Ministry of Customs clarifies why Tatiana Investments Licenses were cancelled

Staff Reporters

APIA SAMOA – 08 AUGUST 2023: The Ministry of Customs & Revenue has clarified its reasons for cancelling the business licenses for Rosa Café and RSA Night Club and the Liquor License for the same nightclub on 4 July 2023.

A Cancellation Order was issued to the director of the Company, Afoa Amituanai Faleulu Mauli on 19 July 2023, followed by the Ministry’s enforcement team sealing off the premises in Apia, since the Company no longer had a business license, nor a liquor licence, for its night club.

In a press release today, the Chief Executive Officer & Commissioner of Revenue, Fonoti Talaitupu Lia Taefu provided the following background to this matter.

1. Tatiana Investments Limited (“the Company”) applied in about March 2023 for the renewal of its business licenses for Rosa Café and RSA Night Club. One of the supporting documents required to support the renewal of a business licence for a business operating on leased property is a valid lease to operate the relevant business. The Company provided a letter from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment dated May 2019 and addressed to a third party (“MNRE letter”), in support of its application, instead of a valid lease. Due to an administrative oversight, the business licenses for both businesses were approved in early May 2023, upon reliance on the MNRE letter.
2. However, upon subsequent review of the file, it was discovered that the Company did not provide a valid lease agreement in support of the renewal of its business licenses.
3. On or about 8 June 2023, the Company was advised through a Notice of Recommendation to Cancel its business licenses with reasons, and given 7 days to provide a valid lease agreement with the lessor of the property in Apia which the Company was using for its business operations. No response was received after the expiry of 7 days.
4. On or about 21 June 2023, the Ministry provided its recommendation to the Minister of Finance, in accordance with the relevant legislation, to cancel the Company’s business license since the Company had not satisfied all requirements for the renewal of a business license. The Notice of Cancellation of Business License was signed by the Minister of Finance on 4 July 2023 and delivered to the Company on the same day.
5. A Cancellation Order was issued to the director of the Company, Afoa Amituanai Faleulu Mauli on or about 19 July 2023, followed by the Ministry’s enforcement team sealing off the premises in Apia, since the Company no longer had a business license, nor a liquor license, for its night club.
6. The Ministry was advised by the Company on or about 27 July 2023 that it was in discussion with MNRE to finalise its lease arrangements, and sought a 30 days extension to allow them to complete this work. The Ministry has sought legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General on this request. The Ministry has declined the application for a further extension and has conveyed its reasons in a letter served on the company on 3 August 2023 prior to executing its Notice of Cancellation of Business License on the company’s Rosa Café & Restaurant operating somewhere within the same building.
7. When the Company’s application for the renewal of its liquor license was tendered at the Alcohol Control Board’s meeting in late June 2023, the Board was advised by the Ministry to withhold any consideration of the Company’s liquor license, due to concerns with the renewal of the Company’s business licenses.