American Samoa - Obtain a Business License

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Procedure

1. Complete an application form, make sure you have provided all required information.
2. Provide all necessary documents.
3. The Treasurer will forward your application to the Governor for review and approval. The Governor may in his discretion forward the license application to the Commission for review and recommendation. Upon final approval by the Governor, the license application will be forwarded to the Treasurer for final disposition.
4. Pay the appropriate license fee. No license may be issued unless the applicant has paid all fees and debts, except taxes, he may owe the government. The fees or debts must be clearly related to the operation of the business. This limitation may not be used for the purpose of collecting fees or debts owed to the government for reasons other than operation of the business for which the license is to be issued.
5. After payment, the Treasurer will issue the appropriate business license.

Application by a person who is not either an American Samoan or a permanent resident or in the case of a corporation when the majority stock is not owned by either of such persons, the application shall be referred to the Commission which will then hold a hearing.

Notes:

• "Treasurer means the Treasurer of American Samoa or his designated representative.
• Commission means the Territorial Planning Commission of American Samoa.

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Required Documents

• Completed application form
• endorsement of a licensing or examining authority having jurisdiction over the trade, business, or occupation;
• proof of bank accounts or financial statements, or both, for verification of capital invest-ments upon request by the licensing authority;
• proof of issuance of stock certificates verifying ownership, if the applicant is a corporation; and

Office Locations & Contacts

Department of Commerce
American Samoa Government
A.P. Lutali Executive Office Bldg
Utulei, American Samoa 96799
Phone: 1 (684) 633-5155
Fax: 1 (684) 633-4195
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Friday
7:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Website

Eligibility

Business means and includes any activity or conduct (whether proprietary, partnership, corporate, or whatever form) engaged in, or caused to be engaged in, with the object of gain or economic benefit, either direct or indirect, but does not include casual sales or personal service contracts.

Obtaining a business license is not required in the following activities:

• any business or trade engaged in or conducted by the government or the Government of the United States or for the sole or direct benefit of or under the direct supervision of the government;
• the selling or marketing by an American Samoan agricultural producer of his own farm produce in its natural state.

Fees

Annual business license fees:

• Alcoholic beverage establishments:
  • beer tavern: $50
  • alcoholic beverage license: 75
• Retail store: per business location 25
• Wholesale store: per business location 25
• Billiard and pool hall: per table 25
• Public dance hall: 50
• Movie theater: per theater 50
• Auctioneer: per auction sale 6.50
• Beer importer: 25
• Beer vendor: 25
• Alcoholic beverage importer: 1,000
• Alcoholic beverage vendor: 1,000
• Garage and/or repair shop: 25
• Service station: 25
• All other business, profession, agencies or activities: 25

Refund

When a business is first started, the fee must be prorated according to the length of time during which the business will have been in operation at the end of the calendar year, but not for a shorter period than 3 months. A discontinued business is not eligible for a refund.

Apportionment of fee

All original license fees shall be prorated in one-fourth of the annual fee charged for each quarter or portion of a quarter remaining in the term from the date of issuance.

Validity

All licenses and applicable endorsements are issued on a calendar year basis regardless of when issued, and expire on 31 December of the year issued or renewed.

You may start renewing your license 3 months before your current license expires

License Non Transferable: The license is issued to the person or persons making the application it cannot be transferred to any other person except upon the forfeiture of a tenancy or upon a foreclosure of a mortgage where the original contract provides that the license is a security for the obligation, in which event the Governor shall be promptly notified of any forfeiture. Any license conditioned upon the fulfillment of any qualifications or prerequisites pertaining to the premises wherein the licensee conducts his business, trade, or profession may not be transferred to another location without written application to and written approval by the Governor.

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type="website">video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the "&" inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Instructions

Business in two or more location: If you are operating or conducting a business in 2 or more locations in American Samoa, you are required to obtain a license for each location.

Combination of businesses: If you are operating a business which consists of a combination of 2 or more of the business classes you are required to take out a separate license for each classification.

Required Information

• name of business;
• type of business to be conducted;
• type of business organization;
• names, ages, and residences of principals involved in the business;
• location of business;
• any other information required by the Governor or Commission.

Need for the Document

The government of the Territory of American Samoa issues business licenses in order to reasonably control and regulate the conduct of business in the Territory and protect the health, welfare, safety and morals of the people of American Samoa.

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Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

• American Samoa Bar Association:

http://www.asbar.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=630&Itemid=172

• Business License Application, New Policy (not yet implemented):

http://americansamoa.gov/index.php/news-bottom/285-business-license-application-streamlined

Others

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