Business License
Under the Bahamian
Business License Act it is an offense to fail to apply for a business license in the Bahamas.
In New Providence, applications for business license are submitted
directly to the Ministry of
Finance together with the applicable license fee (see
The Nature of Business and Their Requirements). Applicants outside New
Providence submit applications for
business license to their Local District Board together with the required
license fee. In the Grand Bahama Bonded
Area an application must be submitted to the Grand Bahama Port Authority.
For some areas both Bahamians and foreigners are forbidden from entering,
such as areas monopolized by state, such as telecommunications which is
mismanaged by the state-run Batelco Monopoly--thus ensuring high prices
and lower quality service compared to privately run phone companies outside the
country.
How the License Fee is Calculated
The license fee to be paid varies and depends on the financial figures of a
business during the previous year of operations. Two examples which give you a
flavor of the process:
Example A
Turnover (total income) - Cost of goods/services (CGOS) = Gross Profit
$265,000 - $200,000 = $65,000
Gross Profit as a % of turnover ($65,000/$265,000) x 100 = 24%
Business Profitability: Low
Business Size: Medium
Fee: $265,000 x 0.5% = $1325
Example B
Turnover (total income) - Cost of goods/services (CGOS) = Gross Profit
$84,000 - $52,000 = $32,000
Gross Profit as a % of turnover ($32,000/$84,000) x 100 = 38%
Business Profitability: Medium
Business Size: Very Small
Fee: $500
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