"At the end of this year, you won't get a [liquor licence] renewal form. We will send you a letter saying there are complaints about your business. You will get one chance to answer," said assistant director Nicholas Spencer.

He said businesses would have to prove they were abiding by the new provincial liquor act if complaints were levelled against them.

Exceptions might be made in cases where complaints were old, or where the business had recently changed hands.

He was speaking at a public briefing in Milnerton, Cape Town.

The new act came into effect on April 1 this year. Businesses would have until next April, as part of a transition period, to fully comply.

Traders were warned to check with their municipality about when they could operate, as this was dictated by zoning regulations and by-laws.

People applying for new liquor licences could contact the liquor authority instead of magistrate's courts, as was previously required.

They would be required to show a zoning certificate or proof of application for zoning.

Under the new act, individuals could face up to five years in jail, or a R1 million fine, for the most serious contraventions, including trading without a licence and selling alcohol to children.