New revisions to Taipei’s regulations governing bars are planned, the city’s Office of Commerce said yesterday in response to criticism from Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on the continued operation of several unlicensed establishments.
At a meeting on public safety issues, Ko reacted strongly to a report by the joint inspection task force that found 12 unlicensed bars in Zhongshan District (中山) are still open. Ko said he was angry and demanded to know who he could “yell at” over the issue.
Office of Commerce Deputy Director Chiang Mei-ling (江美玲) said that there are loopholes in licensing regulations that make it difficult to shut down illegal businesses.
“The regulations are not strict, creating a situation whereby illegal operations can continually change their legal ownership,” she said.
Municipal regulations require the operators of businesses within the so called “eight major industries” where there are concerns about gambling or prostitution — such as KTVs, bars and dance halls — to undergo additional reviews and receive special licensing to operate.
Chiang said some businesses attempt to get around regulations by registering as restaurants, which are not subject to the same review and licensing requirements, adding that 56 such cases had recently been discovered.
While the city can impose fines of up to NT$100,000 on businesses found to be breaking the rules, it lacks the power to force them to close by cutting off their electricity and water, she said.
Establishments can avoid being shut down by continually changing their ownership, effectively “resetting the clock” for fines, she said.
The city has little discretion to approve documents changing the legal identity of an establishment, she said, adding: “As long as [a business owner’s] documents are in order, we are obligated to allow them to register.”
She said the office is drafting a new set of regulations for approval by the city council and central government that would allow utilities to be cut off and fines imposed on a specific address irrespective of its registered ownership.
Otherwise, any measures the city takes to prevent operations from changing their legal identity would likely be overturned in court as violations of the Company Act (公司法) and Business Registration Act (商業登記法), she said.
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