The Icelandic Government has told ESA that online alcohol sales based on domestic warehousing and delivery constitute domestic retail sale, not private importation. Prevention organisations in Iceland welcome the clarification as a reaffirmation of the public health basis of the alcohol monopoly.

NordAN has sent a letter to Alþingi’s Judicial Affairs and Education Committee urging it to reject Bill 479, the proposal that would allow private online alcohol sales in Iceland. The letter comes just after the Reykjanes District Court ruled that the business model used by Smáríkið amounted to unlawful domestic retail under current Icelandic law.

A long-running dispute over online alcohol sales in Iceland is now moving on two tracks at once. A court case due to be heard on 5 March will test whether the current sales model used by private operators is legal under existing law, while a new bill before Alþingi would change that legal framework by formally allowing licensed online alcohol retail. Together, the two processes could shape the future of Iceland’s alcohol monopoly system.

Icelandic prevention organisations say the current debate on alcohol policy should be grounded in facts, including a long-running police case on online alcohol sales that is now before the courts.

Helsinki Administrative Court ruled that a German company selling alcohol via a Finnish-language web shop must pay Finnish excise duty. By recommending specific carriers, the seller indirectly arranged the shipment, so the sales counted as distance selling under EU law, in line with the CJEU judgment of 19 December 2024.

Fifteen Icelandic health organizations call on the government to address the public health threat of increased online alcohol sales.