Changes to alcohol legislation increase the risk of illicit trade

15.10.2024 - In Finland, efforts to reduce alcohol-related harms have primarily focused on the retail monopoly on alcoholic beverages, a strict licensing system, and effective oversight by authorities. However, if the government’s proposed bill allowing for the delivery of alcoholic beverages were to pass, it would weaken all of these key measures aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm, says Aleksi Halme, Senior Inspector at Valvira, in his recent blog post.

One of the ways alcohol-related harm has been addressed is by ensuring that only business operators with the required reliability and financial stability can obtain an alcohol license. During the licensing process, authorities ensure that applicants and their responsible parties have no criminal background or unpaid taxes. This procedure has also been effective in preventing illicit trade.

A draft of the bill, circulated for comments this summer, initially proposed that only license holders or their staff would be permitted to deliver alcoholic beverages to customers. However, after the consultation period, the draft was amended to allow anyone to handle payments and deliver alcoholic beverages—whether in licensed premises, retail sales, or deliveries. This means that authorities will no longer have oversight of who is actually operating alcohol-related businesses. As a result, the industry could see an influx of operators from the illicit trade, who would otherwise not qualify for a license under the current Alcohol Act.

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Valvira is a central agency operating under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. We oversee the compliance of social and health care services, early childhood education, the alcohol trade, and environmental health services. We issue licenses in the social and health care sector and provide guidance to regional state administrative agencies to ensure that licensing, guidance, and oversight practices are consistent throughout the country.