starting of
operations of your trade/ business.
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What is the Trade License fee applicable to your
Trade?
In applying for and obtaining a
trade license, you would need to pay only a Trade License fee, which is
levied once your license application has been approved by all Departments.
The fee is payable at the designated counters in the Treasurer’s office
only. In case your application is rejected, no License fee will be
collected from you.
The fee for a trade license is determined based on the
annual value of your property. The following table provides the fee
structure applicable when obtaining a trade license.
|
S. No.
|
Annual Value of Premises
|
License Fee (Rs.)
|
|
1
|
Rs. 1 - Rs. 5,000
|
250
|
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2
|
Rs. 5001 - Rs. 10,000
|
500
|
|
3
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Rs. 10,001 - Rs. 15,000
|
750
|
|
4
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Rs. 15,001 - Rs. 20,000
|
1000
|
|
5
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Rs. 20,001 - Rs. 30,000
|
2000
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|
6
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Rs. 30,001 - Rs. 40,000
|
3000
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7
|
Rs. 40,001 - Rs. 50,000
|
4000
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8
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Rs. 50,001 and above
|
5000
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