Business Licenses were removed because the Business License Act was revoked in 2020 to see how the government can streamline and improve businesses and doing business in Fiji.
This was highlighted by the Permanent Secretary for Local Government and Local Government Election Working Group Chairperson Seema Sharma during the fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan when questioned by Filipe Qio on what is being done about business licenses that was taken away by the previous government which led to a lot of illegal businesses operating in Fiji.
Sharma says as seen, the business license was not the license that allowed any agency to enter any premises however, it was the last thing anyone would receive after getting their NFA, OHS and every other license.
She says it was just for the councils to know that a particular person is operating a business.
The Permanent Secretary further says there are processes underway and agencies have their laws that allow them to take action.
She says the agencies generally should do policing and enforce the law.
Sharma also says for any business to be legal in Fiji it was said to do a tax registration and register with the Registrar of Companies, whether it be a company or a business registration.
She says in this way many agencies could do a lot of information sharing and would know in which town and city a business had been registered and is operating by gathering information from the Registrar of Companies.
When questioned on the setting up of eBay outlets in Fiji, Sharma says for the councils to say that the shop is illegal, they would need to see if they have a relevant license and ensure that they are properly operating under the name they are proposing to operate.
You can watch the full Straight Talk interview on our facebook page and YouTube channel fijivillage.
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