Licence cancellation
Your individual licence will be cancelled by the Licensing Authority of Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers if:
- you become disqualified from holding a certificate
- the Licensing Authority is satisfied that the licence was issued by fraud or mistake.
A company licence holder's licence will be cancelled if:
- the company is disqualified from holding a licence
- a person concerned in the management of the company becomes ineligible to hold a certificate
- the Licensing Authority is satisfied that the licence was issued by fraud or mistake
- the company is convicted of an offence under the Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 2004 which carries a fine in excess of $2,000
- there are no special reasons why the company's licence should not be cancelled.
More about disqualification.
It is an offence, carrying a fine of up to $2,000, for a licence holder to fail, without reasonable excuse, to immediately return a cancelled licence and all certified copies of the licence to the Licensing Authority.
Appeals against cancellation of licence
A licence holder may appeal against the Licensing Authority's decision to cancel a licence. If you wish to appeal such a decision you must appeal to the District Court within 20 days of the Licensing Authority's decision.
New people joining company management
If someone joins the management of your company after a licence is issued, the licence will not be cancelled if:
- within two weeks of that person joining the company's management, your company applies to check the person's eligibility to be issued with a certificate
and either:
- the Licensing Authority has not determined the eligibility of that person to hold a certificate or
- it is less than two weeks since the Licensing Authority advised your company that the person was not eligible to hold a licence.
That means a company has two weeks from the time it is advised that a new person is ineligible to hold a certificate to remove that person from its management or its licence will be cancelled. A company should take legal advice on managing the appointment of new members of management.
To find out more about having the eligibility of a new member of a company's management checked, refer to the Licensing Authority of Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers [Ministry of Justice website].
Certificate cancellation and suspension
Your certificate may be cancelled or suspended if the Licensing Authority upholds a Police complaint against you as a certificate holder or it is satisfied that the certificate was obtained by fraud or mistake.
The Licensing Authority may also cancel or suspend your certificate if it is satisfied that you are disqualified from holding a certificate and either you have not applied for a waiver or your application for a waiver has been refused.
More about Police complaints.
More about disqualification and waivers.
Written notification
The Licensing Authority will always notify a certificate holder of the cancellation or suspension of his or her certificate in writing. This will include reasons as well as stating the date on which the cancellation or suspension takes effect. For suspensions, the Licensing Authority will also advise the duration of a suspension. The Licensing Authority may impose a suspension of up to three months.
If you are notified that your certificate is cancelled you must return it to the Licensing Authority immediately. It is an offence, carrying a fine of up to $2,000, for a certificate holder to fail, without reasonable excuse, to immediately return a cancelled certificate to the Licensing Authority.
Effect of a suspension
If you are told that your certificate has been suspended, you cannot enter into transactions or issue pledge tickets during the period of suspension. At the end of that period the Licensing Authority will either lift the suspension or cancel the certificate. If the suspension is lifted, you may again lawfully enter into transactions or issue pledge tickets.
Appeals against cancellation or suspension of certificate
A certificate holder may appeal the Licensing Authority's decision in relation to the cancellation or suspension of a certificate. If you wish to appeal such a decision, you must appeal to the District Court within 20 days of the Licensing Authority's decision.