WORLD TRADE G/STR/N/3/NOR
25July1997
ORGANIZATION(97-3137)
Original: English Working Party on
State Trading Enterprises
STATE TRADING
Updating Notification Pursuant toArticle XVII:4(a) oftheGATT andParagraph 1
oftheUnderstanding ontheInterpretation ofArticle XVII
NORWAY
Thefollowingcommunication,dated18July1997,hasbeenreceivedfromthePermanentMission
ofNorway.
_______________
I. ENUMERATION OFSTATE TRADING ENTERPRISES
A. A/SVinmonopolet (TheState Wine andSpirits Monopoly)
B. A/SVinmonopolet has,from 1January 1996, thefollowing exclusive rights:
- retailing ofspirits, liqueurs andother spirituous beverages (HS22.08)
- retailing ofwineandfruitwine (HS22.04, 22.05 and22.06)
- retailing ofbeercontaining more than4.75% alcohol byvolume (HS22.03)
Until 1January 1996, A/SVinmonopolet alsohadtheexclusive rights toproduction, import,
export andwholesale ofspirits, liqueurs andother spirituous beverages, andtoimport andwholesale
ofwineandfruitwine. Apart from theexclusive righttoproduction ofspirituous beverages, which
isgiven tothefirmArcus Produkter A/S,theseexclusive rights arenowabolished. A/SVinmonopolet
isnolonger allowed toimport, export orwholesale alcoholic beverages, norisitallowed toengage
inother businesses.
II. REASON AND PURPOSE
A. Inorder toreduce thenegative consequences ofalcohol consumption, Norwegian alcohol policy
is,among other means, based onstrict regulation oftheavailability ofalcohol. A/SVinmonopolet
hasbeenestablished forthispurpose, andgiven exclusive rights toretailing ofspirits, liqueurs and
other spirituous beverages ofwineandfruitwine andofbeercontaining more than4.75% alcohol by
volume.
Through thestate-owned monopoly competition ismade impossible, andtheGovernment can
instead regulate thenumber ofoutlets selling strong alcoholic beverages inaccordance withtheneed
forsuchsalesoutlets. TheMonopoly isanadministrative bodyunder fullauthority oftheGovernment
(TheMinistry ofHealth andSocial Affairs).G/STR/N/3/NOR
Page2
B. TheMonopoly'sexclusiverightsaregrantedbyAlkoholloven(TheLawonAlcohol),Chapter3,
Section 3-1,subsection 1:"Theretailing ofspirits, wineandbeercontaining more than4.75% alcohol
byvolume (strong beer) mayonlybecarried onbyA/SVinmonopolet onthebasis ofamunicipal
licence".
III. DESCRIPTION OFTHE FUNCTIONING OFTHE STATE TRADING ENTERPRISE
A. Asmentioned above, theState Wine andSpirits Monopoly hascertain exclusive rights with
regard toretailing ofstrong alcoholic beverages.
B. Seepoint II-B.
C. TheMonopoly isnotallowed toengage inimportation/exportation.
D. Seepoint C.
E. Seepoint C.
F. Seepoint C.
G. Seepoint C.
H. Because oftheformal changes by1January 1996, andthelackofsalesdataforthisyear, it
isimpossible togivearelevant andactual description ofthemarket structure foralcoholic beverages
inNorway. However, in1995 thesales ofspirits were 8.8million litres, thesales ofwine
30.8million litres, thesaleofstrong beer1.6million litresandthesalesofbeerwithanalcohol content
lessthan4.75% byvolume 230.9 million litres. Approximately 90%ofthespirits weresoldthrough
theoutlets ofA/SVinmonopolet. Thecorresponding figure forwinewasapproximately 80-85% and
forstrong beer50%(forbeerasawhole lessthan1%). Therestwere soldbyon-premise outlets
(restaurants, bars, etc.)andgrocery shops licensed tosellbeercontaining lessthan4.75% alcohol
byvolume. In1995, allon-premise outlets hadtobuytheirwineandspirits fromA/SVinmonopolet.
IV. STATISTICAL INFORMATION
Statistical Information, Domestic Activities
(Million litres in1995)
Description of
products
(HSnumbers)Domestic
purchase bystate
trading enterpriseNational
productionDomestic sales
bystatetrading
enterpriseNational
consumption
Beer, 22.03 0.8 0.8 1.6
Wine, 22.04 &22.05 0.0 30.5 30.5
Wine, 22.06 0.3 0.3 0.3
Spirits, 22.08 2.4 3.8 8.8 8.8G/STR/N/3/NOR
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Withregard toARCUS A/S(established 1January 1996) theproduction ofspirituous beverages
andother spirits amounted to:
3.9million litres ofspirits wereproduced andsoldin1996 (spirits produced forstorage are
notincluded astheywillbesoldinlateryears);
14.5 million litres ofspirits for technical use (processed and sold by
ARCUS PRODUKTER A/S).