25 C.F.R. Subpart B—Licensing Requirements and Procedures
Title 25 - Indians
(a) No person may own or lease a reservation business without a license issued under the provisions of this subpart. (b) The applicant shall apply in writing on a form provided by the Commissioner setting forth the following: (1) The full name and residence of the applicant. (2) Three (3) responsible references. (3) The firm name and the name of each member of the board of directors if the applicant is a firm. (4) Satisfactory evidence as to the character, experience and business ability of the applicant and the employees of the applicant. (5) Satisfactory evidence of the general fitness of the applicant and employees of the applicant to reside on the Indian reservation. (c) Upon the request of the Commissioner, the applicant shall furnish the following: (1) The capital invested or to be invested and, of this, the amount of capital owned and the amount borrowed or to be borrowed. (2) The name of the lender of any borrowed capital, the date due, the rate of interest to be paid, and the names of any endorsers and security. (3) A copy of any contract or trade agreement whether oral or written with creditors or financing individuals or institutions, including any stipulations whereby financing fees are to be paid. (d) Information that if released might adversely affect the competitive position of the applicant shall remain confidential. [40 FR 39837, Aug. 29, 1975, as amended at 41 FR 3288, Jan. 22, 1976. Redesignated at 47 FR 13327, Mar. 30, 1982] (a) The Commissioner shall approve or deny each license application and notify the applicant no later than thirty (30) days after receipt of a completed application. (b) No application is complete until any clearance or tribal council approval required by tribal or Federal regulations has been obtained. (c) The Commissioner may not deny a license to an applicant for the purpose of limiting competition. (d) If the application is approved the license shall be issued on a form provided by the Commissioner. (e) If the Commissioner denies the license application the applicant may appeal under the provisions of part 2 of this title no later than thirty (30) days after the date on which notice of denial of the application was sent. (a) An applicant for a license or renewal of a license to operate a reservation business shall at the time the application is submitted furnish a bond on a form provided by the Commissioner in the name of the applicant in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or such larger sum as the Commissioner may designate, with two (2) on more sureties approved by the Commissioner or with a guaranty company qualified under the Act of August 13, 1894 (28 Stat. 279; 6 U.S.C. 6–13). The bond shall be for the same period covered by the license. No licensee may trade without a bond. Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, no surety may be released from liability until the license expires. (b) The bond shall be in favor of the United States for the benefit of the United States and any customer of the licensee who recovers a judgment for damages resulting from violation of any law or regulation affecting or relating to reservation businesses. Any customer who recovers such a judgment may bring suit on the bond in his or her own name. The bond shall be conditioned on payment by the licensee of all judgments for damages resulting from violations of the regulations of this part. (c) Any surety for a reservation business on the Hopi or Zuni Reservation shall agree in writing to submit itself voluntarily to the jurisdiction of the tribal court for the purpose of adjudicating any claim arising under the bond. (d) Any surety on the bond of a licensed reservation business may be relieved from liabilities by complying with the provisions of §141.57 of this title. [40 FR 39837, Aug. 29, 1975, as amended at 41 FR 22937, June 8, 1976. Redesignated at 47 FR 13327, Mar. 30, 1982] A license to operate a reservation business may not be issued unless the applicant has a right to use the land on which the business is to be conducted. The license period shall correspond to the period of the lease held by the licensee. The license period in no event may exceed twenty-five (25) years. (a) An applicant for renewal of the license to trade shall file an application on a form provided by the Commissioner with the Area Director not less than three (3) months prior to the expiration of the existing license. The Area Director shall report in writing to the Commissioner on the record the applicant has made as a reservation business owner and the applicant's present fitness to reside on the Indian reservation. (b) The Commissioner may issue a temporary permit for three (3) months pending consideration of application for license renewal. (c) Prior to expiration of the existing license or, if issued, the temporary permit, the Commissioner shall approve or deny the application for license renewal and notify the applicant. (d) No license may be renewed until any clearance or tribal council approval required by tribal or other federal regulations has been obtained. (e) If the Commissioner denies the application for renewal, the applicant may appeal under the provisions of part 2 of this title. (a) Prior to the issuance of an initial license, each licensee who is not a member of the Navajo tribe shall pay the following amount: (1) If the license is issued before July 1, the licensee shall pay fifty dollars ($50). (2) If the license is issued on or after July 1, the licensee shall pay twenty-five dollars ($25). (b) Each licensed business owner who is not a member of the Navajo tribe shall pay on or before January 10 of each year an annual license fee determined as follows based on the licensee's most recent annual report: (1) If the licensee's gross receipts are less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for the year or the licensee has not yet been required to file its first annual report, the license fee is fifty dollars ($50). (2) If the licensee's gross receipts for the year are at least one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) but not more than four hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars ($499,999) the fee is one hundred dollars ($100). (3) If the licensee's gross receipts for the year are at least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) but not more than seven hundred and forty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars ($749,999), the fee is two hundred dollars ($200). (4) If the licensee's gross receipts for the year are seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000) or more, the fee is three hundred dollars ($300). (c) The Navajo Area Director shall determine the annual license fee payable by licensees who are enrolled members of the Navajo Tribe. The license fee for an enrolled member of the Navajo Tribe may not be less than twenty percent (20%) nor greater than one hundred percent (100 percent) of the amount the licensee would be required to pay if the licensee were not a tribal member. (d) All fees are payable to the Area Director and shall be deposited to the credit of the account “Special Deposits.” [40 FR 39835, Aug. 29, 1975, as amended at 59 FR 54502, Oct. 31, 1994] (a) The regulations in this part do not preclude the Hopi, Navajo, or Zuni tribal councils from assessing and collecting such fees or taxes as they may deem appropriate from reservation businesses. (b) Nothing in the regulations of this part may be construed to preclude tribal enforcement of these regulations or consistent tribal ordinances. [40 FR 39837, Aug. 29, 1975, as amended at 41 FR 3288, Jan. 22, 1976. Redesignated at 47 FR 13327, Mar. 30, 1982] (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no peddler may offer goods for sale within the exterior boundaries of the Hopi, Navajo, or Zuni reservations without a peddler's permit. The permit shall state on its face the class of goods that may be offered for sale. No peddler may offer for sale any class of goods other than those listed on the face of the permit. (b) No peddler who is an enrolled member of a federally recognized Indian tribe is required to obtain a peddler's permit for offering to sell the following items: (1) Coal and wood for non-commercial use, (2) Homegrown fresh products, (3) Meat products raised locally by the peddler, or (4) Arts and crafts made by the peddler or the peddler's family. (c) The applicant shall apply for a permit in writing on a form provided by the Commissioner. (d) Peddlers shall pay such fee and post such surety bond on a form provided by the Commissioner as the Commissioner requires. The surety bond required may not be less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000). (e) Any surety on the bond of a peddler may be relieved of liability by complying with the provisions of §141.57. (25 U.S.C. 261 et seq.) [43 FR 27826, June 27, 1978. Redesignated at 47 FR 13327, Mar. 30, 1982] (a) No person may operate a portable dance pavilion, mechanical amusement device such as a ferris wheel or carousel, or commercial games of skill within the exterior boundaries of the Navajo, Hopi, or Zuni Reservations without a license from the Commissioner. (b) The licensee shall pay such fee as the Commissioner requires. The fee shall be not less than five dollars ($5) nor more than twenty-five dollars ($25) per unit. (c) The licensee shall post a surety bond on a form provided by the Commissioner in an amount not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and a personal injury and property damage liability bond of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) as may be required by the Commissioner. (d) The provisions of this section do not apply to amusement companies where the contract between the tribe and the amusement company provides for the payment of a fee to the tribe and for the protection of the public against personal injury and property damage by bond in the amounts specified in paragraph (c) of this section. (e) Any surety on a bond under this section may be relieved of liability by complying with the provisions of §141.57. (a) No person other than an enrolled member of the tribe or any association, partnership, corporation or business entity wholly owned by enrolled members of the tribe may purchase livestock from tribal members without a special permit issued by the Commissioner. (b) The Commissioner shall issue a permit to each applicant who establishes to the Commissioner's satisfaction that the applicant is a fit person to engage in the purchase of livestock and who posts a bond on a form provided by the Commissioner in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). This paragraph does not require a person who has posted a bond of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more under other provisions of this part to post an additional bond to obtain a permit under this section. (c) Any surety on a bond under this section may be relieved of liability by complying with the provisions of §141.57. (d) The provisions of this section do not apply to purchases of livestock made at an organized public auction. [40 FR 39837, Aug. 29, 1975, as amended at 41 FR 22937, June 8, 1976. Redesignated at 47 FR 13327, Mar. 30, 1982] As a condition to doing business on the Hopi or the Zuni Reservation each applicant for license under this part shall, in accordance with the constitutions of those tribes, voluntarily submit the applicant and the applicant's employees or agents to the jurisdiction of the tribal court for the purpose of the adjudication of any dispute, claim or obligation arising under tribal ordinance relating to commerce carried out by the licensee.
Title 25: Indians
PART 141—BUSINESS PRACTICES ON THE NAVAJO, HOPI AND ZUNI RESERVATIONS
Subpart B—Licensing Requirements and Procedures
§ 141.5 Reservation business license required.
§ 141.6 Approval or denial of license application.
§ 141.7 Bond requirement for a reservation business.
§ 141.8 License period for reservation businesses.
§ 141.9 Application for license renewal.
§ 141.10 License fees for reservation businesses.
§ 141.11 Tribal fees, taxes, and enforcement.
§ 141.12 Peddler's permits.
§ 141.13 Amusement company licenses.
§ 141.14 Trade in livestock restricted.
§ 141.15 Consent to jurisdiction of Hopi and Zuni tribal courts.
