Pricing and price notices of alcoholic beverages
While no upper or lower limit has been set for the pricing of alcoholic beverages in the Alcohol Act, any volume discounts are prohibited.
Two or more packages or portions of alcoholic beverages cannot be offered at a quantity discount price, in other words, a joint discount price, in such a way that the unit price of the same commodities is more expensive when bought separately. An alcoholic beverage cannot be more expensive when bought individually than what its price is as a similar portion in a multi-package. This provision does not apply to situations where a single alcoholic beverage is sold in individual packages of different sizes.
Advertising discount prices
In retail, discount prices of alcoholic beverages of a brief duration – less than two months – can, by law, only be advertised inside the retail sales premises. If alcoholic beverages are sold at a discount price, the price can only be advertised outside the retail sales premises if the discount price is valid for an uninterrupted period of at least two months throughout the opening hours of the premises. To avoid any disambiguation regarding the validity of the price of an alcoholic beverage indicated in an advertisement, the validity of the price should be indicated in marketing.
Discount prices of alcoholic beverages that are valid for less than two months cannot be placed so that they are visible from outside the retail sales premises. Furthermore, they cannot be advertised in newspapers, on the retail store's website or Facebook page, or in customer newsletters.
Licensed premises may also advertise short-term special offers concerning mild alcoholic beverages outside the licensed premises, including windows, doors or advertisements placed in the immediate vicinity of the premises (for example advertising stands). Similarly, licensed premises may advertise the aforementioned special offers on their website or in newspapers. Licensed premises can only advertise any discount prices of strong alcoholic beverages inside the licensed premises. Discount prices of strong alcoholic beverages cannot be published on websites or social media or in a restaurant’s window or newspapers.
Licensed or retail sales premises may set the price of an alcoholic beverage to be lower than normal for a limited group of customers, including individuals registered as loyal customers. Special loyal-customer prices or staff discounts are therefore permitted. Loyal-customer prices of strong alcoholic beverages can only be advertised indoors in licensed premises.
The prohibition of volume discounts laid down in the Alcohol Act also applies to loyal-customer and staff prices. In other words, consumers must be able to purchase an individual product within the pricing group in question at the discount price, in other words, a loyal customer or a benefit card holder must be able to purchase an individual product at a loyal customer’s special price.
Offering and paying rebates on the price of alcoholic beverages based on purchases of consumer goods and services is prohibited. This also applies to serving. It is also prohibited for a benefit programme operating in Finland to grant rebates on the purchase of alcoholic beverages made abroad. Rebate is a generic term which covers both bonuses and benefits offered in some other form, including payment method benefits.
The provision does not prohibit any benefits that may accrue from the use of credit cards, provided that the credit card in question is issued by a financial institution and that the financial institution in question is not itself engaged in serving or retail activities to any significant extent.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Alcohol Act does not set any minimum price for alcoholic beverages, but alcoholic beverages cannot be given to consumers free of charge. Retail sales and licensed premises independently set unit prices for the alcoholic beverages they sell.
You can report any pricing violations to the Regional State Administrative Agency, which supervises licensed and retail sales premises in its region.