Business License

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