The Commissioner of Police may make a complaint to the Licensing Authority of Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers against:
- a certificate holder
- a licence holder
- a person who is concerned in the management of a company that is a licence holder.
The Commissioner's complaint can be made at any time. If the Licensing Authority receives a complaint about you it will send you a copy.
Responding to a complaint by Police
If you receive a copy of the complaint against you from the Licensing Authority, you can request a hearing before the Licensing Authority. Your application for a hearing must:
- be in writing
- reach the Licensing Authority within three weeks of the date when the Licensing Authority sent the copy of the notice to you.
You will be given at least 14 days notice of your hearing date. You may appear before the Licensing Authority:
- in person
- through legal counsel
- both in person and through legal counsel.
The Licensing Authority will decide whether to accept or reject the Police complaint against you. You will be told the decision at the end of the hearing or in writing shortly after the hearing.
You do not have to request a hearing. You can make written submissions to the Licensing Authority, which must be received within three weeks of the date on which the Licensing Authority sent the copy of the complaint to you.
You may choose not to respond to the Police complaint. Either way, the Licensing Authority will make a written decision on whether to accept or reject the Police complaint.
If the Licensing Authority rejects the Police complaint that is the end of the matter.
If a complaint is upheld
If the Licensing Authority upholds the complaint against you it must:
- cancel your certificate, if you are a certificate holder
- cancel your licence, if you are a licence holder.
In the case of a complaint made against a person concerned in the management of a company the Licensing Authority will:
- advise the company licence-holder that the Police complaint against that person has been upheld
- cancel the company's licence two weeks after sending that advice, unless the company advises the Licensing Authority within that time that the person complained against is no longer a person concerned in the management of the company.
Appeals
A licence or certificate holder may appeal the Licensing Authority's decision in relation to the cancellation of a certificate or 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.