BUSINESS LICENSE

The Business License Act mandates the registration of business licenses to be undertaken by any individual or company that is carrying out a business activity for the purposes of monetary gain or profit.

The approval of business licenses within the municipal areas in Port Vila, is given by the Director of Customs and Inland Revenue while the Provincial Governments throughout Vanuatu's six provinces is responsible for issuing licenses to any foreign investor wanting to invest outside of the Port Vila municipality.

To apply for a business license, you are required to have an approved valid Foreign Investment Approval Certificate (FIAC) and a valid VFSC registration certificate.

The fees associated with the business licenses fall under different categories depending on your business turnover and range from VT5,000 to VT20,000. For every new business, the fee would fall under the first class of less than VT10m turnover.

If you are an existing investor in Vanuatu and wish to vary your business activity, that is you would like to add an additional activity onto your existing investment, you will have to apply for a variation in activity with VFIPA then also apply for a variation to your business license with the Customs and Inland Revenue.

The process for your business license application can take up to 5 working days.