sou · H9B395 · 2021-12-10 00:00:00 — However, this restrictive alcohol pol- icy has always needed to be balanced against the interest among the public in actually having access to alcohol in an orderly way. Since 2011, for instance, a person who produces alcoholic drinks from raw materials produced on their farm has been permitted, under certain conditions, to offer tasting after receiving a special licence even though the producer does not have a licence to serve alcohol. Since 2010 there has been a strong increase in the number of pro- ducers of alcoholic drinks in . At the end of 2020, there were 792 companies specialised in the production of alcoholic drinks in compared with 90 producers in 2010. Beer is the largest cat- egory with 581 producers and is the category of drinks that has grown most since 2010. The second largest category is spirits, where the number of producers has also shown a strong increase in recent years. In 2020 there were 86 producers of spirits in . Pro- ducers of cider were, in 2020, the third largest category (68 pro- ducers) followed by producers of wine (57 producers). The large increase in the number of drink producers is a result of many small producers entering the market. out of ten Swedish producers of alcoholic drinks have fewer than five employees, and most employ 1–2 full-time equivalents. The ten largest producers accounted for as much as 93 percent of drinks produced in sold by Systembolaget in 2020. The large increase in the number of alcohol producers has not, in fact, coincided with an increase in the quantity of alcohol produced in , more the opposite. Many alcohol producers offer some form of visitor activities such as tours, tasting and serving. At the same time, many producers feel that they are hampered by not being able to sell their production from their production site. Several drink producers have told the In- quiry about the frustration they experience among visitors when they are informed that they are not able to buy and take away any drink from their visit. They see farm gate sales as an ingredient that makes their visit experience complete. Alongside visitor activities, farm gate sales are also said to be an important tool for promoting exports and product development. At the same time as many producers want to see a possibility of farm gate sales, there is broad support for Systembolaget’s monop- oly. Many producers say that they do not support the introduction of farm gate sales if it takes place at the expense of the retailing mo- nopoly. Requirements under EU law for farm gate sales Farm gate sales would give Swedish producers of alcoholic drinks access to a sales channel in that producers based abroad are not given access to. This raises two main questions under EU law. The first is whether this favourable treatment of Swedish producers can be accepted in the light of the non-discrimination rules that ap- ply in the EU (Articles 34 and 36 of the Treaty on the Functioning of Union, TFEU). The second question is whether this can change the assessment under EU law of Systembolaget’s re- tailing monopoly (in this respect State monopolies of a commercial character in the area of goods are regulated through Article 37 of the TFEU). A restrictive form of farm gate sales is consistent with EU rules about the free movement of goods The Inquiry makes the assessment that farm gate sales could be seen as a barrier to trade in an examination under EU law. It is certainly possible to argue that farm gate sales level out competition rather than distorting it, since it means that sales from the production site will be permitted in in the same way as they are permitted in most other countries. Despite this, the jurisprudence of the Court of of Union, especially the Visnapuu1 case, which dealt with Finnish rules on matters including farm gate sales, indicates that such a regime can be considered discriminatory and therefore be a barrier to trade under Article 34. The Inquiry has therefore analysed whether and, if so, in what circumstances such a regime can be justified with reference to Article 36 of the TFEU. The overall objective of the Swedish alcohol legislation is to pro- mote public health by reducing the harmful and social effects of alcohol. Under Article 36 or the TFEU, the protection of public health is a purpose that can justify barriers to trade. However, a regime that is a barrier to trade can only be justified with reference to the protection of public health if the measure is proportionate and the protection of public health cannot be held to have been abused or exploited in order to discriminate against goods from other Mem- ber States or to provide indirect protection for certain domestic goods. According to the Inquiry, the Visnapuu case shows that farm gate sales can be made compatible with these conditions. However, the regime needs to ensure that farm gate sales take place to a limited extent and do not undermine ’s restrictive alcohol policy by, for instance, risking a noticeable increase in alcohol consumption in . may farm gate sales appear to be an arbitrary discrimi- 1Case C-198/14 . nation of foreign producers of alcoholic drinks. According to the Inquiry, this points towards a regime that is based on strengthening the visitor industry and whose basis is that farm gate sales focus on the visit to the production site rather than the sales as such. A restrictive form of farm gate sales does not weaken the position of the retailing monopoly There is a special regime for retailing monopolies in Article 37 of the TFEU. The provision does not require the abolition of State retail- ing monopolies but does require that they are adapted so as to be fully non-discriminatory. If farm gate sales are introduced, the re- gime for these sales should be tested against Articles 34 and 36, while the retailing monopoly should continue to be tested against Article 37 of the TFEU. The Inquiry does not make the assessment that farm gate sales according to the Inquiry’s proposal would result in Systembolaget’s retailing monopoly coming into conflict with the criteria for non-discrimination in Article 37 of the TFEU. Farm gate sales do, however, mean a departure from the principle of exclusion of private profit interests. Special restrictions therefore need to be introduced to address the increased risks to public health that follow from permitting private profit interests at retail level. Providing that this is ensured, farm gate sales ought not to result in Swedish alcohol policy appearing to be unsystematic or incoherent. The Government will have the possibility of conducting a dia- logue with Commission about the compatibility of the proposal with EU law before it is adopted. Even if the Court of Jus- tice of Union were to make a different assessment from the Inquiry and retrospectively find against a right introduced to farm gate sales, this would not endanger the Swedish retailing mo- nopoly. In that event would be obliged to adapt its regime or, if considered necessary, scrap the right to farm gate sales. How- ever, would not be forced to abolish the retailing monopoly. The experts on EU law appointed by the Government to assist the Inquiry support the analysis of EU law set out in this report. The Inquiry’s proposals concerning farm gate sales in What is meant by farm gate sales The Inquiry makes the assessment that the most important re- strictions from the perspective of EU law relate to how these sales are allowed to be conducted. First, the Inquiry proposes that farm gate sales only be permitted in conjunction with a paid study visit or a lecture associated with the product concerned at its production site. This ensures that the visit is in focus, rather than the sales, and decreases the risk that these sales will lead to negative effects on pub- lic health. Second, the Inquiry proposes restrictions on how much may be sold to a customer per visit. to each individual on the same visit should not exceed 0.7 litres of spirits, 3 litres of wine, 3 litres of other fermented drinks and 3 litres of strong beer [starköl]. These conditions mean that any competitive advantage to farm gate sellers in relation to foreign producers will be very limited and that farm gate sales will be clearly linked to the role of drink producers in the visitor industry. This would also ensure that the volumes sold through farm gate sales will be very limited and that these sales will not, in any way, be an alternative to the retailing of alcoholic drinks conducted by Systembolaget. Who should be allowed to conduct farm gate sales Small-scale and independent producers making alcoholic drinks in a craft-based way should be allowed to conduct farm gate sales, as should growers of grapes used for wine production. In this case, small scale would mean that the producer’s annual pro- duction volume must be at most 75 000 litres of spirits, 500 000 litres of fermented drinks with an alcohol content of no more than 10 per- cent by volume (e.g. beer or cider) or 200 000 litres of fermented drinks with an with an alcohol content of no more than 10 percent by volume (e.g. wine and fruit wine). The producer must also be in- dependent financially and legally from large-scale producers. These requirements mean that a small number of relatively large producers of alcohol in will not be able to conduct farm gate sales. Production having to be craft-based means that the part of the pro- duction that imparts character has to take place at the production site. So it is not sufficient to, for instance, blend bought compo- nents. These requirements guarantee that the farm gate sales will be kept on a very limited scale and will not involve the sale of low-price price products. The Inquiry has considered whether it is, for instance, necessary to require that, for farm gate sales to be allowed, the main raw ma- terial has to be self-cultivated or that production has to be located in a rural area. Requirements of this kind would exclude a large share of Swedish drink producers. With the aid of estimates made on be- half of the Inquiry by , the Inquiry has been able to conclude that farm gate sales will be very limited even without such require- ments. As stated below, the extremely limited increase in alcohol consumption that farm gate sales are estimated to generate would have no noticeable effect on alcohol-related harm in society. Against this background, the Inquiry has not been able to identify any need to require self-production of raw materials or location in a rural area. The Inquiry’s remit states that if alternative models for farm gate sales are identified, they are to be presented along with their ad- vantages and disadvantages. The Inquiry therefore also presents an alternative proposal that further limits the alcoholic drinks included and the forms of production permitted. The alternative model pro- posed relates only to fermented drinks (i.e. beer, wine and other fer- mented drinks), where the bulk of the raw materials that give the alcoholic drink its character have been produced at the farm con- cerned. This would include a much smaller number of producers than the Inquiry’s main proposal and would mainly give rural-based producers of wine from grapes, cider, fruit wines and some berry wines the possibility of farm gate sales. To provide broad input to further work on processing the matter, a legislative proposal is also presented for this alternative. The inquiry proposes that farm gate sales should require a licence from the municipality concerned. Farm gate sales should not be per- mitted earlier than 10.00 and should not be allowed to continue after 20.00.In other respects, the Inquiry proposes that the general rules for sales in the Alcohol Act (age limit, sobriety checks, etc.) should apply, along with rules about suitability and pricing etc. correspond- ing to those that currently apply to the serving of alcoholic drinks. The regime should be time-limited in an initial phase As stated above, the Inquiry’s assessment is that for the reform to be compatible with EU law, the scope of farm gate sales will have to be very limited and the reform must not result in any negative im- pacts on public health due, for instance, to a measurable increase in alcohol consumption. Against this background there are reasons to proceed with some caution by introducing time-limited legislation. The Inquiry proposes that, as a first step, the regime should apply for six years from its entry into force. The reform should be evalu- ated in good time before its repeal. That evaluation should then form the basis for the decision to extend the regime, to make it permanent or to amend or scrap it. The Inquiry’s impact analysis draws on industry analyses and public health estimates carried out by on behalf of the Inquiry. Assuming that the industry continues to grow as it has done in recent years, and based on the interest shown by drink producers in farm gate sales, the Inquiry makes the assessment that around 50 wine producers, 90 distilleries, 630 and 80 cider produ- cers will conduct farm gate sales in 2025. It is not unlikely that the number of , in particular, is over-estimated. For instance, the has pointed out that around 150 are what are called ‘ghost ’, i.e. companies that produce their beer in someone else’s , which means that they will not be given the possibility to conduct farm gate sales. However, the Inquiry has chosen to use over-estimated figures to avoid under- estimating the public health impacts. On the assumption that the number of visitors to production sites increases by 50 percent as a result of farm gate sales and that every visitor buys 75 percent of the permitted quantity, the total quantity of pure alcohol sold through farm gate sales in 2025 is esti- mated to correspond to around 0.51 percent of Systembolaget’s total sales in 2020. The total sales via farm gate sales in the same year are estimated at just under 250 000 litres of pure alcohol, which is 0.029 litres of pure alcohol per inhabitant over 15 years of age and 0.34 percent of the total quantity of consumption. The proposal is not judged to have a noticeable impact on public health. Assuming that 15–30 percent of these purchases will replace purchases that would otherwise have been made at, for example, Systembolaget, farm gate sales result in an increase in alcohol-related deaths and hospital stays per year by 0.22–0.27 percent in 2025. This is an increase that would be difficult to distinguish from the annual variation. does the Inquiry make the assessment that farm gate sales risk resulting in a considerable increase in the exposure of chil- dren and young people to alcohol compared with today. With the same assumptions as above, society’s costs for early deaths and reductions of quality of life, health care and treatment, production losses and criminal activity are estimated to increase by –287 million due to farm gate sales in 2025, an increase of 0.24–0.29 percent. This includes the impacts on all parts of society – the public sector, business and households. The total tax revenue from farm gate sales, experience services and diffusion effects resulting from farm gate sales are estimated at –148 million in 2025. In total, farm gate sales are estimated to lead to the creation of just over 1 300 new jobs. Farm gate sales as proposed by the Inquiry would therefore result in an increase of 17–19 percent in the number of jobs in the drink industry. The Inquiry estimates that the turnover of drink producers increases by around a total of million, corresponding to just under 000 per producer. For drink producers this additional revenue could make considerable differ- ences in an industry where 57 percent of producers rate profitability as fairly poor or very poor. Systembolaget takes the view that the Inquiry’s proposal will re- sult in a decrease in demand for their local and small-scale range (TSLS), and that they may need to review how to handle this range as well as whether it can be retained in the future. However, this assessment is not shared by industry representatives who take the view that the demand for the TSLS range will increase as a result of increased interest in local and small-scale alternatives. The Inquiry’s assessment is that the restrictions proposed for farm gate sales and the general increase in interest in local and small-scale alternatives make it at least as likely that farm gate sales will lead to increased demand for local and small-scale alternatives at Systembolaget. Farm gate sales can contribute positive diffusion effects, for ex- ample in the form of visitors also visiting restaurants or local food producers or staying at hotels in the vicinity. The Inquiry estimates that farm gate sales may result in increased turnover for nearby activities of more than million per year. It is not unlikely that the possibility of conducting farm gate sales will be greatest among drink producers in rural areas. Farm gate sales would thereby con- tribute to the Government’s initiative for vibrant and growing rural areas where people are able to live and work in all parts of the country. 1.1Förslag till lag om ändring i alkohollagen (2010:1622) Härigenom föreskrivs i fråga om alkohollagen dels att 5 kap. 2 §, 8 kap. 7 §, 9 kap. 2, 11, 12, 17 och 18 §§ ska ha följande lydelse, dels att det i lagen ska införas ett nytt kapitel, 5 a kap., med föl- jande lydelse, dels att det i lagen ska införas en ny paragraf, 1 kap. 13 §, med följande lydelse. Med gårdsförsäljning avses detaljhandel med alkoholdrycker på tillverknings- eller vinodlings- stället i samband med ett studiebe- sök eller en föreläsning som er- bjuds allmänheten mot betalning och som har anknytning till den aktuella alkoholdrycken. Endast detaljhandelsbolaget får bedriva annan detaljhandel med spritdrycker, vin, starköl och andra jästa alkoholdrycker och med alkoholdrycksliknande preparat än gårdsförsäljning. Endast detaljhandelsbolaget får bedriva detaljhandel med sprit- drycker, vin, starköl och andra jästa alkoholdrycker och med alkoholdrycksliknande preparat. 5 a kap. Gårdsförsäljning För gårdsförsäljning krävs sär- skilt tillstånd av den kommun där försäljningsstället är beläget (gårds- försäljningstillstånd). Gårdsförsäljningstillstånd får meddelas den som yrkesmässigt tillverkar alkoholdrycker under förutsättning att 1. alkoholdryckerna som säljs är egentillverkade, 2. den karaktärsgivande delen av tillverkningen som inte utgör blandning, spädning, filtrering eller liknande behandling av enklare art sker på tillverkningsstället, 3. tillverkarens produktions- volym uppgår till högst spritdrycker, mer än 10 volymprocent alkohol, och 4. tillverkaren är oberoende från tillverkare med produktions- volymer som överstiger de som anges i punkt 3. Gårdsförsäljningstillstånd får även meddelas den som yrkes- mässigt odlar druvor som används vid vintillverkning under förut- sättning att 1.vinet som säljs har tillver- kats av druvor uteslutande från de egna odlingarna, och 2.odlaren har godkänts som upplagshavare för sådana varor enligt 9 § lagen (1994:1564) om alkoholskatt. Vid gårdsförsäljning får försälj- ningen till varje enskild person vid samma besökstillfälle inte överstiga spritdryck, vin, starköl, och andra jästa drycker. Frågor om gårdsförsäljnings- tillstånd prövas av den kommun där försäljningsstället är beläget. Ansökan om gårdsförsäljningstill- stånd görs skriftligen. Kommunen får ta ut en avgift för prövningen enligt de grunder som beslutas av kommunfullmäk- tige. Kommunen får också ta ut en avgift för tillsyn enligt 9 kap. av den som har tillstånd att bedriva gårdsförsäljning. En ansökan om gårdsförsälj- ningstillstånd får inte bifallas utan att yttrande har inhämtats. ska i sitt ytt- rande redovisa samtliga omstän- digheter som ligger till grund för myndighetens bedömning i det enskilda fallet och särskilt yttra sig över sökandens allmänna lämp- lighet för verksamheten. Ett gårdsförsäljningstillstånd ska avse och får som längst ges till . Gårdsförsäljningstillstånd får bara meddelas den som visar att han eller hon är lämplig att utöva verksamheten med hänsyn till sina personliga och ekonomiska förhållanden samt omständighe- terna i övrigt och att verksam- heten kommer att drivas i enlighet med de krav som ställs upp i denna lag. Sökanden ska genom att av- lägga ett prov också visa att han eller hon har de kunskaper om denna lag och anslutande före- skrifter som krävs för att på ett för- fattningsenligt sätt bedriva verk- samheten med gårdsförsäljning. Om gårdsförsäljning på grund av försäljningsställets belägenhet, studiebesökets eller föreläsningens utformning eller av andra skäl kan befaras medföra olägenheter i fråga om ordning och nykterhet eller särskild risk för människors hälsa, får gårdsförsäljningstill- stånd vägras även om övriga krav som ställs upp i lagen är uppfyllda. Gårdsförsäljningstillstånd ska avse ett visst avgränsat utrymme där försäljningen av alkohol- drycker ska ske. Utrymmet ska disponeras av tillståndshavaren. Tillstånd får inte meddelas för flera tillverkare att utnyttja ett gemensamt utrymme för gårdsför- säljning. Tillståndshavaren eller av denne utsedd försäljningsansvarig person ska ha tillsyn över gårds- försäljningen och vara närva- rande på försäljningsstället då försäljningen äger rum. Den försäljningsansvarige ska ha fyllt och vara lämplig för uppgiften med hänsyn till sina personliga egenskaper och omstän- digheterna i övrigt. Tillståndshavaren ska till kommunen anmäla den eller de personer som har utsetts att an- svara för gårdsförsäljningen. Tillståndshavaren ansvarar för att den personal som anlitas vid gårdsförsäljningen har de kun- skaper som behövs om vad som gäller för försäljningen. vilka tider gårdsförsäljning får be- drivas. Gårdsförsäljning får dock inte bedrivas tidigare än klockan 10.00och inte pågå längre än . Vid bestämmande av tiden för gårdsförsäljning ska särskilt beaktas vad som sägs i 7 §. Priset för alkoholdrycker som säljs genom gårdsförsäljning får inte sättas lägre än tillverknings- kostnaden med tillägg för gällande skatter med ett skäligt påslag. Priset på det studiebesök eller den föreläsning som ska tillhanda- hållas i samband med gårdsför- säljning får inte sättas lägre än självkostnaden med ett skäligt påslag. Regeringen eller den myndig- het som regeringen bestämmer får meddela föreskrifter om 1.hur de studiebesök och före- läsningar som avses i 1 kap. 13 § ska utformas och vad de ska inne- hålla, 2.de tillverkningskrav som avses i 1 § andra stycket 2, 3.den tid inom vilken kom- munen ska fatta beslut i ett ärende om gårdsförsäljningstillstånd, samt 4.de prov som avses i 6 § andra stycket och om undantag i vissa fall från skyldigheten att av- lägga prov. Den som tillverkar alkoholdrycker eller alkoholdrycksliknande preparat från råvaror som produceras på den egna gården och som har ett stadigvarande serveringstillstånd har rätt att, efter anmälan till kommunen, vid tillverkningsstället erbjuda provsmakning av de egenproducerade dryckerna eller preparaten. Om sådant tillstånd saknas, får tillverkaren erbjuda provsmakning av egentillverkade alkoholdrycker eller alkoholdrycksliknande pre- parat vid tillverkningsstället efter särskilt tillstånd för provsmakning. Den som har gårdsförsäljnings- tillstånd får i anslutning till sådan försäljning erbjuda provsmakning av sådana alkoholdrycker som till- ståndet avser. Kommunen och har tillsyn över efterlevnaden av de bestämmelser som gäller för servering av alkoholdrycker. digheten har också tillsyn över digheten har också tillsyn över detaljhandeln med folköl. Kommunen ska upprätta en tillsynsplan som ska ges in till läns- Den som har beviljats server- Den som har beviljats server- ingstillstånd ska anmäla hos kommunen när han eller hon av- ser att påbörja verksamheten. kommunen när han eller hon av- ser att påbörja verksamheten.