Improving Restaurant Licensing : A Call for Collaborative Solutions not penalties.
By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law
AJ Halkes
Having played a pivotal role in creating the Provisional Restaurant Licensing system in Hong Kong, we aimed at streamlining the lengthy process of obtaining food (and beverage) licenses; I’d have hoped decades later it would be smooth sailing but it is not and there may be a few storm clouds on the horizon.
Recently the Public Accounts Committee (February report up to March 31, 2023) was urging penalising (if not banning) those who open restaurants, before provisional licenses are granted.
This arises despite the report showing the system is not functioning quite as intended. We still have delays in openings for business builders and we already have legislation that makes opening without a licence unlawful and subject to fines. The aim has to be to fix the issues with this system that persist and do so fast.
The Committee makes many good recommendations and the report uncovers some serious defects and delays that must be resolved. If entrepreneurs meet hygiene standards and provide evidence that they are ensuring public safety, as far as I am concerned, there should be no barrier to opening a businesses promptly and no need arise to face severe penalties or bans.
Via provisional licenses the aim was to reduce government involvement in the food licensing process, entrust compliance to qualified commercial and private entities for fast openings and reduce bureaucratic red tape; all essential in a dynamic economy.
Years later, if the system is still not fully delivering on this promise, industry colleagues and stakeholders must support our local businesses better : we need to collaborate with government to find solutions that enable a more efficient and effective licensing system that is “businesslike” : as was intended.
As for considering bans and penalties for those trying to get Hong Kong back into business … I hope cool heads prevail. It would be a disaster for investment in Hong Kong and the exact opposite of what our struggling F&B sector needs if disincentives exist for anyone who wants to open something new.
Until our systems are working smoothly as intended it will not help the bigger picture, if due to a few so called “bad actors” who open before the Provisional Licence system has delivered as promised, the FEHD is now being strongly urged toward “…. adopting new measures, for example, rejecting the licence application and debarring the same applicant from applying for the same type of licence for some premises for a certain period of time”
Having played a pivotal role in creating the Provisional Restaurant Licensing system in Hong Kong, we aimed at streamlining the lengthy process of obtaining food (and beverage) licenses; I’d have hoped decades later it would be smooth sailing but it is not and there may be a few storm clouds on the horizon.
Recently the Public Accounts Committee (February report up to March 31, 2023) was urging penalising (if not banning) those who open restaurants, before provisional licenses are granted.
This arises despite the report showing the system is not functioning quite as intended. We still have delays in openings for business builders and we already have legislation that makes opening without a licence unlawful and subject to fines. The aim has to be to fix the issues with this system that persist and do so fast.
The Committee makes many good recommendations and the report uncovers some serious defects and delays that must be resolved. If entrepreneurs meet hygiene standards and provide evidence that they are ensuring public safety, as far as I am concerned, there should be no barrier to opening a businesses promptly and no need arise to face severe penalties or bans.
Via provisional licenses the aim was to reduce government involvement in the food licensing process, entrust compliance to qualified commercial and private entities for fast openings and reduce bureaucratic red tape; all essential in a dynamic economy.
Years later, if the system is still not fully delivering on this promise, industry colleagues and stakeholders must support our local businesses better : we need to collaborate with government to find solutions that enable a more efficient and effective licensing system that is “businesslike” : as was intended.
As for considering bans and penalties for those trying to get Hong Kong back into business … I hope cool heads prevail. It would be a disaster for investment in Hong Kong and the exact opposite of what our struggling F&B sector needs if disincentives exist for anyone who wants to open something new.
Until our systems are working smoothly as intended it will not help the bigger picture, if due to a few so called “bad actors” who open before the Provisional Licence system has delivered as promised, the FEHD is now being strongly urged toward “…. adopting new measures, for example, rejecting the licence application and debarring the same applicant from applying for the same type of licence for some premises for a certain period of time”
(p.89)
Read the full report here :
https://lnkd.in/g5HWzEY7