Attention all business owners! The City of Natchez is bringing all businesses within the city limits in compliance with Mississippi State Statute § 27-17-463.

License duration, as well as State Statute § 27-17-467. Failure to procure license or pay tax. In short, these two State Statutes regulate the duration of a license and penalties for those businesses that fail to renew or obtain a license.

Privilege licenses are required in order to conduct business in the city limits of Natchez and be in legal standing with the State of Mississippi.

The City of Natchez is not required to send out renewal notices. However, the City of Natchez is preparing to send all businesses a notice informing them of the state statutes and the expiration date of their license.

According to State Statute referenced above, all Mississippi privilege licenses expire on Sept. 30, unless otherwise stated by a local ordinance. The City of Natchez does not have an ordinance in place, thus we must follow what the Mississippi State Law says.

If you own a business within the city limits of Natchez you will be receiving a notice to renew your license.

If your business license is currently valid, you will still have to come pay a prorated fee to bring your license in compliance with the state statute referenced above.

This will not increase the cost of your annual license; it will just extend your license to Sept. 30, 2019. Once you receive a notice, your business will have 45 days to comply with State Law. If your privilege license is expired, Mississippi state law authorizes municipalities to charge a penalty.

The penalty is 10 percent of your privilege license fee, plus 1 percent of your privilege license fee for every month delinquent. Mississippi state law requires municipalities to charge penalties for up to seven years.

In the future, the City of Natchez plans on sending courtesy renewal notices to all business owners in Natchez to prevent any conflict with Mississippi State Laws or any local ordinances. The City of Natchez appreciates your time reading this notice, and also appreciates all efforts by our local business owners to get into compliance with State Law.

Rico Giani is city planner for the City of Natchez.