Current issues
Here you will find Regional State Administrative Agencies’ news published in English.
We publish our press releases, news and other current material mainly in Finnish and in Swedish.
Current issues in Finnish
Current issues in Swedish
2023
The electronic services of Allu, the new alcohol trade register, will be deployed soon. The targeted deployment date is 18 April 2023. As the current Allu register will be closed on 13 April, information cannot be reported, and product notifications cannot be submitted between 13 and 18 April.
Allu is a register maintained by the Regional State Administrative Agencies and the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira), in which information about alcohol operators, alcohol licences and alcoholic products, as well as their production and deliveries, is saved. The register is used by various parties, ranging from serving licence holders to retailers, wholesalers, producers, industrial users and the authorities.
From paper forms to e-services
Until now, applications for alcohol licences have been submitted using paper or PDF forms. In the new system, applications for alcohol licences and alcohol-related notifications will be submitted in e-services. At the same time, all existing electronic services of the current alcohol trade register will be updated. You can best prepare for the change by already obtaining the Suomi.fi authorisation, that is required for logging in to the Allu system.
Electronic services will be temporarily closed during the deployment
The deployment of the new register requires that the current electronic services are closed. The closing down takes place on Thursday 13 April at 9 am. This means that information cannot be reported, and product notifications cannot be submitted between 13 and 18 April. Completely new e-services will be deployed by noon on 18 April.
Please note that there may be delays in processing during the deployment of the system.
Valvira provides licence holders with more detailed information through customer newsletters.
Further information is available from [email protected]
2022
Submit reports for 2022 in January as before. As a result of the update, it is important that reports are submitted on time:
- Submit six-month serving reports and annual retail reports by 31 January 2023.
- Submit December delivery reports and September–December kegging and bottling reports by 18 January 2023.
Also take care of your licences at first opportunity. There may be delays in the processing of applications close to the deployment date. Most recent information about the update is available on the website of the updated alcohol trade register (valvira.fi, only in Finnish).
Grant an authorisation for e-services at Suomi.fi
Only individuals with the right to sign for their company can use the new alcohol trade register’s e-services without any separate authorisation. This means that they need to grant an authorisation for other individuals or companies that submit product notifications, report sales data or apply for licences on their company’s behalf. The Suomi.fi website includes instructions on how individuals with the right to sign for their company can grant an authorisation for another individual or an accounting firm, for example.
When granting an authorisation, note the following:
- Select “Mandate for transactions” as the authorisation type.
- Select the individual or company for which you want to grant an authorisation. Do not select Valvira as a party.
- Select “Applying permits and reporting of the alcohol sector” if you want to grant an authorisation to apply for alcohol licences and report data on your company’s behalf. If you only want to grant an authorisation to report data, select “Reporting of the alcohol sector to the authorities”. Do not select any other authorisations – select either of these two.
Our previous piece of news includes instructions on how an individual requiring an authorisation can request it and how an individual with the right to sign for their company can approve the request. An authorisation can also be obtained like this. More information about requesting an authorisation is available on the Suomi.fi website.
Further information:
The update of the Allu alcohol trade register is progressing. As a result of the update, applications for alcohol licences must be submitted online, and the system for reporting alcohol sales data and submitting product notifications will become more user-friendly.
Prepare for the update by obtaining a Suomi.fi authorisation for everyone who submits product notifications, reports sales data or applies for licences on your company’s behalf. Without the authorisation, only individuals with the right to sign for your company can use the updated Allu system. Instructions for authorisation applicants:
- Go to Suomi.fi – e-Authorizations. Click “Identification”.
- Identify yourself using your online banking codes, a certificate card or a mobile certificate.
- Click “Personal mandates” and then “Request mandates” on the next page.
- On the “Parties” page, click “Add a company” and enter the name of the company you represent.
- On the “Mandate themes” page, select “Applying permits and reporting of the alcohol sector” if you apply for alcohol licences and report data in your company. If you only report data, select “Reporting of the alcohol sector to the authorities”. As the other options are intended for the authorities, select either of these two options.
- Proceed according to the instructions given in the Suomi.fi service and confirm your request, after which the request will be forwarded to an individual with the right to sign for your company for approval.
- They must then log in to Suomi.fi e-Authorizations to approve your request.
The new alcohol trade register will be deployed at the beginning of next year. A more accurate date will be announced later this autumn. Applying for an authorisation is the best way to prepare for the update at this stage.
More instructions on how to apply for an authorisation is available in the Suomi.fi service.
For more information, please contact:
Markku Paavilainen, senior officer, Valvira +358 50 472 5865
Joona Leppälahti, systems specialist, Valvira +358 50 436 5538
Fujitsu Finland Oy has been chosen to implement the new service provider register Soteri. The commissioning of the Soteri register will take place at the beginning of 2024.
Soteri is a new register for licensing and supervisory authorities. Basic information on all private and public social and healthcare service providers and private early childhood education and care service providers will be collected in the new service. Soteri also serves as a register for inspection data.
The information in the register serves the information needs of The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health Valvira, the Regional State Administrative Agencies and several stakeholder groups. The information can also be used by health and social services customers.
The aim is to turn Soteri into a customer-oriented e-service that brings together comprehensive, uniform, and up-to-date information on all service providers in one register. Soteri replaces the previous separate registers, and after implementation, the data is maintained only in Soteri, facilitating the work of both service providers and the authorities. Soteri is also an important part of the expansion of Valvira's digital services and the government program for promoting digitalization.
Further information:
Administrative Director Jussi Luomajärvi, 0295 209 362, Valvira
Chief Information Officer Oskari Halttunen, 0295 209 220, Valvira
There are good news concerning the alcohol trade register ALLU. The reform of the system is progressing, and its commissioning will take place at the end of the year. According to the current estimate, the system will be available to customers in December 2022. Next summer’s permit applications will already be handled through the new ALLU system.
The exact commissioning date will be confirmed in the early autumn. During the autumn, a more precise schedule for customers’ end-of-year reporting will also be confirmed.
The reform of the ALLU register into fully electronic format will clarify and accelerate the application process for alcohol licences and improve access to information and the quality of information.
Allu contains information on alcohol sector operators and alcohol-related licenses. Information on alcohol deliveries between license holders as well as restaurant and retail sales volumes is also recorded on the system for supervisory purposes. The data is used to generate statistical information on capacity, sales and consumption nationally, which is published annually by the National Institute for Health and Welfare.
Further information:
Systems Specialist Joona Leppälahti, tel. +358 295 209 373, joona.leppalahti(at)valvira.fi