Licence to operate a flea market (discount market)

It is the discount market operator licence issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs, under Act No. 16 of 18 February 2011 and Regulation No. 8580, the Regulation for the Regulation and Development of Discount Markets. The application allows ticking whether it is new or a renewal, and may be filed by an individual or a legal entity; if the applicant is a corporation, it must include the name, phone and postal and physical addresses of the agent in charge, or the resident agent if it is a foreign corporation.

The application is aimed at the discount market’s operator, individual or legal entity. It asks for the applicant’s name or the trade name in the case of corporations or partnerships, their phone and postal and physical addresses, and the vendor’s driver’s licence number, passport or any other photo identification validly identifying them, including a photocopy of those documents. DACO does not publish experience requirements or an examination on the form, so this guide does not assert any.

• Stating the date and place where the discount market will be held, and a general description of the property where it will take place, with the number of lots available to display merchandise.Verified against the official source
• Giving the business details: trade name, physical location, description of the premises, number of lots, rental or lease price of the lots, phone, days and hours of operation, and the entry fee or parking charges.Verified against the official source
• Describing the discount market’s regular operations and the merchandise to be offered.Verified against the official source
• If the applicant is a corporation: including the name, phone and postal and physical addresses of the agent in charge, or the resident agent if it is a foreign corporation.Verified against the official source

• The original insurance policy, or the coverage certification issued by the insurance company, to cover damage in case of an accident on the premises or grounds. The policy’s validity must run for a term no shorter than the period the permit is requested for. The insurer’s name and the policy number must be given.
• A copy of the Department of the Treasury’s Merchant Registry (SURI).
• A photocopy of the driver’s licence, passport or photo identification validly identifying the vendor.

1. 1

   Step 1: Confirm that you are the operator

   The licence is for a discount market operator. What the application asks gives it away: number of lots available, rental or lease price of the lots, entry fee to the business, parking charges. If you rent a table at someone else’s flea market, the one who needs this licence is whoever rents it to you.

2. 2

   Step 2: Get the policy before filling anything in

   It is the document that takes longest. DACO asks for the original insurance policy, or the coverage certification issued by the insurer, to cover damage in case of an accident on the premises or grounds. And it attaches a condition: the validity cannot be shorter than the period you are requesting the permit for. If you are asking for a year, the policy has to cover that year.

3. 3

   Step 3: Get the Merchant Registry in SURI

   The application asks for a copy of the Department of the Treasury’s Merchant Registry, handled through SURI. If you do not have it yet, that is the prior errand and it has its own guide here.

4. 4

   Step 4: Document the operation with numbers

   The form is not satisfied with “a flea market on Sundays”. It asks for date and place, general description of the property, number of lots available, trade name, physical location, description of the premises, rental price of the lots, phone, days and hours of operation, entry fee or parking charges, the regular operations and the description of the merchandise to be offered. Have it worked out.

5. 5

   Step 5: If you are a corporation, add the agent

   The application puts it in a footnote: if the applicant is a corporation, the name, phone and postal and physical addresses of the agent in charge must be included, or of the resident agent if it is a foreign corporation.

Before DACO. The postal address on the form is Apartado 41059, Estación Minillas, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00940-1059, and DACO’s main line is 787-722-7555, with the Licences extension in San Juan at 14007. DACO has six regional offices.

• Applying as a vendor rather than as the market’s operator.
• Leaving the insurance policy to the end: it is the document that takes longest.
• Presenting a policy whose validity is shorter than the permit period requested.
• Turning up without Hacienda’s Merchant Registry (SURI).
• Describing the operation without numbers: lots, rent, days, hours and fees.
• As a corporation, omitting the details of the agent in charge or the resident agent.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor (DACO)

  DACO

  www.daco.pr.gov

• Discount Market Operator Licence application (docs.pr.gov)

  DACO

  docs.pr.gov

• DACO — regional offices

  DACO

  www.daco.pr.gov