You must be approved as a warehouse keeper or tax-exempt consumer
In order to manufacture spirits, wine, beer, other fermented alcoholic beverages and technical spirits, as a business practitioner you must be approved as a warehouse keeper or tax-exempt consumer for such goods. It is the Swedish Tax Agency that decides on such approvals.
Manufacture of spirits and alcoholic beverages
The manufacture of spirits means, among other things, the purification or recycling of spirit, as well as the removal or weakening of denaturing in order to adapt the spirit for consumption.
It is forbidden to manufacture spirits for your own use. Wine, medium-strong beer, strong beer and other fermented alcoholic beverages may, on the other hand, be produced at home for your own use without the need for approval.
Distillation apparatus for the manufacture of spirits
A distillation apparatus is a device that is obviously suited for the manufacture of spirits. The Alcohol Act prohibits the possession, manufacture and transfer of distillation apparatus unless you have the right to manufacture spirits. Parts of such a appliance may also only be manufactured for, transferred to or held by someone who has the right to manufacture spirits.
Exemption from approval requirements for possession of distillation apparatus
The Public Health Agency of Sweden may grant an exemption from the provision of the Alcohol Act that you must be an approved warehouse keeper or tax-exempt consumer in order to possess a distillation apparatus or parts thereof. It is possible to apply for consent and we then make an assessment on a case-by-case basis. Such consent may be issued for an indefinite period or for a certain period of time and may be withdrawn if circumstances so require. An application can be sent to us by either e-mail or post. The Public Health Agency cannot issue consent for the manufacture of spirits.
Other distillation apparatus
There are distillation apparatuses on the market which are not meant for the manufacture of spirits, but for the manufacture of essential oils and water distillation, among other things. For these types of apparatuses, no consent is required, as they fall outside the provisions of the Alcohol Act.
You need to submit statistics on your manufacturing
The Public Health Agency is responsible for keeping statistics on, among other things, the sale and manufacture of alcoholic beverages. If you are or have been approved as a warehouse keeper by the Swedish Tax Agency during the accounting period, you therefore need to report certain information to us.
The information you provide shall refer to the accounting period from 1 January to 31 December. The form must be submitted by 1 March at the latest. You can register statistical reports of sales/manufacturing either through our e-service or by sending the form to the Swedish Public Health Agency. The address of the Public Health Agency can be found at the bottom of the form.
The Public Health Agency will send out a pre-printed statistical report on sales/manufacturing to the business practitioners concerned at the end of the year. If you have not received a statistical report on sales/manufacturing or have lost the preprinted form, you can contact us to get a new form. You can also contact us if you have any questions about the report.
| Title | Instructions |
|---|---|
| Who must report? | Anyone who has been approved as a warehouse keeper or registered recipient of alcoholic beverages at some point during the reporting period. |
| How do I report? | Either on the paper form or through our e-service |
| Reporting period | 1 January – 31 December |
| Last submission date | 1 March of the year after the reporting period |
| E-service for reporting | Note that the e-service for reporting only applies to the pre-printed form. |
| Zero reporting through the e-service | If you do not have anything to report, i.e. reporting zero through the e-service reporting fields, you will receive a message that this is correct. If this is correct, you need to click the save button again for the report to be registered (in case of zero reporting through the e-service, you need to click on the save button twice for the report to be registered). |
| The paper form is sent to | Public Health Agency of Sweden, Box 505, 831 26 Östersund |
e-service for reporting (atr.folkhalsomyndigheten.se) (in Swedish)
Obligation to provide information and confidentiality
If you are a permit holder, manufacturer or wholesaler or a trader in technical spirits, you are obliged under the Alcohol Act to provide the information necessary for the Public Health Agency to keep statistics on the activities. The Public Health Agency's regulations on statistical data on the manufacture of alcoholic beverages and wholesale trade in spirit drinks, wine, strong beer and other fermented alcoholic beverages (FoHMFS 2014:2) describe in more detail the data to be reported.
The statistical reports received by the Public Health Agency are public documents and can therefore be divulged on request. We always carry out a confidentiality review of what information can be disclosed if a document is requested. Information contained in a report on the personal or financial circumstances of a wholesaler is not disclosed if it may cause harm or detriment to the individual or their relatives. For information contained in a public document, confidentiality is valid for a maximum of fifty years.
The provisions on which this information is based
Sections 9, 12 and 31e of the Alcohol Tax Act (1994:1564) (riksdagen.se) (in Swedish)
Chapter 4. Sections 2-4 of the Alcohol Act (2010:1622) (riksdagen.se) (in Swedish)
Chapter 9 Section 14, second paragraph of the Alcohol Act (2010:1622) (riksdagen.se) (in Swedish)
Section 4a, second paragraph of the Alcohol Regulation (2010:1636) (riksdagen.se) (in Swedish)
Chapter 30 Section 20 of the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400) (riksdagen.se) (in Swedish)
The information on this website is intended solely to help you, and does not replace what is written in the Alcohol Act and the Alcohol Tax Act. There may also be other laws or regulations from other authorities that you need to be aware of.
