Some people say that Capetonians like to leave things to the last minute – well, it’s to be hoped that this time everyone is paying attention, because unless people act quickly, we could all be in for a lot more problems. I received an email from a reader, Richard, last week which added yet another layer to the confusion and complexity of the changes to the liquor laws.
According to Danie Cronje, Director of Liquor Law Services at Cluver Markotter Inc, a small part of the legislation which many seem to have missed, is the implications for businesses trading on the same site as a petrol station. “A lot of people read the legislation to mean the loss of licences for convenience stores situated in petrol stations, but in fact, when you read it properly, it applies to everybody with a liquor licence on the same erf as a petrol station.
What it means is that unless people apply for their licence NOT to lapse, then on 1st April 2013, they will have to cease trading in alcohol.”
This will mean that all shops, supermarkets, bars, restaurants and hotels on the same erf as a petrol station will no longer be able to sell any alcohol at all, at any time. The problem with this is the size of the erfs involved. So far Danie and his team have identified that this will affect the following shopping centres and businesses:
• The V & A Waterfront
• Tyger Valley Shopping Centre
• Constantia Village
• Cape Town International Airport
Yes – that’s right – we could be looking at no alcohol in bars, restaurants, hotels, duty-free or other shops at Cape Town Airport and the V& A Waterfront which would be massively damaging to Cape Town’s reputation as an international tourist destination. All liquor licence holders MUST lodge an application for their licence NOT to lapse by 12 noon March 27th 2013.
As long as they do this, they may continue trading for 12 months whilst the Liquor Board considers applications for their licences not to lapse. For the sake of the tourism industry in the Western Cape, it’s to be hoped that this will not be the case.
Not only Western Cape
These new liquor act laws are not only affecting the Western Cape and there are many new proposed laws for Gauteng and the rest of the country too. Things like, no alcohol served anywhere on a Sunday (this includes restaurants), read more …
Anyone who believes they may be affected by this is urged to contact
their liquor lawyer immediately or get in touch with Danie Cronje at
Cluver Markotter Inc on dlc@cm.law.co.za.