STATE TRADING
NEW AND FULL NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE XVII:4(A)
OF THE
GATT
1994 AND PARAGRAPH 1 OF THE UNDERSTANDING ON
THE INTERPRETATION OF
ARTICLE XVII
European Union
The following communication,
dated and received on 11 July 2024, is being circulated at the request of the
delegation of the European Union.
_______________
Pursuant
to Article XVII:4(a) of the GATT 1994 and paragraph 1 of the Understanding on
the Interpretation of Article XVII of the GATT 1994, and in response to the
call for notifications contained in document G/STR/N/20,
the European Union notifies the following state trading enterprises for the
years 2022 and 2023.
I.
ENUMERATION OF STATE TRADING ENTERPRISES
A. Identification
of state trading enterprises
Systembolaget
AB (hereafter Systembolaget)
B. Description of products affected (including
tariff item number(s) encompassed in product description)
Alcohol
beverages (spirituous drinks, wines, strong beer and other fermented alcoholic
beverages) and non-beverage alcoholic preparations (Sw. alkoholdrycksliknande
preparat).
II.
REASON AND PURPOSE
A. Reason
or purpose for establishing and/or maintaining state trading enterprise
Systembolaget
is a state-owned Swedish limited company that conducts retail sales of
alcoholic beverages and non-beverage alcoholic preparations, to the general
public in Sweden; a retail monopoly. The reason for the monopoly is that the
alcohol-related problems are reduced if alcohol is sold in the absence of a
profit motive. Systembolaget aims to reduce the total alcohol consumption by
limiting availability in Sweden. Systembolaget further strives to help limit
the medical and social harm caused by alcohol in Sweden, and thereby improve
public health.
B. Summary of legal basis for granting the
relevant exclusive or special rights or privileges, including legal provisions
and summary of statutory or constitutional powers
Systembolaget's
mandate is governed by the Swedish Alcohol Act (2010:1622), by Systembolaget's
contract with the government dated 19 June 2019 (Sw. Tillkännagivande (2019:552) av avtal mellan Systembolaget
Aktiebolag och staten) and by the directives issued by the
government in its capacity as the owner of Systembolaget.
III.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FUNCTIONING OF THE STATE TRADING ENTERPRISE
A. Summary
statement providing overview of operations of the state trading enterprise
Systembolaget
has a nationwide retail network comprising approximately 450 stores and 465
agents (in smaller communities with an insufficient customer base for a store
of their own). The agents act for and by authority from Systembolaget; they are
not themselves selling the items but instead delivering the items on behalf of
Systembolaget. The agents account for approximately 1% of Systembolaget's
turnover and carry no items in stock, instead the consumers order the goods for
collection. Systembolaget is responsible for ensuring that people shall have
the option of purchasing alcoholic beverages and non-beverage alcoholic
preparations wherever they may live in Sweden and thus Systembolaget is
represented in all municipalities in Sweden. The Swedish Parliament sets the
guidelines for the opening hours of Systembolaget's stores.
According
to Systembolaget's contract with the government, Systembolaget shall inform the
public in Sweden about the risks combined with the consumption of alcoholic
beverages and non-beverage alcoholic preparations. This undertaking is also
mentioned in Systembolaget's Articles of Association. As one way of fulfilling
this undertaking, Systembolaget has formed the subsidiary IQ-Initiativet AB.
IQ-Initiativet works to persuade people to reflect on their attitudes towards
and behaviour in relation to alcohol. The aim is to reduce alcohol consumption
and thereby the harm caused by alcohol.
B. Specification of exclusive or special rights
or privileges enjoyed by the state trading enterprise
Systembolaget
holds the retail monopoly for alcoholic beverages and non-beverage alcoholic
preparations in Sweden.
C. Type of entities other than the state trading
enterprise that are allowed to engage in importation/exportation and conditions
for participation
As
stated above, Systembolaget holds the retail monopoly for alcoholic beverages
and non-beverage alcoholic preparations in Sweden.
Other
(non-state) entities are allowed to import and export alcoholic beverages to
and from Sweden. As described in section III.H below, wholesale activities may
be conducted by an authorised warehouse keeper or registered consignee of
alcoholic goods.
D. How
import/export levels are established by the state trading enterprise
Systembolaget
may not export any alcohol to other countries. Systembolaget is only entitled
to import alcohol upon the request of individual consumers and provided that
the product is not already included in Systembolaget's range. If a customer
wishes to buy a product that is not included in the range, Systembolaget shall,
according to the Swedish Alcohol Act, import the product requested by the
customer within the framework of Systembolaget's private import service.
E. How
export prices are determined
As
stated above, Systembolaget may not export any alcohol according to the Swedish
Alcohol Act.
F. How
the resale prices of imported products are determined
The
resale prices of imported products from Systembolaget's suppliers, at
Systembolaget, are determined by adding the following mark-ups to the
supplier's price to Systembolaget before Excise Duty on Alcohol and, if
applicable, recycling fee: (i) a variable mark-up (currently 14.7%) and (ii) a
fixed mark-up (that is added on all items sold by Systembolaget and varies
according to type of item). Excise Duty on Alcohol and, if applicable,
recycling fee, as well as VAT are then added.
G. Whether long-term contracts
are negotiated by the state trading enterprise. Whether the state trading
enterprise is used to fulfil contractual obligations entered into by the
government
Systembolaget
has, as explained under section II.B and further elaborated in other sections
above, a contract with the government (Sw. Tillkännagivande (2019:552) av avtal mellan
Systembolaget Aktiebolag och staten) dated 19 June 2019.
As
Systembolaget is a monopoly, it is obliged to treat all suppliers of spirituous
drinks, wines and strong beer and non-beverage alcoholic preparations in a
non-discriminatory manner. The principle of non-discrimination means that
Systembolaget must apply the same terms and conditions to all such suppliers at
any given time, and that Systembolaget is not at liberty to negotiate its terms
and conditions with one or several individual suppliers. The purchasing terms
are reviewed – and updated – in general twice each year in accordance with
a pre-set procedure.
H. Brief
description of market structure
Systembolaget
has a monopoly for off-premise retail sale in Sweden - for all alcohol
beverages and non-beverage alcoholic preparations containing more than 2.25%
alcohol by volume (with the exception of beer where the limit is 3.5% by
volume). Beer with no more than 3.5% alcohol by volume can be sold in general
stores and gasoline stations also selling food (and do not need a special
license). Further, on-premise sale of alcoholic beverages takes place in
restaurants, bars and cafés. A special license is required for on-premise sales
of alcoholic beverages stronger than 3.5% alcohol by volume.
The Swedish
Alcohol Act permits wholesale trade in spirit drinks, wine, strong beer and
other fermented alcoholic beverages as well as non-beverage alcoholic
preparations to the retail monopoly (i.e. Systembolaget), holders of serving
licenses and other wholesalers. Wholesale activities may be conducted by an
authorized warehouse keeper or registered consignee of alcoholic goods. The
authorization and registration is conducted by the Swedish Tax Agency. A seller
and/or importer of alcoholic products that are not beverages such as for
example denatured alcohol used for cooking, food additives and/or food products
such as "pears in cognac" must notify the Public Health Agency of
Sweden of its business.
The
legal age limit for buying alcoholic beverages in Systembolaget’s stores is 20
years. The legal age limit for buying beer in general stores is 18 years. The
legal age limit for on-premises purchase of alcoholic beverages is 18 years for
all alcoholic beverage categories.
IV.
STATISTICAL INFORMATION (SEE ATTACHED TABLES I - III)
V.
REASON WHY NO FOREIGN TRADE HAS TAKEN PLACE (AS APPROPRIATE)
According
to the Swedish Alcohol Act, Systembolaget may not export alcoholic beverages.
VI. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (AS APPROPRIATE)