REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW
ON
ALCOHOL CONTROL
(As amended by 21 December 1995)
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Basic Concepts Used in this Law
Ethyl alcohol (hereinafter referred to as alcohol) means
material having a narcotic effect, which can bring about
addiction to it and dependence upon it.
Alcohol products means non-denatured ethyl alcohol,
denatured ethyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol for technical use,
alcoholic beverages, ingredients and raw materials that contain
ethyl alcohol.
Alcoholic beverages means beverages which contain from 1 to
50 per cent of ethyl alcohol by volume.
Alcohol advertisement means audio or visual information,
introducing alcoholic beverages, their manufacturing, trade,
import and means of serving it, or supporting the use of it,
transmitted impersonally through use of various ways and means,
including direct and indirect alcohol advertisement, in order to
obtain the result of effect of direct or indirect support of
alcoholic beverages.
Indirect advertisement of alcoholic beverages constitutes
support of alcohol sales and use, through popularising names of
enterprises which manufacture, produce or sell alcoholic
beverages, through use of the goods labels, symbols and other
indications characteristic of alcoholic beverages, and also
including goods, products and other material data storage bases,
and services sold in the Republic of Lithuania that are not
directly connected with alcoholic beverages and their use.
Alcoholic beverage support means informative and persuasive
actions directed at the consumer, which do exert an influence
upon the decision to purchase alcoholic beverages.
Alcohol control includes the totality of means employed in
this Law and other legal acts, including the production of
alcohol products, their import, domestic trade, consumption,
state regulation means of alcohol advertisement, intended for the
general consumption of alcohol and also, the alcoholic beverages
and other products, that contain ethyl alcohol, to lower harmful
results induced by ethyl alcohol use to health and economy.
Local permanent trade establishments and local permanent
public catering establishments - whose buildings, as real
property, are established through state legal registration, by
the laws of the Republic of Lithuania and other legal acts.
Article 2. The Objective of the Law on Alcohol Control
and Relations Regulated by It
The objective of the Law on Alcohol Control shall be
reduction of alcohol consumption in general, alcohol abuse, and
the damage it causes to health and economy, and to establish
introduction of state monopoly on alcohol product manufacture and
trade and the right of state monopoly to produce, sell and import
alcohol products, noted in this Law, and of granting the economic
entities legal bases.
This Law shall regulate relations in connection with the
manufacture of alcohol and food products, with alcohol additives,
and other products containing ethyl alcohol, their manufacture,
internal trade, storage, import, export, and use and shall also
establish the bases of state control of alcohol in the Republic
of Lithuania.
Article 3. Principles of State Alcohol Control Policy
The principles of state alcohol control policy shall be:
1) to reduce accessibility of alcoholic beverages through
taxation;
2) to limit through state regulatory means, private profit,
obtained from the manufacture of alcoholic drinks, import and
trade in alcoholic beverages;
3) to encourage enterprises to import and sell alcoholic
beverages which contain less than 22 per cent of ethyl alcohol by
volume;
4) to limit the support and sales of alcoholic beverages;
5) in addition, to use the funds resulting from payments of
the established portion of excise taxes for alcoholic beverages,
to prepare and implement health programmes;
6) to urge private enterprises to join in implementation of
state alcohol control policy;
7) to augment public informativeness concerning the
questions of social and economic harm to health and economy,
resulting from alcohol use;
8) to augment the number of population members, who do not
use alcoholic beverages, or use them infrequently, by promoting
programmes of temperance organisations.;
9) to support manufacture and sales of non-alcoholic
beverages;
10) to support planning of an alcohol-free living
environment;
11) to encourage formation of alcohol-free social
environment and social activity.
In the event the relations listed in the second part of
Article 2 of this Law, shall not be regulated by laws, or if
legal acts controlling similar relations, may not be applied to
them, then in resolving arising disputes, the principles listed
in the first part of this Article shall be applied.
Chapter II
SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE REGULATION OF ALCOHOL
AND OTHER PRODUCTS, CONTAINING ETHYL ALCOHOL,
THEIR MANUFACTURE, TRADE, IMPORT, EXPORT, AND USE.
REGULATION OF THE ALCOHOL PRODUCT CLASSIFICATION, REQUIREMENTS
AND INDICES OF QUALITY
AND PUBLIC HEALTH PROTECTION
Article 4. Specific Features of the Regulation of the
Manufacture, Trade and Import of Alcohol
Products
Alcohol products are attributed to special products, the
manufacture, import, trade and use of which, in accordance with
this and other laws and legal acts, shall be applied a special
state regulatory regime.
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania, basing itself
on the first part of Article 4 of the Law on Trade, may under
certain circumstances introduce wholesale and retail trade
monopoly of alcoholic beverages. Bases and conditions of
introduction of monopoly and order of its implementation shall be
determined by laws and decrees of the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania.
In the presence of extraordinary circumstances, when the
rate of sickness of the Lithuanian population with alcohol-
induced psychoses exceeds the established index, the Government
of Lithuania may set manufacture and import quotas of alcoholic
beverage groups. The rate of sickness with alcohol- induced
psychoses, the manufacture and import quotas of alcoholic
beverages groups, which are established when this rate is
exceeded, as well as time limits of their introduction shall be
set by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania upon the
proposal of the Ministry of Health Care.
Article 5. Specific Features of State Regulation of the
Manufacture, Sales, Import and Consumption of
Products Containing Ethyl Alcohol
If liquids (technological, perfume and cosmetics industry
products etc.) which contain ethyl alcohol, are used as
intoxicating drinks, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
shall have the right, basing itself upon selective research data
supplied by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, on the use
of these liquids and the harmful effects upon health, to regulate
their manufacture, import, domestic trade and consumption in
accordance with the norms set forth in this Law.
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall establish
the procedure for the manufacture and import, as well as domestic
trade of the food products, containing alcohol additives, on the
basis of this and other laws, as well as legal acts.
Article 6. Regulation of Quality and Hygiene Indicators
of Alcohol Products
Alcohol products, manufactured by Lithuanian enterprises,
imported and sold in Lithuania (hereinafter referred to as -
alcohol products), according to their quality and hygienic
indices must conform to normative documents of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Requirements regarding the quality of alcohol products shall
be established in normative documents which shall be prepared and
approved by the Lithuanian Standardisation Agency under the
Ministry of Public Administration Reforms and Municipal Affairs.
Hygienic indices of alcohol products shall be established in
normative documents, that are being prepared by the Ministry of
Health Care.
For every parcel of alcohol products manufactured in the
Republic of Lithuania, the manufacturing enterprise must issue a
certificate attesting to the quality of these products, in
accordance with the example, provided by the State Quality
Inspectorate of Lithuania, under the State Competition and
Consumer Rights' Protection Agency. (Amended 3 July 1995)
Individuals responsible for the manufacture of alcohol
products, that do not correspond to the quality and/or hygienic
indices, of manufacture and release into circulation, established
in normative documents of the Republic of Lithuania, shall be
liable under the laws and other legal acts.
Article 7. Determination of Conformity of Alcohol
Products to Requirements of Normative
Documents
The State Quality Control Inspectorate of Lithuania under
the State Competition and Consumer Rights' Protection Agency,
State Hygiene Inspectorate under State Public Health Care
Service, State Public Health Care Service under the Ministry of
Health Care and other control institutions authorised by the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania, in accordance with their
competence, shall verify whether the alcohol products are in
keeping with requirements of this Law and of the normative
documents of the Republic of Lithuania. Accredited laboratories
shall test the alcoholic beverages. The procedure and pricing of
the quality and hygienic examination principles shall
correspondingly be determined by the State Quality Inspectorate
of Lithuania under the State Competition and Consumer Rights'
Protection Agency and the Ministry of Health Care. (Amended 3
July 1995)
In the event the control institutions authorised by this Law
and other legal acts, while testing the selected alcohol product
samples, shall establish that these do not match the normative
document requirements, it shall be construed that the entire
shipment of alcohol products from which the samples were taken,
does not meet these requirements.
The procedure for the suspension of sales and further use of
the alcohol product shipments, that according to the findings of
the examination performed under the instructions of control
institutions, have been acknowledged as failing to meet the
requirements established by this Law and other normative
documents, shall be established by the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania.
Article 8. Classification of Alcoholic Beverages
The types of alcoholic beverages produced by Lithuanian
enterprises and those imported and sold within the Republic of
Lithuania (further - alcoholic beverages), are classified into
groups, taking into account their ethyl alcohol volume
concentration.
A maximum concentration of ethyl alcohol shall be
established for each alcoholic beverage group. The alcoholic
beverage groups and concentration of ethyl alcohol in them shall
be established by normative documents which shall be prepared by
the State Tobacco and Alcohol Control Service under the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania (STACA) and shall be
confirmed by the Lithuanian Standardisation Agency under the
Ministry of Public Administration Reforms and Municipal Affairs.
Article 9. Marking of Alcoholic Beverages
Normative documents of the Republic of Lithuania, which
shall be prepared and confirmed by the Lithuanian Standardisation
Agency under the Ministry of Public Administration Reform and
Municipal Affairs, shall establish requirements of the marking of
alcoholic beverages.
Labels of alcoholic beverages manufactured and sold within
the Republic of Lithuania must show the volume concentration of
ethyl alcohol contained in them.
Chapter III
LIMITATION OF ALCOHOL ACCESSIBILITY
Section 1.
State Regulation of Manufacture of Alcohol Products
Article 10. Regulation of the Manufacture of Home
-Brewed Strong Alcoholic Beverages
Production of home-brewed liquor, brew, and other strong
alcoholic beverages shall be prohibited in Lithuania. The STACA
shall establish the criteria for recognition of alcoholic
beverages as home-brewed strong alcoholic beverages.
Article 11. Specific Features of the Regulation of
Alcohol Product Manufacture in the Republic
of Lithuania
Ethyl alcohol used in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages
and ethyl alcohol additives, must be produced solely from food
raw materials and must not be denatured. Normative documents
prepared and confirmed by the Ministry of Health Care, establish
the criteria for acknowledging alcohol products as denatured.
The use of industrial methods by enterprises in wine
manufacturing using juice which contains sulphites, is prohibited
in the Republic of Lithuania.
Installation of such foreign equipment, designed for
manufacture of alcoholic beverages of lower quality than those in
the countries themselves or Lithuania, of analogous higher
quality manufacture shall be prohibited in the Republic of
Lithuania.
Article 12. Granting of the Right to Manufacture
Alcohol Products to Enterprises
Enterprises shall be permitted to produce alcohol products
only in instances where they have been granted a three-year
licence by the Government of Lithuania or upon its authorisation,
by STACA. The licence to produce alcohol products shall be given
to enterprises only in instances where they have the normative
documents, that have been confirmed in the established procedure,
which determine the technical conditions (equipment), quality and
hygienic requirements and indicators, a laboratory for testing
the quality of alcoholic beverages, and personnel of prescribed
qualification level. STACA shall set the personnel qualification
requirements.
The licences must include a listing of the types of alcohol
products, including alcoholic beverages, whose manufacture is
permitted.
The conditions and procedure of granting and revoking of
licenses and the reasons for refusal of issuing such, for
manufacture of alcohol products, shall be established by the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania, in accordance with this
Law and the Law on Enterprises.
Article 13. Granting of the Right to Established Types
of Enterprises to Manufacture Certain Alcohol
Products
The right to manufacture non-denatured ethyl alcohol, as
well as, alcoholic beverages, whose ethyl alcohol volume
concentration exceeds 22 per cent, shall be granted only to state
and special purpose enterprises, in the manner established by
this Law and other legal acts. This requirement shall not be
applied in the second part of this Article to a designated
enterprise and the alcoholic beverage assortment established for
it and also, the Stock Company "Sema," producing non-denatured
ethyl alcohol, as an additional product of basic yeast
manufacture. (Amended 3 July 1995)
Only the Close Stock Company "Lietuviškas Midus" shall be
given the right to manufacture the alcohol products that it had
been manufacturing up to adoption of this Law, in the manner
established by this Law and other legal acts.
Other types of enterprises shall be granted the right to
manufacture other alcohol products, including alcoholic
beverages, whose ethyl alcohol volume concentration does not
exceed 22 per cent, in the manner established by this Law and
other legal acts.
The provisions of the first, second and third parts of this
Article shall be in effect until December 31, 2000. The right to
manufacture alcohol products whose volume concentration exceeds
22 per cent shall be granted only to state enterprises from
January 1, 2001. The conditions and order of the state monopoly
of alcohol product manufacture shall be established by the laws
and the resolutions of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Section 2.
State Regulation of Alcohol Product Import and Export
Article 14. Certain Aspects of Alcoholic Beverage
Import into Republic of Lithuania
The amount of alcoholic beverages, allowed to be brought
into the Republic of Lithuania by citizens of the Lithuanian
Republic and foreigners, foreign country diplomatic
representations and airline and ship suppliers, shall be
determined by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
following STACA presentation. The permissible amount of alcoholic
beverages that can be brought into the Republic of Lithuania, may
be determined according to alcoholic beverage groups.(Amended 3
July 1995)
The procedure for import of alcohol products into the
Republic of Lithuania and its carriage in transit across its
territory, shall be established by the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania.
Article 15. Certain Aspects of State Regulation of
Alcoholic Beverage Import
Only enterprises that have a permit issued by the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania, or upon its recommendation by
STACA, to manufacture alcohol products, in the manner established
by this Law and other legal acts, shall be permitted to import
non-denatured ethyl alcohol, without the right of selling it to
other enterprises.
Article 16. Procedure for the Importation of Alcohol
Product
Enterprises shall be permitted to import alcohol products
when:
1) they have a license issued in the manner established by
this Law and decrees of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania;
2) manufacturing enterprises have a certificate issued by
the economic entity of a foreign country, certifying the quality
of the alcohol products;
3) they have established special marking of alcoholic
beverage containers.
Registration requirements of documents, indicated in item 2
of the first part of this Article, shall be established by the
State Quality Inspectorate of Lithuania under the State
Competition and Consumer Rights' Protection Agency. (Amended 3
July 1995)
The procedure for special marking of containers for imported
alcoholic beverages and its application, shall be established by
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
Enterprises, which had imported alcohol products, must
record this into their accounting documents, in the manner and
within time limits established by the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania.
The procedure for import of alcohol shall be established by
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with
this Law.
Article 17. Procedure for Issuing Alcohol Product
Import Licences
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania or, upon its
recommendation, STACA, shall issue one-year licences to import
alcohol products.
The number of allowed licences issued each year to import
alcoholic beverages, shall be established by the Government of
the Republic of Lithuania or, upon its recommendation, STACA,
based upon general alcohol consumption tendencies, and
statistical data on dangerous consequences to health and economy
occasioned by alcohol consumption, however, the number of valid
import licences must not exceed ten per each year.
Licences for alcoholic beverage import shall be issued
according to public bidding, the conditions and procedure of
which shall be established and announced through the mass media,
the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
Licenses to import alcoholic beverages shall be issued only
to those enterprises which present documents, attesting to the
existence of contracts with such foreign economic entities, who,
on the merits of the reliability of their manufacturing quality,
are included in the bulletins printed by the alcoholic beverages
(with the exception of beer) manufacturer associations. (Amended
3 July 1995)
The types of alcohol products, as well as groups of
alcoholic beverages which are allowed to be imported shall be
specified in the licences.
Enterprises which have licences to import alcohol products
shall be prohibited from transferring to other economic entities,
according to contract, the right to import alcohol products, by
using in the shipping documents the names of enterprises having
this right.
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall establish
the conditions and procedure for issuing licences to import
alcohol products, their revocation and basis for refusal thereof,
guided by this Law and the Law on Enterprises.
Article 18. State Control of Export of Alcohol Products
The procedure for exporting alcohol products shall be
determined by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the
basis of this Law.
Chapter III
REGULATION OF DOMESTIC TRADE IN ALCOHOL PRODUCTS
Article 19. Licences for Domestic Trade in Alcohol
Products
Wholesale trade in alcohol products shall be permitted only
with the licence issued for the period of one year by the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania or, on its instruction,
by the STACA. Licences for wholesale trade shall be issued on
competitive basis.
Licences issued to enterprises in accordance with the
established procedure for the manufacture or importation of
alcohol products shall also be valid, with the exception of cases
specified in Article 15 of this Law, for wholesale trade in
alcohol products, but only of those types as well as belonging to
those groups of alcoholic beverages which are recorded in the
licences to manufacture or import alcohol products. The volume of
wholesale trade must correspond to the volume of production or
imports of alcohol products.
Retail trade in alcoholic beverages shall be permitted only
with the licence issued for the period of one year by the
executive institution of the appropriate local authority in
accordance with the provisions of Articles 20, 21 and 22 of this
Law provided that an agreement is given by the appropriate police
commissariat. Licences for seasonal trade in beer and alcoholic
beverages less than 22 per cent of ethyl alcohol by volume shall
be issued for the period of the holiday season.(Amended 3 July
1995)
The specific number of licences permitted to be issued every
year for retail trade in alcoholic beverages in commercial and
public catering establishments shall be determined by the
executive institution of the local authority on the basis of
total consumption trends in the administrative unit of the
appropriate territory and statistical data concerning the harmful
effects on health and economy resulting from alcohol consumption.
The local authority shall determine the number of temporary
retail and public catering establishment licences to be issued
for the sale of alcoholic beverages whose ethyl alcohol
concentration volume does not exceed 12 per cent, at mass sports,
cultural, religious, and festive events, meetings, demonstrations
and exhibits, and shall issue them. (Amended 3 July 1995)
Licences for retail trade in alcoholic beverages and sale of
alcoholic beverages in public catering establishments shall be
issued on the basis of an open competition the conditions and
procedure whereof shall be established and announced by local
authorities by means of public information media. The procedure
for issuing licences in municipalities shall be controlled by the
STACA representatives.
The types and groups of alcoholic beverages, the sale
whereof is licensed, and the time and place of trading in them
must be recorded in the licences for retail trade in alcoholic
beverages in trade and public catering establishments.
The terms and procedure for issuing to establishments
licences for domestic trade in alcohol products or for revoking
said licences, or the grounds for refusing to issue same shall be
established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
pursuant to this Law and the Law on Enterprises, as well as in
accordance with the procedure of sale of alcohol products.
Article 20. Requirements for the Sale of Alcohol
Products
It shall be prohibited to sell the following products in the
Republic of Lithuania:
1) alcohol products without the appropriate certificate
issued by the manufacturing enterprise attesting to the quality
of every shipment of alcohol products;
2) alcohol products of the types as well as alcoholic
beverages according to their groups which are not listed in the
licences to import or sell them;
3) imported alcoholic beverages (with the exception of beer)
without the prescribed special marking as well as those imported
alcoholic beverages (with the exception of beer) the marking
whereof lacks additional special marking of the enterprise which
possesses the right to import and/or engage in wholesale trade in
alcoholic beverages;(Amended 3 July 1995)
4) alcoholic beverages which contain ethyl alcohol
manufactured not from food raw materials;
5) those alcohol products, either imported or manufactured
in the Republic of Lithuania, the quality and/or hygiene indices
whereof do not correspond to the requirements of the normative
documents of the Republic of Lithuania;
6) alcoholic beverages, both imported and manufactured in
the Republic of Lithuania, the marking whereof does not
correspond to the requirements of the Codex Alimentarius and
goods labelling regulations, in effect within the Republic of
Lithuania; (Amended 3 July 1995)
7) false substitutes of alcoholic beverages;
8) beer which contains more than 9.5 per cent ethyl alcohol
by volume;
9) wine which contains more than 22 per cent ethyl alcohol
by volume;
10) products of distilled ethyl alcohol which contain more
than 50 per cent ethyl alcohol by volume;
11) home-brewed beer (with the exception of beer brewed in
accordance with normative documents, with a licence issued in the
established order); or home made wine; (Amended 3 July 1995)
12) non-denatured or denatured ethyl alcohol as well as
technical ethyl alcohol if sold to the population, with the
exception of non-denatured ethyl alcohol sold to the population
by pharmacies in accordance with the procedure established by the
Ministry of Health Care;
13) bottled alcoholic beverages, with the exception of the
sale of such in permanent public catering establishments (without
the right to carry out) and beer on tap, sold in beer brewery
firm stores; (Amended 3 July 1995)
14) alcoholic beverages in movable commercial
establishments, with the exception of factory-bottled beer sold
from kiosks;
15) alcoholic beverages to individuals who are under 18
years of age;
16) alcoholic beverages to intoxicated persons; and
17) alcoholic beverages to officers who are wearing a
uniform.
The procedure for supplementing the special marking of
imported alcoholic beverages (with the exception of beer) with a
special mark of an establishment possessing the right of
alcoholic beverages retailer shall be established by the STACA.
(Amended 3 July 1995)
Persons who sell alcoholic beverages shall have the right to
request, when necessary, that the individual who is buying
alcoholic beverages present a document attesting his age.
Wholesale commercial establishments which have the right to
sell alcoholic beverages shall be permitted to sell said products
only to those retailers or public catering establishments which
have licences to engage in this type of trade.
Enterprises which have a licence to manufacture alcohol
products shall be permitted to sell said products to wholesale
and retail commercial establishments or public catering
establishments which have licences to engage in the activities.
Legal and natural persons who manufacture or sell poor
quality alcohol products or false substitutes, having forged or
presented falsified certificates attesting to the correspondence
of the alcoholic beverages to the quality requirements of alcohol
products or the prescribed special marking and marks shall be
held liable under this Law and other laws.
Article 21. Procedure of Sale of Alcoholic Beverages in
Retail Trade and Public Catering
Establishments (Amended 3 July 1995)
In the Republic of Lithuania sale of alcoholic beverages
shall be prohibited in:
1) health care, health promotion and sports establishments
and within their respective territories, close to the houses of
worship (at a distance determined by local authorities in
conjunction with the religious communities;
2) in shopping places selling goods for children and
teenagers;
3) at mass sports, cultural, religious, festive events,
rallies or manifestations (except alcoholic beverages less than
12 per cent of ethyl alcohol by volume);
4) from vending machines;
5) at the roadsides of international and national roads,
except in permanent public catering establishments set up within
the distance prescribed by standard documents of the Republic of
Lithuania;
6) within commercial and public catering establishments
located at filling stations and close to them (at a distance
prescribed by local authorities);(Amended 3 July 1995)
7) to persons who are under 18 years of age; and
8) in other cases determined by the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania.
Sale of alcoholic beverages shall be permitted only in
permanent commercial establishments designated exclusively for
this type of trade, or in their specialised sections assigned for
such trade and public catering establishments, with the exception
of sale of factory-bottled beer from kiosks. (Amended 3 July
1995)
Sale of alcoholic beverages in commercial and public
catering establishments which have been set up, or are being set
up, in multi-family apartment houses shall be permitted in
accordance with the procedure established by the Law on the
Associations of Multi-Family Apartment House Owners, and the
Resolution of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania "Regarding
the Implementation of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on
Multi-Family Apartment House Owners." (Amended 3 July 1995)
Sale of alcoholic beverages in commercial and public
catering establishments shall be permitted only from 11.00 a.m.
to 6 a.m. of the following day (beer sales are permitted from 8
a.m.) A stamp duty at a double rate shall be collected for the
issuance of a licence to sell alcoholic beverages in commercial
establishments after 10. 00 p.m. and in public catering
establishments after 12.00 p.m. (Amended 3 July 1995)
The executive institutions of local authorities shall have
the right to restrict the fixed hours of sale of alcoholic
beverages according to the established groups of alcoholic
beverages, taking into account the breaches of the procedure of
trade in alcoholic beverages committed by the establishments and
the proposals of the relevant police commissariats.
The regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages in
commercial and public catering establishments, including duty-
free shops, shall be approved by the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania on the basis of this Law. (Amended 3 July 1995)
For breaches of alcoholic beverages sale regulations heads
of appropriate police commissariats shall have the right to
suspend for up to 24 hours the sale of alcoholic beverages in
commercial and public catering establishments. (Amended 3 July
1995)
The executive institutions of local authorities shall have
the right to restrict or prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages
on the days of national and religious holidays and mass events.
Article 22. (Repealed 3 July 1995)
Chapter IV
REDUCTION AND CONTROL OF CONSUMPTION
OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Section 1.
Organisational Measures for Reducing the Total
Alcohol Consumption
Article 23. Planning of Reduction of the Total Alcohol
Consumption
In the programme of its activities the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania must establish for the period of its office
the figures for the reduction of the total alcohol consumption.
Article 24. Statistics of Alcohol Product Manufacture,
Sale, Import, Export, Consumption, and the
Damage Inflicted by Alcohol Products
on Health and Economy
In the Republic of Lithuania accounting of alcohol product
manufacture, domestic and foreign sales thereof, and related
statistical information shall be kept in accordance with the
established procedure.
All enterprises which manufacture and sell alcohol products
in the Republic of Lithuania must maintain the accounting of the
manufacture and domestic sale thereof and provide, in the
established manner, statistical information thereon to the
Statistics Department under the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Accounting of foreign trade in alcohol products of the
Republic of Lithuania shall be kept in accordance with the data
of cargo declarations produced to the customs. Statistical data
concerning foreign trade of the Republic of Lithuania shall be
provided to the Statistics Department under the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania, in accordance with the established
procedure, by the Customs Department under the Ministry of
Finance.
The procedure for providing and announcing accounting and
statistical information used in the statistics of alcohol
products manufacture, domestic and foreign trade shall be
approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
Government and departmental statistical surveys by sample of
alcohol consumption and the economic damage inflicted by alcohol
consumption on health and economy shall be conducted in the
Republic of Lithuania at least once a year.
Legal framework of organising government and departmental
statistical surveys by sample of alcohol consumption and the
economic damage inflicted thereby on health and economy shall be
established by the Law on Statistics.
Article 25. Restriction of Consumption of Alcoholic
Beverages
In the Republic of Lithuania consumption of alcoholic
beverages shall be prohibited:
1) in all educational, health care, military and para-
military, and police establishments and within their territories;
2) in state power and government institutions, except at
official receptions; and
3) in all public transport, except long-distance trains and
ships which have special places for public catering as well as
planes, flying beyond the boundaries of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Executive institutions of local authorities shall have the
right to determine public places in which consumption of
alcoholic beverages or their appropriate groups shall be
prohibited.
Article 26. Informing the Public about Alcohol and the
Critical Damage it Inflicts on Health and
Economy
The Ministry of Education and Science must prepare
programmes for the promotion of health at all schools of general
education and other educational establishments and include health
promotion issues in the newly published textbooks.
All educational establishments must, upon coordination with
the Ministry of Health Care, include material concerning
alcoholic beverages and the damage they cause to health and
economy as well as information about the formation of a healthy
way of life and a health-friendly environment which would prevent
damage to health caused by alcohol consumption.
The Lithuanian radio and television must at least twice a
week devote no less than 5 minutes of the total transmission time
to the broadcasting of programmes on the health promotion matters
at the time most convenient to TV viewers and radio listeners.
Article 27. Alcohol Control Programmes
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall prepare,
approve and implement the State Alcohol Control Programme. The
State Alcohol Control Programme shall be financed from the State
Health Fund. The procedure for setting up the State Health Fund
and forming the sources of its resources shall be established by
law and the decrees of the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania.
In procedure to implement the objectives of the State
Alcohol Control Programme local authorities shall prepare and
implement municipal alcohol control programmes. Municipal alcohol
control programmes shall be financed with the resources from the
municipal health funds. The procedure for establishing municipal
health funds and forming the resources thereof shall be
determined by laws and other legal acts.
Other legal and natural persons may also prepare other
alcohol control programmes, submit proposals on the drafting and
implementation thereof to the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania, the National Health Board (hereinafter referred to as
NHB), STACA, and other institutions which shape and implement the
State alcohol control policy.
Alcohol control programmes shall be prepared, financed,
implemented and controlled in accordance with the regulations of
preparation, approval, financing, implementation and control of
health programmes as approved by the Government of the Republic
of Lithuania.
Article 28. Support for the Programmes of Activities of
Temperance Organisations
The programmes of activities of temperance organisations
shall be supported in the established manner:
1) from the State Health Fund and municipal health funds,
established by the Law on Health System and by charity donors and
sponsors;
2) by enterprises, institutions and organisations in
accordance with the procedure established by the Law on Charity
and Sponsorship; and
3) with other legally obtained resources.
The procedure in accordance with which the programmes of
activities of temperance organisations are supported from the
health funds set up by the Law on Health System shall be
established by the regulations of the above funds.
Section 2.
Restriction of Alcoholic Beverages Promotion
Article 29. Restriction of Alcoholic Beverages Sales
Promotion
Enterprises which have the right to sell alcoholic beverages
shall be prohibited from applying the following means of sales
promotion:
1) to release a certain portion of goods without payment or
as a bonus;
2) to apply discounts of the fixed amount to the holders of
coupons published in the mass media;
3) to organise a free distribution of samples of new
alcoholic beverages;
4) to supply their products as prizes or as added incentive
to a prize in lotteries, competitions or games, except beer or
sparkling wine; and
5) to organise competitions of retailers for the promotion
of alcoholic beverages.
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania may also
prescribe other restrictions of alcoholic beverages sales
promotion to the enterprises which have licences to sell
alcoholic beverages issued in accordance with the established
procedure.
Article 30. Prohibition of Alcoholic Beverages
Advertising
In the Republic of Lithuania advertising of alcoholic
beverages shall be prohibited:
1) in the radio and television programmes produced at
Lithuania's radio and TV stations, as well as in the Lithuanian
press;
2) by using specialised promotional publications devoted to
the advertising of alcohol which have been published in foreign
countries and imported into the Republic of Lithuania;
3) by mail (using postcards, envelopes, stamps); and
4) in other ways or by other means of broadcasting audio or
visual information, including indirect advertising of alcoholic
beverages.
Compliance with the prohibition of alcohol advertising shall
be controlled by the STACA, the Mass Media Board at the Ministry
of Justice, local authorities. (Amended 21 December 1995)
The criteria for recognising the contents and arrangement of
audio or visual information or the ways of transmission thereof
as advertisement for alcohol and the procedure of control of
compliance with the alcohol advertisement prohibition shall be
established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 31. Restriction of Popularising Alcoholic
Beverages Manufacturing Enterprises and
Commercial Establishments
Alcoholic beverages manufacturing enterprises and commercial
establishments of the Republic of Lithuania and foreign countries
may sponsor sporting, cultural and other events which are not
connected with alcoholic beverages or their consumption.
Sponsorship shall grant no right in the sphere of alcohol
advertisement.
Section 3.
Economic Measures of Reducing the Total Consumption of
Alcohol
Article 32. Establishment of Differential Customs
Duties and Differential Rates of Excise
Duties
The procedure for imposing customs duties and excise duties
upon alcoholic beverages shall be established by laws and decrees
of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
Customs tariffs and rates of excise duties levied on
alcoholic beverages sold and imported in the Republic of
Lithuania shall be differentiated in accordance with the
established groups of alcoholic beverages.
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania must regulate
customs tariffs and rates of excise duties in such a manner as to
ensure that alcoholic beverages price growth exceeds the growth
of income of the population.
Article 33. Differentiation of Stamp-duty Rates on
Licences to Manufacture, Import and Engage in
Trade of Alcohol Products
The rates of stamp-duty for the licence to manufacture, sell
and import alcohol products shall be differentiated according to
the set types of alcoholic beverages, their groups, time for
sales of alcoholic beverages and other conditions established by
this Law.
Article 34. Establishment of the Minimal Living
Standards
It shall be prohibited to include alcoholic beverages into
the consumer basket for the purpose of establishing minimal
living standard.
Section 4.
Restrictions on the Abuse of Alcohol
Article 35. Driving Control
Persons who drive vehicles in the Republic of Lithuania may
be checked for sobriety, drunkenness and concentration of alcohol
in the blood. The employers must ensure that the employees who
drive vehicles of enterprises, offices and organisations would be
checked for sobriety before starting to work. (Amended 3 July
1995)
The sobriety and drunkenness checks of individuals driving
motor vehicles on the road, shall be conducted by the police. If
there exists a suspicion that the driver is intoxicated (or
drunken), the police shall employ measures, provided for in
normative acts, to establish the degree of intoxication.
Individuals who do not agree with the results of the examination,
shall be brought to health care facilities designated by the
Ministry of Health Care, to determine the degree of intoxication.
The conclusion arrived at by health care facilities regarding the
sobriety or intoxication shall be viewed as final. The Health
care facilities authorised by the Ministry of Health Care for
conducting sobriety and drunkenness examinations, shall conduct
medical examinations on individuals brought there, or those
seeking such examinations.
The procedure for the sobriety check on the road, the
maximum permissible concentration of ethyl alcohol in the blood
and for breathalyser checks of persons when driving surface,
water and air transportation means in the Republic of Lithuania,
shall be established by the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Driving of vehicles while in a state of intoxication, the
permission to drive a vehicle by an intoxicated person, or
turning a transport vehicle over to be driven by an intoxicated
person, shall incur liability under the Code of Administrative
Violations of Law. (Amended 3 July 1995)
Article 36. Organising of Narcological Care
Narcological care in the Republic of Lithuania shall be
performed by accredited government and non-government health care
facilities, and medical personnel engaged in private narcological
care practice in the manner established by the Ministry of Health
Care, within the scope of their competence.
Narcological care in the Republic of Lithuania shall be co-
ordinated by the Lithuanian Narcological Centre which shall be
established and the regulations thereof shall be approved by the
Ministry of Health Care of the Republic of Lithuania. The
procedure for narcological care shall be established by laws,
Government decrees and legal acts issued by the Ministry of
Health Care of the Republic of Lithuania. (Amended 3 July 1995)
In the Republic of Lithuania persons who have poisoned
themselves with alcohol may be detoxified at detoxification
centres of municipalities and other health care facilities in
accordance with the procedure established by laws and other legal
acts. The police may compulsorily send these persons to
detoxification centres and other health care facilities only if:
1) they may cause substantial harm to their or other
persons' health or threaten their or other lives;
2) they are not answerable for their actions.
The procedure and conditions for detoxification of persons
who poisoned themselves with alcohol as well as the activities of
detoxification centres shall be established by the laws and other
legal acts.
In cases and procedure established by laws, the legal
capacity of persons suffering from alcohol dependence syndrome
may be restricted and social and psychological rehabilitation
measures may be applied to them.
Chapter V
THE COMPETENCE OF THE MANAGERIAL INSTITUTIONS
OF THE STATE ALCOHOL CONTROL
Article 37. State Alcohol Control Policy Formation
System
State alcohol control policy shall be formed and co-
ordinated, within the scope of their competence, by the Seimas of
the Republic of Lithuania, the Government, National Health Care
Board, municipal councils, and other institutions established by
laws. Their powers with regard to alcohol control shall be
established by this and other laws and legal acts.
Article 38. The Powers Assigned to the National Health
Care Board in the Sphere of Alcohol Control
The general powers and rights of the National Health Care
Board, the basis of its formation shall be determined by the Law
on Health Care System of the Republic of Lithuania.
In the sphere of alcohol control, the National Health Care
Board shall:
1) contribute to the formation and implementation of the
state alcohol control policy;
2) contribute to the preparation and approving of state
alcohol control programme and to the co-ordination of its
implementation;
3) supervise how STACA and other government institutions
implement alcohol control policy;
4) accumulate and generalise information about the
efficiency of alcohol control policy and furnish it to the Seimas
and Government of the Republic of Lithuania;
5) make available to the public scientific, information, and
analytical material, and issue publications on alcohol control
policy in Lithuania;
6) participate in the activities of international
organisation that are engaged in the investigation and
coordination of alcohol control policy;
7) each year shall make a report in the Seimas about the
condition of alcohol control in Lithuania;
8) perform other functions attributed to it under this and
other laws and regulations of NHB.
Article 39. The System of Executive Institutions of
State Alcohol Control Policy
State alcohol control shall be executed, within the scope of
their competence, by ministries, STACA, other government
institutions, state agencies, state inspectorates, executive
institutions of local authorities, police, and health care
facilities. Their competence in the sphere of alcohol control
shall be established by this and other laws and legal acts.
Article 40. The State Tobacco and Alcohol Control
Agency
For the purpose of the implementation of this Law, the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall establish the State
Tobacco and Alcohol Control Agency. Its competence shall be
established by the Law on Health Care System, this Law and the
regulations of STACA, which shall be approved by the Government
of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 41. Supervision of the Activities of the State
Tobacco and Alcohol Control Agency
Every year the Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall
form the commission from the representatives of State Control
Department, the Ministry of Health Care, the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which shall
inspect how STACA complies with the requirements set forth in
this Law and how it implements the state alcohol control policy.
Chapter VI
PROCEDURE FOR INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS
FOR THE VIOLATION OF THE LAW ON ALCOHOL CONTROL
Article 42. Liability for the Violation of the Law on
Alcohol Control
Persons who have violated the requirements of the Law on
Alcohol Control shall be liable under this and other laws.
Article 43. Procedure for Instituting Administrative
Proceedings for the Violations of the Law on
Alcohol Control
Officials of state authorised institutions shall institute
administrative proceedings against and impose administrative
penalties on individuals and officers for the violation of the
Law on Alcohol Control.
The instituting of administrative proceedings against
individuals and officers shall not release them from the
obligation to compensate for the damage caused to health and
property.
False substitutes of alcoholic products produced in the
Republic of Lithuania or smuggled and sold in it, which do not
meet quality requirements provided for in normative documents of
the Republic of Lithuania shall be seized by STACA or other
institutions that control commercial and business activities or
health activities, and which are authorised to do that, in
accordance with the procedure established by the Code of
Administrative Violations of Law.
The procedure for the sale or disposal of seized alcoholic
products if they do not meet quality requirements prescribed by
normative documents and the application of proceeds received from
them, as well as the procedure for the establishment of special
warehouses and shops for the sale of seized alcoholic products
shall be set by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 44. Application of Economic Sanctions for the
Violation of the Law on Alcohol Control
The State Tobacco and Alcohol Control Agency (STACA) or the
State Hygiene Inspectorate at the State Public Health Care
Agency, or the Lithuanian State Quality Inspectorate at the
Lithuanian Competition and Consumer Rights' Protection
Standardisation Agency, or the Press Control Board at the
Ministry of Justice, or the State Tax Inspectorate at the Finance
Ministry, or the police, according to its competence, shall have
the right to impose fines on enterprises, institutions and
organisations for violations of this Law.
Enterprises, which have manufactured and released alcohol
products which do not measure up to norms of quality and hygiene
requirements, and are manufacturing and importing alcohol
products, or are engaging in the sale of such, are not holding an
appropriate licence for such activity and are not complying with
Items 1-12, of the first part of Article 20, of this Law, with
respect to requirements of sale of alcohol products as outlined
in parts four and five of this Article, or have violated the
order of the sale of alcoholic beverages, shall be required to
pay a penalty amounting up to 10 per cent of their annual
turnover.
For failure to comply with requirements provided for in
Items 13-17 of the first part of Article 20, of this Law,
enterprises shall pay a fine of two thousand litas, and in the
case of repeated violations of these requirements, they shall pay
a fine equivalent to 1 per cent of their annual general turnover.
Enterprises, offices and organisations, who support the sale
of alcoholic beverages in ways, denoted by Article 29 of this Law
and/or are in violation of requirements of Article 30 of this
Law, shall pay a fine equivalent to the amount of 5 per cent of
the size of their annual general turnover (offices and
organisations, who are not engaged in commercial and economic
activity, shall pay a fine of ten thousand litas).
The State Quality Inspectorate at the State Competition and
Consumer Rights' Protection Agency of Lithuania shall designate
the fines for manufacture and release for consumption of alcohol
products, which do not meet quality norm requirements, contained
in Items 1, 4, 5 of the first part of Article 20, with regard to
failure to comply with requirements in the sale of the alcohol
products designated therein.
The fines for production, and release for consumption of
alcohol products which do not comply with the requirements of the
norms of hygiene, and for failure to comply with the requirements
as provided for in Items 5 and 12 of part one of Article 20 of
this Law, concerning the sale of alcohol products, shall be
imposed by the State Hygiene Inspectorate at the State Public
Health Care Service.
The fines for failure to comply with the requirements
outlined in Items 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, and 16 of
part one of Article 20, and parts four and five of this Article,
as well as, for violations in the sale of alcoholic beverages and
violations of the order in sales and in the public catering
establishments, are imposed by the police. Chiefs of police
commissariats shall have the right to impose fines on behalf of
the police.
In other instances of violations of this Law and also in
cases of fines incurred for the manufacture, import, export and
trade in alcohol products, as well as the required permits for
such activity, or sponsorship of sales of alcoholic beverages and
(or) advertising of such, they are imposed by STACA (for
advertisement in the press, radio and television the fine is
imposed by the Mass Media Board at the Ministry of Justice).
The fines prescribed by this article shall be collected, in
the order established by law, no later than within one month's
time from the day the violation was committed. (Amended 3 July
1995, 21 December 1995)
Article 45. Collection of Fines
The resolution passed by the institutions specified in part
1 of Article 44 of this Law, concerning the imposition of a fine
for the violation of this Law, and stating the amount of the
fine, shall be delivered to the violator of legal acts.
The fine must be paid into bank accounts of the institutions
specified in part 1 of Article 44 of this Law no later than
within one month from the date the resolution to impose a fine
upon violators has been delivered to them.
Article 46. Collection of Fines not Paid when Due and
Calculation of Interest Thereon
Fines not paid when due and interest thereon in the amount
of 0.2 percent of the fine for each overdue day until the fine is
paid, shall be collected without suit by the institutions
specified in part 1 of Article 44 of this Law.
Article 47. Postponement of the Execution of the
Resolution to Apply an Economic Sanction
If there exist circumstances by reason of which it is
impossible to immediately execute the resolution to apply an
economic sanction, the officer of the institution specified in
part 1 of Article 44, who has adopted such resolution may, at the
request of the economic entities in regard to which the
resolution has been passed, postpone the execution of the
resolution up to one month.
The basis for the postponement of the resolutions to apply
economic sanctions shall be established by the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania.
Article 48. Appeal against Resolutions to Apply
Economic Sanctions
Economic entities which do not agree with the resolution
concerning the application of economic sanctions, passed by the
institutions specified in part 1 of Article 44 of this Law, may,
within one month from the date of the announcement of the
resolution, appeal to court to repeal or change it and to get
compensation for losses.
The appeal to court shall not suspend the execution of the
resolutions passed by the institutions specified in part 1 of
Article 44 of this Law, concerning the application of economic
sanctions, unless the court provides otherwise.
The resolution, passed by the institutions specified in part
1 of Article 44 of this Law, to apply economic sanctions for the
violation of legal acts, and its justification must be made
available to the public.
Article 49. Procedure for the Compensation for Losses
Losses incurred by economic entities by reason of the
resolutions passed by the institutions specified in part 1 of
Article 44 of this Law, shall be compensated for out of the means
of the institutions that passed such resolutions, which later on
shall be recovered from the persons guilty of the violations.
Article 50. Allocation of the Collected Sums of
Economic Sanctions
The funds that are collected and transferred to the bank
account of the institution specified in part 1 of Article 44 of
this Law following the resolution to apply economic sanctions
passed by the officers of this institution, shall be applied in
the following order:
1) 50 percent shall be transferred by payment order to a
special account of the State Health Care Fund established by the
Ministry of Health Care under the Law on Health System;
2) 25 percent shall be transferred by payment order to the
health funds of the municipalities in the territory of which the
economic entities in regard to which economic sanctions are
applied, are located, and 5 percent of which shall be allocated
to education funds of municipalities for the purpose of health
promotion at schools;
3) the fractions set by the Government of the Republic of
Lithuania shall be allocated for the purpose of giving incentives
to the officers of the institution referred to in part 1 of
Article 44 of this Law and persons who helped to disclose the
violations of the Law on Alcohol Control, for which a fine was
imposed ( up to 5 percent but not in excess of 10 000 litas for
each disclosed violation).
The anonymity of the person who helped to disclose
violations of the Law on Alcohol Control shall be guaranteed by
this Law.
The sums of economic sanctions, which are collected by the
institutions referred to in part 1 of Article 44 of this Law
without suit, must be transferred to Health Funds established by
the Law on Health System no later than within 10 days after said
sums are received in the bank account of the institution referred
to in part 1 of Article 44 of this Law.
Article 51. Disputes concerning Violations of the Law
on Alcohol Control
Disputes between legal and natural persons, concerning the
violations of this Law and the liability for them shall be
settled in court.
Disputes between the Republic of Lithuania and foreign legal
and natural persons, concerning the violations of this Law shall
be settled in accordance with the procedure established by the
laws of the Republic of Lithuania, unless international
agreements of the Republic of Lithuania do not provide otherwise.
Chapter VII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 52. Coming into Effect of the Law on Alcohol
Control
Parts 2 and 3 of Article 4, part 2 of Article 5, parts 2
through 4 of Article 6, Articles 7, 8, part 1 of Article 9,
Article 10, part 1 of Article 11, Article 12, parts 1 and 4 of
Article 13, Article 14, parts 2 through 5 of Article 16, parts 2,
3 and 7 of Article 17, Article 18, part 8 of Article 19, part 2
of Article 20, part 6 of article 21, Article 24, part 3 of
Article 30, part 2 of Article 32, Article 33, part 3 of Article
35, parts 2 and 4 of Article 36, part 4 of Article 43, part 2 of
Article 47, and item 3 of part 1 of Article 50 shall come into
effect in accordance with the procedure established by the Seimas
Resolution "Concerning the Enforcement of Articles Referred to in
Article 52 of the Law on Alcohol Control of the Republic of
Lithuania". (Amended 3 July 1995)
I promulgate this Law passed by the Seimas of the Republic
of Lithuania.
Algirdas Brazauskas
President of the Republic
Vilnius
18 April 1995
No. I-857