Agenda item

To consider an application for a premises licence review brought by Trading

Standards as a Responsible Authority.

The Licensing Officer, Daliah Barrett outlined details of an application for a premises licence review brought by the Trading Standards team against the above named premises for the storage and selling of large quantities of non duty paid tobacco on licensed premises. Ms Barrett advised that she had received confirmation from the licence holder, Mr Longming Yan, that he would not be attending the hearing but stated that he did not wish to lose his premises licence. The options available to the Committee in determining the application with regard to the licensing objectives were outlined. Their attention was also drawn to the s182 guidance, in particular paragraph 11.27 which identified certain criminal activities that could arise in licensed premises which should be treated particularly seriously and which included the sale or storage of smuggled tobacco and alcohol.

Rebecca Whitehouse from the Trading Standards team outlined the case made against the licence holder. Following the seizure of 40320 non UK duty paid cigarettes during a joint inspection undertaken with HMRC of the premises on 6 April 2016, the licence holder had subsequently been prosecuted for the offence. He pled guilty and received a fine of £1520 plus costs. Concern was expressed that the level of the fine was not a sufficient deterrent against the future sale of illicit cigarettes and which remained a problem both nationally and within the borough, particularly related to the impact on young people and vulnerable communities. In admitting the offence, the licence holder had demonstrated that he had not been acting as a responsible retailer. As such, the Trading Standards team were recommending the imposition of additional conditions to the premises licence and the suspension of the licence for up to three months for failing to uphold the licensing objectives of the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety.

In response to questions from the Committee, officers confirmed that the premises licence was required for the sale of alcohol and that based on the illicit stock seized in April, the licence holder had evaded £9k in duty. It was emphasised however that this provided only a snapshot as it was unclear for how long the licence holder had been committing the offence, with illicit stock hidden both behind the counter and in the basement.

The Committee queried whether further inspections would be undertaken of the premises to check compliance. Officers advised that a verification check would be undertaken in the future but that individual retailers could not be singled out.  

The Committee expressed concern that a potential suspension of the premises licence could put the business at risk of failure. Officers advised that the Council wanted to support local businesses but they needed to trade in a legal way. The licensing officer also identified that the s182 guidance outlined that the licensing authority had a duty under a review to take steps with a view to the promotion of the licensing objectives in the interests of the wider community and not those of the individual licence holder.

In response to a further question, officers advised that the licence holder had previously been encouraged to join Haringey’s Responsible Retailers scheme but had declined. Officers would continue to encourage the licence holder to join the scheme.

RESOLVED

The Committee carefully considered the application for a review of the premises licence, the representation of the Trading Standards team, the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and the s182 guidance.

The Committee resolved to

1)    modify the conditions of the licence to incorporate the recommendations in the Trading Standards representation set out on page 17 of the Committee agenda pack.

2)    to suspend the licence for a period of one month.

The Committee noted that the Licence Holder chose not to attend the hearing.

The Committee had careful regard to the fact that criminal activity had taken place at the premises of a type which the guidance advises should be treated particularly seriously.

The Committee considered the evidence that the licence holder had admitted to knowing that the sale of illicit tobacco was an offence. It concluded that there had been a clear and deliberate failure by the licence holder to uphold and promote the licensing objectives of the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety.

The Committee considered suspending the licence and recognised that this could have a serious financial impact on the licence holder’s business however, a suspension of one month was considered appropriate and proportionate because of the large quantity of illicit tobacco found and the potential harm that this could have caused to the wider community. Suspension was also considered to be a proportionate step to act as a deterrent to the licence holder from using the premises for criminal activity in the future.

Informatives

The Committee decided that it would afford the licence holder an opportunity to demonstrate that he could comply fully with the law and his obligations as a licence holder but wanted him to be aware that should there be a similar breach of the licensing objectives in the future, it would take a dim view.

The Committee recommended that the licence holder become a member of Haringey Responsible Retailer scheme.