Until Parliament has made its decision, it is not possible to know with certainty which amendments to the Alcohol Act will be implemented. This website will be updated when Parliament has made its decision.

According to the proposal, a specific authorisation will be required to carry out farm sales. Such authorisations would be granted and supervised by the municipalities. It is proposed that the rules on door-to-door sales will apply for six years and will be evaluated during that period.

We at the Public Health Agency of Sweden have started preparing for regulations with more detailed rules.

Below is information based on the proposal.

General requirements for the authorisation of farm sales

The conditions for obtaining an authorisation are, according to the bill, that

• the producer is legally and financially independent from other producers of alcoholic beverages,
• the manufacturer's annual production does not exceed a certain volume and
• the sale takes place from the place where the characterising part of the production of the alcoholic beverage concerned takes place. In addition, the producer of wine shall produce the wine from grapes coming exclusively from his own vineyards.

Anyone who has been granted a licence to sell alcoholic beverages on the premises must have a self-monitoring programme to check compliance with the rules for sales. The programme must be attached when the application for a licence is sent to the municipality.

In addition, the same rules apply as for those applying for a licence, i.e.

• the licence holder must be both financially and personally fit
• the applicant must have passed a test to demonstrate adequate knowledge of the Alcohol Act and related regulations.

Before granting a licence, the municipality must obtain an opinion from the Police Authority.

A farm sales authorisation cannot be valid indefinitely, but must be valid for a fixed period. As the regulation is proposed to be limited in time, an authorisation can be valid until the date of expiry of the provisions of the law at the latest.

It is proposed that the municipalities be given the opportunity to charge fees for, among other things, the assessment of licences.

Requirements linked to farm sales

According to the proposal, these requirements will apply to farm sales

• Farm sales may only be made to consumers who have participated in a paid visitor event related to the alcoholic beverage covered by the licence. Information on the harmful effects of alcohol must be provided in connection with the event.
• There are limits on the amount each person can buy.
• As with other retail sales, the age limit for buying alcoholic beverages is 20 years.
• The sale must take place from a delimited space at the disposal of the licence holder. There is no requirement to have indoor premises.
• Several licence holders may not have a common premises for farm sales. However, the production premises may be shared with other small-scale producers.
• Sales may never take place earlier than 10:00 or later than 20:00. Otherwise, the municipality that issued the licence may determine the hours during which sales may take place. Sales may take place on all days of the week. The licence holder or a person responsible for sales must always be present and supervise the sales.
• The price of the drinks sold may not be set below the cost of production plus a reasonable mark-up.

Link to tasting licences and other hospitality licences

According to the proposal, the holder of a door-to-door sales licence may offer tastings of the beverages covered by the licence as long as this is done in connection with the sale. No specific tasting authorisation is needed.

There is nothing to prevent a person who has a licence for farm sales from also having a licence to serve alcohol.