The Alcohol Act (, , ), is a Swiss federal law that regulates the manufacture, distribution, acquisition and consumption of alcoholic beverages. It was introduced in 1933 and is based on articles 105 and 131(1)(b) and (3) of the Swiss Constitution.
The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security is responsible for the implementation of the alcohol legislation.
Until 2019, the law gave the Confederation an import monopoly, making Switzerland the last country in Europe to liberalise the ethanol market.
Scope of the law
The Alcohol Act applies to beverages containing ethanol in any form and irrespective of the way they are manufactured.
Certain products obtained by fermentation (beer, cider, wine or fruit wine) are excluded as long as their alcohol content is below 15%, or 18% for natural wines. These products are not covered by this law, but by the Foodstuffs Act (RS 817.0). Products with added alcohol are subject to the law regardless of their alcohol content (Art. 2).
The Federal Law on Alcohol regulates the manufacture, trade and taxation of spirit drinks. It also contains provisions on the import and distribution of ethanol. The Swiss Confederation has a monopoly on both the manufacture of spirit drinks and the manufacture and import of ethanol.
History
The first alcohol law dates from 1887 and was primarily concerned with the production of potato brandy. It was enacted because of the Kartoffelschnapspest (alcohol plague) that was rife at the time. It was not until 1932 that all distilled drinks were included in the first total revision of the Alcohol Act. In addition, the processing of fruit and potatoes into products that do not contain alcohol was encouraged from 1949 onwards.
In 1997, the Alcohol Act was partially revised, resulting in the liberalisation of the alcohol market and the introduction of the single tax rate. Measures were also taken to make the production process of Swiss industries more efficient. Finally, the principle of processing fruit and potatoes into products that do not contain alcohol was incorporated into agricultural policy.
Aborted total revision project (2008–2015)
Background
The Alcohol Act is one of the oldest federal laws of the Swiss Confederation. Despite several partial revisions, it no longer corresponds to today's economic and social realities.
The "alcohol plague" of the 19th and 20th centuries is no longer a bad memory and has been replaced by a generally responsible attitude towards alcohol. Swiss production of spirits is on the decline. Over the past 30 years, the market share of Swiss spirits has fallen from 80% to 13%, which corresponds to 3% of all alcoholic beverages consumed in Switzerland. Since 2008, almost no ethanol is produced in Switzerland.
The entry into force of the new Federal Constitution has also changed the legal framework: the Confederation is no longer obliged to take measures to reduce the import and production of spirit drinks and ethanol. Article 105 of the new Federal Constitution only states that the Confederation must take into account the harmful effects of alcohol consumption.
Objectives
The complete revision of the Alcohol Act was to be an important condition for a more effective federal alcohol policy. In particular, the following three objectives were to be achieved:
liberalisation of the ethanol and spirits market; optimisation of the taxation and control system; optimisation of the system of the law.
Consultation procedure (2010) On 30 June 2010, the Federal Council opened the consultation procedure for the total revision of the Alcohol Act. On this occasion, it presented two projects of law:
The Taxation of Spirits Act, which would regulate the collection and control of the consumption tax on spirits and ethanol for consumption; The (new) Alcohol Act, which would bring together the provisions governing the trade in and advertising of alcoholic beverages, which are currently spread across different laws, and makes them subject to more uniform enforcement powers.
Between the beginning of July and the end of October 2010, the Federal Alcohol Board (FAB), which was responsible for the revision project, received 183 submissions.