My interest was piqued this morning when I heard on the news that two young men had been arrested for conducting a business without a licence. There was no information released on the facts in this matter. I have no knowledge of the special circumstances affecting the men or their business. What I say here is not intended to advise anyone or their advisers. If you have any doubt whether you are required to obtain a business licence to cover some activity that you do in Anguilla, you should obtain appropriate legal advice, and not rely on what I am about to say here.
I have previously written on this issue, as you can read by checking my earlier post of 29 January 2008. The bottom line of that post was that the law of Anguilla does not require every business conducted in Anguilla to be licensed. The law only requires “places of business” where specified businesses are conducted to be licensed. This is what the law says:
Obligation to obtain licence to carry on certain trades, businesses, occupations and professions
3. Every person carrying on any trade, business, occupation or profession set out in the Schedule shall take out an annual licence in accordance with the provisions of this Act in respect of each premises or place where such trade, business, occupation or profession is carried on, and shall only carry on such trade, business, occupation or profession from such premises or place.
The meaning of the words in the section is clear. If you have a place of business at which you do one of the businesses set out in the Schedule to the Act, then you are required to obtain a licence in respect of the place in question. The Act does not say words to the effect that “no business shall be carried out in Anguilla without a licence”. The words above cannot be stretched to bear this meaning.
A ‘place of business’ is not defined under the law. However, the meaning of the words is clear enough. A place is a spot, a space on the ground, a location. The businesses that are required to be licensed are listed in the Schedule to the Act.
A place of business is by implication a place dedicated to doing business, a place to which you invite members of the public to do business with you. If you do your business of designing Christmas and greeting cards on the computer in your bedroom, your bedroom does not become a ‘place of business’.
If you conduct your business from three different locations, then you are required to obtain three different licences.
If you have a licensed business place, then you must carry out your business from there. You cannot have a licensed shop, and then open an unlicensed branch and claim that your licence covers that unlicensed branch.
If however, your business is of a type that does not require any contact in person with members of the public, and you in fact have no contact with the public at a particular place of your own, then it is clear that the words of the Act do not apply to you.
If you conduct your business from your home, or from a pay phone, or from the computers in the public library, ie, if your business is of a type that does not require a dedicated ‘place’ of business, then the Act does not require you to have a licence to conduct your business.
If I conduct my business in private, without inviting members of the public to come to my residence, then the Act does not apply to me.
Let us take a few practical examples. The Schedule lists these occupations:
32. Consultant/Arbitrator ............................................................................................... 1500.00
57. Hairdresser ................................................................................................................. 600.00
66. International Trader .................................................................................................. 1500.00
Each of these occupations can be carried out at a place of business as defined above. The places where I carry out the business would need to be licensed. Equally, they could be carried out without a place of business. I would not need a licence then to carry out the business.
A consultant who lives in Anguilla and is consulted on the telephone or in the homes or businesses of her clients is not required to be licensed. The St Kitts consultant engineer or attorney at law who flies in to Anguilla to do a particular job for a client, is not required to take out a licence in respect of his hotel room.
A hairdresser who visits clients at their homes or hotel rooms is not covered by the wording of the Act.
An international trader who uses her computer at home or at the Library and who does not have a ‘place of business’ is not compelled by the Act to have a place of business, and is not required to have a business licence.
I hope the police arrested the right persons. Otherwise they could be in trouble under the law. Mind you, remember to take advice from your attorney before acting on what I have written here.
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