Wholesale of products subject to the Tobacco Act
Wholesale of tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids must be notified in writing to the municipality where the sales outlet is located. The simplest way is to submit the notification electronically. For questions concerning the notification, you can contact the municipal authority supervising the Tobacco Act in the first instance.
In addition to the wholesale of tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids, the municipal authority supervising the Tobacco Act must be notified in advance of changes in wholesale operations and the termination of operations. This information may have an impact on the control fees charged by the municipality, so the information must be submitted to the municipality in good time. The municipality charges a fee according to the approved rate for the processing of wholesale notifications of tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids.
Wholesalers of tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids do not need a retail permit unless they sell the products directly to consumers.
The wholesale notification must include the following information:
- the applicant’s name or business name, contact information in Finland, personal identity code or business ID, and the address of the sales outlet of the products
- an indication of the products to be sold covered by the notification
- a self-monitoring plan
- an indication of the number and location of points of sale at the sales outlet
- a report on the placement of tobacco products, tobacco substitutes, smoking accessories, electronic cigarettes, and nicotine-containing liquids at the point of sale.
In addition, everyone involved in the supply chain of tobacco products must have the identifications required by the traceability system for tobacco products. For more information, visit our page on the prevention of illicit trade.
Submit an electronic wholesale notification in writing to the municipality. The simplest way is to submit the notification electronically. Fill in the electronic wholesale notification here (in Finnish). If you cannot submit your notification electronically, you can use the written application at the end of this page. Instructions for filling in the application can also be found at the end of this page.
Tobacco products may only be sold as wholesale
- to wholesalers who have submitted a wholesale notification for resale, and who have identification codes in accordance with the Commission’s Traceability Regulation;
- to a retail permit holder
- with identification codes in accordance with the Commission’s Traceability Regulation
- who has indicated in their permit application or change notification that they sell tobacco products
- to whom permission has been granted under the previous Tobacco Act.
Please note that according to the transitional provisions, all retailers of cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco products must have identification codes in accordance with the Commission’s Traceability Regulation as of 20 May 2019, and all retailers of tobacco products as of 20 May 2024.
Nicotine-containing liquids may only be sold as wholesale
1. to wholesalers who have submitted a wholesale notification for resale
2. to a retail permit holder
• who has indicated in the permit application or change notification that they sell nicotine-containing liquids
• to whom permission has been granted under the previous Tobacco Act, and who has submitted a notification of retail of nicotine-containing liquids.
In addition, tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids may be sold as wholesale to retailers who do not need a retail permit under the Tobacco Act and to wholesalers who are not subject to the obligation to report under the Act.
The public register of retail permits and wholesale notifications for tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids (in Finnish) is a register intended for use by citizens and wholesalers. Citizens can check in the register whether a retailer of tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids has a valid sales permit in accordance with the Tobacco Act. The sales outlet’s permit information can be found in more detail in the sales permit document, which the retailer of tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids is obliged to display at each point of sale at the sales outlet.
The public sales permit register also serves the information needs of wholesalers. Wholesalers may only sell tobacco products or nicotine-containing liquids to wholesalers who have submitted a wholesale notification for resale and to retail permit holders who have indicated that they resell the products concerned. Wholesalers can check this information in the register of retail permits and wholesale notifications.
Frequently asked questions about wholesale
The amount of the control fee for the permit can be found in the tariff list of the municipality that issued the permit. According to the Tobacco Act, an annual control fee may be charged up to EUR 500 per point of sale for either tobacco products or nicotine-containing liquids, or up to EUR 1,000 per point of sale for both tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids.
The control fee for a shop with a single checkout (= point of sale) can therefore be up to 500 or 1,000 euros, depending on whether both tobacco products and nicotine-containing liquids are sold in the shop or only one of them. For a shop with five checkouts, the control fee can be up to 2,500 or 5,000 euros. For more information, please contact the municipality where the notification has been processed.
The municipality is the competent authority for retail permits under the Tobacco Act. Therefore, for notifications related to a permit, such as a change notification concerning the number of points of sale, you can contact the municipality that granted the permit.
A wholesaler cannot sell cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco to a holder of a valid retail permit who does not have the identification codes required by the Commission’s Traceability Regulation. A wholesaler can check the information about valid traceability system codes on the website of Allexis s.r.o.