Trades are divided under the Czech Trades Licensing Act (Act No. 455/1991 Coll.) into notifiable  trades, which can be obtained based on notification, and concession trades, which can only be  pursued on the basis of a special business licence -  a concession. Notifiable trades are  categorised into three further groups: vocational, professional, and unqualified.



Notifiable trades are characterised by the fact that the authorisation to trade becomes valid  immediately at the very moment of notification (not later when the trade licence is issued).To  illustrate the various types of trade, here are a few examples. Trades categorised as vocational  include carpentry, bakery and confectionary, bricklaying and plastering, brewing, etc. Professional trades include activities such as providing or brokering consumer credit, work as an optician, or animals trading. In order to acquire the concession for concessionary trades, it is necessary to demonstrate the  relevant professional eligibility and in some cases to also meet some additional requirements.  Trades that require concessions include operating a travel agency, road freight transport or a  security firm employed to protect other people's property. Those interested in a licence for a notifiable trade can obtain  one by notifying the trade, while applicants for a concession can submit their application at one of the  general Trade Offices -  central registration points, by means of government administration contact points (Czech-Point)  or do so electronically using the Trade Register web system. Trades are notified and applications for concessions are submitted using a standard registration form. Forms can be obtained at any trade office, and in most cases are freely available at the Ministry of  Industry and Trade website http://www.mpo.cz/dokument77388.html for natural persons and www.mpo.cz/dokument77394.html for companies (forms must be completed in Czech).

GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR PURSUING A TRADE

The general conditions applying to a natural person pursuing a trade are: to have reached the age  of 18 years, to have full legal capacity and a clean criminal record. According to the Act, a  person with a clean criminal record is someone who has not been finally convicted of intentionally committing a criminal act, if it was committed in connection with business  activities, or with the business object for which they are applying or notifying, unless they are  now considered as not having been convicted of such offence.

PROFESSIONAL ELIGIBILITY

Alongside the form, in the case of a professional or vocational trade or concession, the notifier or applicant must submit a document  attesting its professional eligibility for the relevant trade, or of the appointed responsible representative,  together with his/her signed declaration that he/she consents to the appointment. The signature on  the declaration must be officially certified. If documents are in a foreign language, they must be  translated into Czech by a sworn translator (a list can be found at  http://datalot.justice.cz/justice/repznatl.nsf/$$SearchForm?Open­ Form), with the exception of  documents submitted by nationals of EU Members States or by a legal entity with its registered  office, central ad ministration, or principal place of business activities in an EU Member State,  unless there are doubts as to the translation's correctness.

OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Further, a document attesting the legal basis for use of the premises on which the trader has  located its place of business (e.g. a lease contract) must be submitted, and also a receipt for  payment of the administrative fee, which is 1 ooo CZK (EUR 40)  for a notifiable trade (if  multiple trades are notified simultaneously, the fee is charged only once) must be submitted. A foreign natural persons, except for nationals of EU Member States or of a State Party  to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or the Swiss Confederation, must attach to their  notification of a trade or concession application a document corroborating that they have been granted a visa to  stay longer than 90 days or have had their long-term residency permit. A foreign natural person  must further pro­ vide an extract from the criminal register or equivalent document issued by the  relevant court or state authority of the country of which the individual is a national; the  extract must not be more than three months old. The Trade Office is obliged to make the entry into  the Trade Register within 5 business days of receiving the notification and issue the entrepreneur  an extract if the notifier meets the conditions set out in the Trades Licensing Act. Where  concessions are concerned, the Trade Office shall decide the matter within 30  days of receiving  the application, provided that all of the  relevant particulars are met. Subsequently within 5  business days of the decision granting the concession having come into effect, an entry is made in  the Trade Register and an extract is issued to the entrepreneur.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.