Introduction

The following document presents the guidelines and requirements for possessing a business within our state. Failure to abide by any of these guidelines may result in forfeiture of all property ownership and a revocation of the license to use said property. Upon submitting an application to the registry system, you agree to these terms and conditions. Citizens may apply for lease of any property; the Department of Justice reserves the right to deny any property request without further explanation.

A business license will be granted to allow your business to operate within the state of San Andreas. You may also apply to lease a property to run your business from, if required.

Requirements for Owning a Business

• The applicant must be 21 or older.
  
• The applicant needs to have been resident in the state for 1 months
  
• The applicant must have experience in working for another privately owned business in the state and can provide references and provide proof of income during their employment.
  
• The applicant must have monetary collateral of $100,000 and be able to prove stability with banking information. This ensures that you are able to cover all costs and wages for the first month. In the event of employees raising a claim for non-payment of wages the Department of Justice will seize the funds to pay the employee plus an administration fee.
  
• The applicant must not be currently running another business or co-owner of another business.
  
• The Department of Justice must have approved the application to run the business.
  
• The business must not involve, condone, or support criminal behavior.
  
• In the event that a business owner’s visa is revoked then the business license is forfeited.
  
• In the event that the owner changes their legal name for any reason then this must be made aware to the court immediately. Failure to do so will result in the business license being revoked.
  
• All businesses regardless of being mobile or based out of a building are required to own a business license.
  
• All businesses must make themselves available to the Department of Justice for inspections of property, services and documentation.
• The owner or co-owners must not be a convicted felon

Requirements for Leasing a Property

• If the business is deemed inactive by the Department of Justice (14 days of inactivity), the lease may be terminated and the property will be made available to new applicants.(Businesses awaiting construction work are not classed as inactive)
  
• The property must NOT be used in or for any criminal activity.
  
• The Department of Justice must have approved the application for lease.
  
• The property must not already have an active lease.
  
• Business Licenses are transferable if approved by the DOJ.
  
• The lessee must not be currently leasing another property for commercial use.
  
• Properties deemed highly valuable by the State of San Andreas will be limited to one per commercial or recreational organization.
  
• Leases may only be transferred between government and individual, not individual to individual, except in special circumstances approved by the Department of Justice.
  
• Business owners must ensure that they are following the San Andreas Minimum Wage law at all times.

Required Applicant Information

• Full legal name
• Date of birth
• Phone number
• Pictures of the property
• Pictures of any area surrounding the property that you wish to lease
• Intent for use: public or private
• Proposed business plan
• An employment reference from a previous employer (Optional)

Failure to provide any of this information will result in an automatic rejection of your application. You must wait 72 hours to submit another attempt. 

Business Standards

All business owners will hereby agree to uphold fair employment standards and ensure that their business is run on a consistent basis. You agree that upon opening your business to the public (i.e. there are no fees or private interests required to set foot on the property), the property will be considered ‘public use.’ This means that anyone from the general public may enter the premises unless told otherwise by property management for good reason. Discrimination based on race, age, gender, sexual orientation, ability, or other form of identity is not tolerated for the basis of employment or service.  

As a business owner you are responsible for the tracking of all sales and must make this available for inspection for tax or other purposes when required.   

You agree that if caught for any criminal act, whether intentional or not, your license may be immediately revoked or you may be required to attend a hearing and be reviewed in front of a Judge or Justice of the Superior Court. Upon death of the lessee, or upon the court’s receipt of criminal charges against the lessee, the State  will resume full ownership of the property. Business Licenses are not granted to convicted felons and no Realtor company will be permitted to employ convicted felons. No person convicted of any crime, felony or otherwise, shall work in a position of security or have access to any firearms or legally recognized drugs. 

As a business owner you are expected to maintain professional behavior at all times, this includes (but is not limited to) interactions with government employees, other business owners and your employees.

Breaches of the business standards will result in penalisation in the forms of strikes. When a business owner receives 3 strikes in a 3 month period they will automatically forfeit the business license with immediate effect. Strikes will remain on record for 3 months at a time.

Stikes may result in a fine. Fines will be in a range of $10,000 to $100,000 and will be at the discretion of the Chief Justice based on the severity of the infraction. 

The DOJ reserves the right to issue multiple strikes at any time.

 Additional Costs

All business owners are subject to additional business costs in accordance with the type of business they manage. These payments can be sent from your society account to CODOJ. These payment are due on the last of of each month. These are as follows;

• Business License – $5,000 (per month)
• Property Lease – $2,000 (per month)
• Liquor License – $2,000 (one time fee)
• Class A Permit (Food Products) – $500  (one time fee)
• Realtor License – $5000 (per month)
• Late Payment Fee – $3,000
• Gross Income – 15%

Realtor Regulations

Realtors are regulated under the Department of Justice under strict regulations which can be found at the following link

TBD

Employment Tracking

All active business dockets must have an up to date list of all employees in the employ of the registered company. Failure to keep an active employee list will result in suspension of the Business License.

Special Regulation for Food Outlets/bars and nightclubs

All restaurants are required to be open for a minimum of 3 days per week, for a minimum of 2 hours – the definition of open is “the building is unlocked and staff are available”

All bars and nightclubs are required to be open for a minimum of 1 day per week, for a minimum of 2 hours.

Multiple Jobs

To ensure that people have access to jobs and business, the following will now be implemented.

Owners of business are no longer able to hold management positions within another business (exceptions are realtor business owners)

Any government employee may hold their job and 1 other role (business owner,business employee)

A Realtor job is NOT included in the total

Process for Approval

The steps for having a business application approved are now as follows:

1 – Meet with a member of DOJ to discuss your proposal  – OPTIONAL –  but may help you in preparing your submission or help you to gain an understanding on how your application may be received (restrictions in the city etc)
2 – When Applications are open – prepare and submit your full application, the more information you provide the less questions may need to be asked to clarify points
3 – Your application will then be placed under review with a member of DOJ, during this time additional information may be asked for clarity

4 – A preliminary decision to approve may be made – or your application will be denied. If you are denied you will be able to reapply after 72 hours.

5 – When you have been preliminary approved you may be invited to discuss further with a member of DOJ – and will be required to pay the above mentioned License fee. At this stage any architecture reviews will start to be discussed – you must not discuss these directly with the architects unless explicitly told and documented on your application.

6 – If your business can operate without major architecture changes you will then be able to start trading and you will be set as active and responsible for ensuring the T&C in the regulations are maintained
7 – Rent for property will only start to be paid when you have access to the property (if needed)