Applying for a licence to use kitchen alcohol
The term ‘kitchen alcohol’ refers to an alcoholic beverage used in the preparation of food. A licence to use kitchen alcohol can be granted to an applicant who has a justified need to use kitchen alcohol sold at the duty-free price. Applying for the licence to use kitchen alcohol in small-scale food preparation is not advisable, as the processing of the licence application is subject to a fee, and the licence holder must pay an annual control fee.
Apply for a licence in the e-service of the alcohol trade register (Allu).
In your application, you must specify where the alcohol will be stored, for what purpose it will be used, and how much alcohol you will need per year; please attach a copy of your recipes or a menu, for example. The licence is site-specific. In addition to the name and address of the licence holder and the site, the alcohol types, their approved intended use and the annual quota are recorded in the licence.
The processing time varies on a case-by-case basis, but as a rule, licence applications will be processed in approximately two weeks from the date of receipt. The fee payable for the application is determined in accordance with a Decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. For applications received by 31 December 2025, it is EUR 300.
The issued licence is valid until further notice, i.e. will remain valid as long as the licence holder is deemed to comply with the licence conditions, or until it is cancelled by the licence holder. The licence is site-specific. If the owner of the site changes, the new owner must apply for a new licence.
The licence holder is obliged to notify Valvira in writing of any changes to their contact details or activities (type of alcohol used, the intended use or annual consumption). The fee payable for an amendment of the licence is determined in accordance with a Decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. For applications received by 31 December 2023, it is EUR 180. A new application must be submitted if the restaurant moves to a new location or changes ownership. Valvira must also be notified if the business is closed or the licence is no longer used.
Alcohol products subject to licensing must be stored in a locked storage area, and the licence holder is obliged to keep a record of consumption. The licence holder’s records must enable determination of the quantity and quality of alcohol consumed in arrears. Kitchen alcohol must be stored separately from alcohol intended for serving purposes.
Kitchen alcohol is intended exclusively for the preparation of food. Against a receipt, alcoholic beverages purchased for serving may also be transferred to the kitchen to be used in food preparation. As is the case with kitchen alcohol, a record must be kept of the use of any alcoholic beverages purchased for serving purposes in the preparation of food.
The following must be taken into account when using kitchen alcohol:
- Using kitchen alcohol as such, e.g. as a sauce in a dessert, is not allowed.
- Using tax-exempt kitchen alcohol in the preparation of drinks and cocktails is not allowed.
- Tax-exempt kitchen alcohol obtained under a licence may be used in the preparation of food or products used in the preparation of food, provided that the ready-made food item contains at most 5 litres of ethyl alcohol per 100 kilograms. If the prepared food is chocolate, it may contain at most 8.5 litres of ethyl alcohol per 100 kilograms.
The use and storage of tax-exempt kitchen alcohol must be recorded in a manner which allows for the reliable determination of stock flow events and consumption. Product-specific kitchen alcohol records must be maintained separately from beverages intended for serving purposes.
Incoming and outgoing full bottles must be recorded in the stock ledger in real time. An opened bottle must be removed from stock. If a type of alcohol is used only in small quantities, a separate record can be kept for each bottle opened, including the dates and the purpose for which it was used. The user’s initials must always be added for each outgoing bottle. Regular stocktaking must be performed.
An annual control fee is payable by licence holders for the control activities performed by Valvira. The fee is payable in arrears, and the amount is determined by the licence holder’s alcohol purchases and the number of litres imported for their own use. The control fee term runs from 1 September until 31 August, and invoices are issued annually no later than the end of November.
The control fee for alcoholic beverages is EUR 0.09 per litre. Please note that the site-specific minimum fee is EUR 200, and the maximum fee is EUR 1,900.