Icelandic online alcohol sales bill to return this autumn

A bill allowing domestic online sales of alcohol will be reintroduced during Iceland’s autumn parliamentary session, mbl.is reports. The bill, submitted by eight MPs from Viðreisn, was shelved by a committee last winter without any MP speaking against it.

At the same time, the EFTA Surveillance Authority, ESA, has asked the Icelandic government to explain how the country’s alcohol sales system complies with the European Economic Area Agreement.

The debate in Iceland follows a major change to Finland’s alcohol legislation. Finland’s parliament approved the country’s most extensive amendment to its alcohol laws in two decades this summer, addressing online sales and delivery rather than alcohol strength.

Under the new Finnish rules, grocery shops, restaurants and the state alcohol retailer Alko may sell alcohol online and deliver it to consumers. Grocery shops may deliver drinks up to the strength they are allowed to sell in stores, while stronger drinks may only be ordered from Alko.

Deliveries are permitted between 9am and 9pm. The recipient must be present and prove their age.

The Finnish legislation also recognises the right of online shops elsewhere in the EEA to sell alcohol to Finnish consumers. That provision takes effect at the beginning of 2027, following a Finnish Supreme Court ruling last September that resolved long-standing uncertainty over cross-border distance sales.

According to mbl.is, Iceland has not expressly legislated this right. Icelandic alcohol laws neither prohibit nor explicitly permit imports for personal use. The explanation given by Icelandic authorities to ESA relies on the absence of a specific provision in the law and on how customs procedures are applied.

Arnar Sigurðsson, founder of the online alcohol retailer Santé, said the Finnish solution applied the same rules to domestic and foreign sellers, including age verification upon delivery and a clear legal basis for cross-border online sales.