The Alcohol Register will cease operations on 1 November

From 1 November, alcohol producers and businesses handling alcohol will no longer have to enter their beverages in the Alcohol Register, as the register will cease operations.

Since 2018, the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has repeatedly proposed abolishing the Alcohol Register in order to reduce the administrative burden on businesses handling alcohol and allow new products to be brought to market more quickly and at lower cost.

With the abolition of the Alcohol Register, from 1 November alcohol producers and businesses handling alcohol will no longer be required to apply for entries for alcoholic beverages in the register or pay the associated state fees. Until now, the cost to a business of making a single new register entry had amounted to several thousand euros, so the changes will save both money and the time spent making register entries.

In addition, businesses handling alcohol will in future be able to choose which laboratory analyses samples of their products, and will no longer have to use an authorised laboratory for this purpose. This increases businesses' freedom of choice and promotes competition in the laboratory services market. At the same time, businesses will remain obliged to ensure the safety and compliance of their products, which continues to be necessary both for their own internal controls and for state supervision.

State supervision of the composition, quality and labelling of alcohol will become risk-based and will no longer rely on entries in the Alcohol Register. Businesses will be categorised by risk level, and the Agriculture and Food Board will remain obliged to carry out risk-based supervision of alcohol safety and compliance with composition and quality requirements. The Alcohol Register's existing data and registration files will be transferred to the Agriculture and Food Board, which will retain them for ten years.

Businesses handling wine will no longer be obliged to submit a report to the Agriculture and Food Board by the 15th of each month on wine intended for export, wholesale or retail sale in the previous month. Businesses will remain obliged to maintain verifiable records of their products, but the reporting obligation will be abolished.

You can read the amendments to the Alcohol Act that enter into force on 1 November HERE.