In terms of the Shop License’s Act Chapter 14.17, no person shall in any shop, store or another fixed place of business, carry on the trade or business of selling or letting for hire any goods except in terms of a shop license. Shop license is one important license business must procure. If you sell from a shop in Zimbabwe, you’re going to require a shop license. Shop License makes you trade legally and fully formalize your business. Register with the Local Council to be compliant when running a business.

1. Register your company

Firstly, register your company. There are two types of companies that you can register in Zimbabwe. Either a Private Limited Company (PLC) or a Private Business Corporation (PBC).
 

2. Application procedure for a shop license

Option 1: Order our shop licence processing service.

Option 2: Do it on your own.

• Pay $20 administration fee at a local council. Take receipt to the licensing office, at that local council.
• Local Authority will issue you a) SL2 Form and b) Advertising forms to advertise in a daily paper.
• Advertise, then bring a cutting of the first advert together with completed SL2 forms to the Licensing office. You will be required to pay a $60 submission fee at this point.
• Health inspectors will issue your form, and a health inspector will look at your premises. The aim is to assess whether the premises meet the minimum requirements and to attend to any issue which might need revisiting.
• Apply for a registration certificate, if the premises meet the minimum requirements. If they do not, write on what you need to attend to before, they can issue with you a registration certificate.
• Renew the registration certificate annually.
• For renewal, fill in the application for Registration Certificate form and pay the renewal fee. Renew, the Registration Certificate if your premises are satisfactory.
• If all is satisfactory, local authority gives you a BUS account number – then pay $160 for a temporary trading permit, pending date of authority meeting.
• Local Authority requires you to bring a cutting of your second advert to the licensing office before the date of authority meeting.
• Pay the licensing fee after the date of authority meeting.

Conclusion

In conclusion, register with the Local Council to protect your business in the event of legal scrutiny.  Avoiding getting a shop license results in heavy penalties from the government. Therefore, it is important to apply for a shop license to avoid severe penalties from the government.