One-stop Licensing Service for Food and Beverage Establishments
Introduction
1. Principles
In order to meet the demands of social development and create better conditions for investors, and to encourage the development of food and beverage (F & B) establishments, the Chief Executive of the Macao SAR enacted Administrative Regulation No. 16/2003 on 7 July 2003. The amendments to categories 4 and 5 of Decree Law No. 16/96/M governing the licensing procedures of F & B establishments are thus officially approved, and the “One-stop Licensing Service for Food and Beverage Establishments” has come into effect.
As the organisation offering the “one-stop service”, the IAM is responsible for dealing directly with all applications for obtaining licences, and assisting applicants with processing the required documents and drawings, as well as the procedures involving other relevant public authorities. This simplifies administrative procedures, speeds up the process of issuing licences, increases the transparency of public administration and enhances the quality of service, thus fulfilling the IAM service pledge - “For the People”.
2. Scope of Services
As the organisation offering the “one-stop service”, the IAM does not deal with every application for licences in all categories of F & B establishments; only those covered in Categories 4 and 5 specified in Decree Law No. 16/96/M, including:
1) Category 4 – F & B establishments that mainly provide beverages and simple dishes, such as coffee shops, ice-cream parlours, tea rooms, etc.;
2) Category 5 – F & B establishments that offer catering services and facilities and equipment that satisfy the basic requirements for catering services, but excluding the requirements for restaurants, such as congee and noodle shops and food establishment.
3. Features of Services
The One-stop Licensing Service aims to provide the followings:
1) Offer clear information and technical assistance – These include the relevant information contained in this booklet, display unit and short video. Complex project issues will be resolved through technical meetings between applicants and technicians from relevant departments. These meetings will aim to enable applicants to understand the details of the application procedure and the detailed technical requirements.
2) Centralised procedures processed by one organisation – Once authorised by the applicant, the IAM will provide assistance with all application procedures, including applications for relevant documents from other departments (such as property registration reports, certified copies of the permit of use for the property, drawings, project permits, provisional operation permits for electrical installations, etc.). The IAM will also keep applicants informed of the progress of their applications and actions to be taken to meet the application requirements, in order to save applicants time in dealing with various departments and enable them to have a clearer idea of the status of their application.
3) Reduced set-up costs by speeding up the licensing process – Provided the applicant submits all the required documents on the designated date, the licence will be issued in not more than 60 working days from the date of the application, excluding the construction period. In addition, if the establishment’s operation will not pose any risk for the public safety, public health and the environmental protection, a provisional licence will be issued to enable the applicant to commence business as soon as possible, in order to minimise financial losses.
4) Increased flexibility of licensing procedures – If the licensing process is terminated for any reason, it can be resumed within a specified time, provided that the conditions for reapplication are fulfilled.