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Should local food businesses pay license & registration fee?

Environmental Health Division proposes fee for entrepreneurs business' licence and registration. Photo: co.grand-traverse.mi.us
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI - With so many food businesses being established in the Virgin Islands, staff of the Environmental Health Division, have proposed that a fee be paid by entrepreneurs for their businesses being licensed and registered.

Information from the Environmental Health Division 2011 Annual Report, submitted to Government representatives by the Ministry of Health and Social Development, suggested that a fee should be introduced, where owners of food establishments in the Virgin Islands, pay a fee to license and register their businesses, in efforts to cut the overhead cost incurred by the department.

This report was laid in the House of Assembly on July 24, 2012.

The submitted report stated “registration and licensing of food establishments is an area with great potential for generating revenue, but the services are continuously done free of charge. Expenses associated with the production forms and certificate are a constant reminder of overhead costs incurred. Therefore, the need to develop and implement a fee schedule for collection of revenue in this area cannot be over emphasized.”

To further strengthen their proposal, the department, in an example, stated that during the year 2011, two hundred and eleven food establishments were licensed.

They added that if there was a $50 licensing fee for each establishment, then the Ministry would have generated ten thousands five hundred and fifty dollars ($10,550) for the year in review.

The report stated that the introduction of this fee can drastically cut the existing cost incurred by the Ministry as well as generating much needed profits.

9 Responses to “Should local food businesses pay license & registration fee?”

  • critic (13/08/2012, 08:13) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    too many things in the bvi are free
  • True (13/08/2012, 08:37) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Is the trade license not a fee, is the liquor license not a fee, is SS not a fee, $50.00 isn't much but why not just start charging for food handlers certificates again this will bring in much more revenue than $10,500.00
  • Eve (13/08/2012, 09:09) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    So you mean to tell me all this time there was NO licensing and registration fee for food vendors? And that no one had the forsight to impose this from the onset? Are the licensing and registration fees a one-time occurance? They should be an annual event. I hope the $50.00 mention was just as a cae scenario and that the actual fees would be at least a 4-figure amount.
  • making sports (13/08/2012, 09:54) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    seems like they want to kill poor people in these hard times.
  • grace (13/08/2012, 13:11) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Are you kidding me, that all these food establishments in this territory not paying to operate these businesses? I can't believe. Government is too damn lax about everything. This does not happen any where else in the world, that people have businesses, making money but don't pay fees to operate. No wonder there is not sufficient money to build the infrastructure. A fee or fees should be imposed, and just listen for these greedy people scream because they think that everything should be free, while they make money. This is a sad society.
  • qc (13/08/2012, 13:22) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    always finding a way to tax the lil people
  • rat tain (13/08/2012, 13:29) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    They need to go get more revenue from the trust companies from tying to balance the budget on the small man
  • We sa (16/08/2012, 15:55) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    What I do not understand about government is that they will collected $10,500 from local businesses. But they will bring in two administrative staff to collect those funds. They salary might be $ 15,000 each. Not only that the collected of funds would have to be audited by the internal audit department. I sugguest that the government carry out a cost benefit analysis before that come to public this these proposal. Please go back to the drawing board.


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