The Gauteng High Court has granted Woolworths an interim court order to sell liquor at its WCellar premises located at Dainfern Square Shopping Centre in Johannesburg. This decision was made after the court ruled that the Gauteng liquor board had wrongly refused to process Woolworths' licence application. The court's ruling was handed down by acting deputy judge president Thifhelimbilu Mudau on Monday.
Woolworths had applied for a liquor store licence for the premises on June 3, 2022. The Gauteng liquor board conditionally approved the application on October 28, 2022, requiring Woolworths to submit photographs of the completed premises before a final inspection. However, the board's approval did not specify a period within which Woolworths had to meet the conditions. This lack of a specified timeframe led to a dispute between Woolworths and the board.
The completion of the premises was delayed due to various factors, including lease negotiations, difficulties in obtaining vacant possession, and changes to the wider Dainfern Square development. Construction began in March 2026, and the premises were substantially completed in July. On July 28, Woolworths' consultants submitted photographs of the completed premises and requested a final inspection. However, the board's administrative staff refused to accept the submission the following day.
The board informed Woolworths on August 19 that its application had lapsed and that it would have to submit a new application. Woolworths then approached the high court on September 8, challenging the board's decision. At the centre of the dispute was the board's interpretation of the 12-month provision in the Gauteng Liquor Act. The board argued that Woolworths' conditional approval had automatically lapsed because the conditions had not been met within 12 months.
Woolworths argued that the 12 months was the maximum period the board could determine, rather than an automatic deadline where the board had failed to specify one. Acting deputy judge president Mudau agreed with Woolworths' interpretation, stating that if the board fails to determine a period, it cannot later rely on its own omission to deem the application lapsed. The judge also considered a 2007 judgment in Tamasa Trading 208 CC v Cardoso and Another, which dealt with similar liquor licensing provisions.
The judge found that the lapse of a conditional authority did not mean that the underlying liquor licence application could no longer be considered. The underlying application remains valid and pending before the board, which retains both the power and the duty to adjudicate it on the merits. The judge rejected the board's position that Woolworths had to start the licensing process again. This decision has significant financial implications for Woolworths, which has spent about R3.56m on the WCellar premises and expects annual gross turnover of about R10.4m.
The interim order allows Woolworths to operate and sell liquor at Shop 11, Level 0, Dainfern Square Shopping Centre, subject to the applicable liquor laws and regulations. The order is not a final liquor licence, and Woolworths must comply with trading-hour requirements, restrictions on selling liquor to minors, and other statutory requirements. The final review application, in which Woolworths seeks to have the board's August 19 decision reviewed and set aside, is still to be heard. The board was ordered to pay Woolworths' costs for the urgent application on an attorney-and-client scale.
Key points
- The Gauteng High Court has granted Woolworths an interim court order to sell liquor at its WCellar premises in Johannesburg.
- The court's decision was based on the board's wrong interpretation of the 12-month provision in the Gauteng Liquor Act.
- The interim order allows Woolworths to operate and sell liquor at the premises, subject to applicable liquor laws and regulations.
