Applying for a production or import and wholesale licence for spirits
If you wish to start the production or the import and wholesale of spirits, you must apply for a licence from the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira). Valvira will grant the licence on application.
Apply for a licence in the e-services of the alcohol trade register (Allu).
The application should be submitted in due time before the start of the production or wholesale activity. The processing time varies on a case-by-case basis, but the average processing time is around three months. If necessary, Valvira may carry out a preliminary inspection of the production premises with a representative of the licence applicant. During the preliminary inspection, Valvira will assess whether the premises meet the requirements of the Alcohol Act and (if spirits are used for food purposes) the Food Act. Matters related to legislation, self-monitoring and reporting will also be reviewed with the licence applicant.
Please note that the processing fee for the licence decision is determined in accordance with the Decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
| Fees for the production and wholesale of spirits until 31 December 2025 | EUR |
|---|---|
| Production licence for spirits | 3,500 |
| Import and wholesale licence for spirits | 1,500 |
| Registration of food operations (new activity, substantial change of activity, change of operator) | 150 |
| Amendment of a licence, approval or licence condition | 225 |
| Amendment of a licence, approval or licence condition, including inspection | 600 |
General requirements for licences
Valvira may grant a production, import or wholesale licence to a legally competent organisation (e.g. a limited liability company, cooperative or incorporated partnership registered in the Trade Register) that has submitted a basic notification to the registration authorities, or to a person (sole trader) who is deemed to have the necessary qualifications and reliability for such activity.
Valvira can grant a licence to an applicant who is not bankrupt, who is financially capable of taking care of the activities and fulfilling their statutory obligations, and who is known to be reliable and suitable for the task in terms of their personal characteristics. A licence cannot be issued if the applicant’s or person’s previous actions as a whole indicate the applicant or person to be plainly unsuitable to engage in business activities pursuant to legislation.
Valvira will assess the applicant’s reliability and suitability as a licence holder. Matters considered during the assessment include:
- Whether the applicant or a responsible person of the applicant has to a considerable extent or repeatedly neglected the payment of taxes or other public charges
- Whether the applicant has been deemed insolvent during execution proceedings, and the insolvency is not temporary
- Whether any licence under the Alcohol Act has been revoked in the last five years
- Whether the applicant has been sentenced in the last five years for an intentional offence related to business activities that may result in imprisonment
Production licence for teaching or research purposes
A production licence for spirits may be granted for teaching and research purposes. Spirits produced for teaching and research purposes may only be used in the analysis and quality control of the product. More information about a production licence for teaching and research purposes is available on the “Application for a production licence for alcoholic beverages for teaching and research purposes” page.
To qualify for a production or wholesale licence for spirits, you must prepare a self-monitoring plan, i.e. a written plan on how you will ensure the legality of your activity. The plan must be made available at the place of production or storage to the persons who will be implementing it. Attach the self-monitoring plan to the licence application. For more information on self-monitoring, see the Self-monitoring by producers and wholesalers of alcoholic beverages page.
In the application for a production or import and wholesale licence for spirits, you need to present a clarification that your production premises, equipment and methods are suitable for monitoring the products specified and ensuring product and food safety and quality.
Spirits may only be produced in a location where the production and storage of the products is organised to allow the effective supervision of the activity. If necessary, Valvira will carry out a preliminary inspection of the production premises when processing a new production licence application. During the preliminary inspection, Valvira will assess whether the production premises and equipment meet the requirements set for adequate product safety and quality assurance.
According to the Food Act, all businesses that produce, store, transport and sell foodstuffs must submit a notification of their food activities to the supervisory authority. As a producer or wholesaler of spirits, you must submit a food premises notification concerning the production and storage premises to Valvira before starting the activity if the spirits produced are used for food purposes. The notification is part of the production or import and wholesale licence application for spirits, and it must describe the nature, construction and location of the production/storage premises and other facilities where products will be stored, as well as include a floor plan of the production premises showing the locations of the production equipment. In this connection, you must also submit a written self-monitoring plan to Valvira. Pursuant to the Food Act, the Decree of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on Food Hygiene (Maa- ja metsätalousministeriön asetus elintarvikehygieniasta 318/2021) applies to the requirements for premises and equipment for the production of spirits.
At the same time, the production location for spirits is a tax-exempt warehouse. An application for a tax warehouse must also be submitted to the Finnish Tax Administration. Applicants of an import and wholesale licence for spirits must submit an application concerning a tax-exempt warehouse, registered recipient or temporarily registered recipient to the Finnish Tax Administration. Valvira will only grant a production or import and wholesale licence after the Finnish Tax Administration has issued its decision.
Producers, importers and wholesalers of spirits are obligated to report the products they have produced and importer in Valvira’s product register. Alcohol sales must be reported monthly to Valvira. Producers of spirits must report production information through the ethyl alcohol report once a year. Reports are submitted in the e-services. More detailed instructions for reporting are available in Valvira’s guidelines “Reporting instructions for producers of alcoholic beverages” and “Ethyl alcohol reporting”, which are available at the bottom of this page. More information about reporting and product notifications is available on the Reporting by producers, wholesalers and importers page.
If you wish to produce organic spirits, you must register in Valvira’s control system for organic production before you start the production of organic products. You must also register in Valvira’s control system for organic production before the start of the activity as a wholesaler of organic products. For more information on organic production, see the Organic alcoholic beverages and spirits page.
Valvira collects an annual supervision fee for the supervision of the wholesale of spirits. The fee is determined in accordance with the Decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and comprises a fixed base fee and a surcharge based on the extent of the activity. The base fee is also collected from licence holders whose licence is valid during the supervision fee period in question. The supervision fee is at least EUR 250 and up to EUR 26,500 per year.