How To Sell Alcohol Online?

Selling alcohol is always a promising area of business. Many entrepreneurs choose alcohol retailing for the following reasons:

• The annual fee for a retail license is UAH 8,000, while the wholesale license fee is UAH 500,000;

• You can diversify the product range and try new and new products, probing the market;

• It is easier and more profitable to sell such goods through different channels, including the Internet.

Is it legal to sell alcohol online?

This question interests many entrepreneurs who see a prospect in selling alcoholic beverages online. 

What are the requirements for selling alcoholic beverages on the Internet? Do you need any additional permits? Can you save money on this, compared with the full-fledged opening of an alcoholic supermarket?

And most importantly, how to avoid mistakes when organizing the business, that may result in penalties, extra costs, and the loss of this very business?

You can sell alcohol online. And we’ll tell you how to do this legally.

In order to be able to legally sell alcohol through an online store, you will need to meet the same requirements as a standard liquor outlet: premises and a license.

Having been obtaining retail and wholesale liquor licenses for several years, we can clearly tell you the requirements for both licenses. 

Premise for selling alcohol online.

First of all, let’s say again that the answer to the question, Do I need the premises to sell alcohol? - Yes. Even if your entire business will be solely focused on selling alcohol online, you will not save much money on premises. Although, of course, it may not be a store in the full sense of the word, but the room must meet the following requirements:

• It must be at least 20 square meters for selling hard drinks;

• The point of sale must be equipped with a cash register.

If you intend to sell beer only- there are no limitations on the area of the premises used to sell such goods, but the requirement to have a cash register remains in force.

Please note! You cannot simply rent an office and assume that it meets the requirements for a liquor license - even if a license for such premises is issued, the first inspection will put an end to such a business.

The room must also meet all sanitary and fire standards, have the appropriate equipment. A complete list of requirements we will give you at the consultation, which will help you to choose the right premises.

License to sell alcohol online.

You will need a license to sell alcohol in all cases except for the sale of non-alcoholic beer and table wines.

To obtain a liquor license, you will need the following documents:

• an application;

• a receipt of the state fee payment;

• a registration document for a cash register.

Often, in addition to the above documents, you have to provide:

• documents confirming the right to use the premises;

• pictures of the premises.

In practice, we undertake communication with the licensing authority, and we approach the issue from the very beginning - from the analysis of the premises and our registration of the cash register.

By ordering a license at our law firm, you won’t have to figure out what requirements of the authorities require you to respond to, and what exceeds their authority. We will deal with all the issues ourselves, providing you with a ready-made license.

Requirements for the website of the Online Liquor Store.

Requirements for the website are not enshrined in the licensing regulations, as it is, for example, established for an Electricity Supply License. But there are certain basic requirements for such a website. And it is easier to observe them correctly than to deal with the tax authorities later.

According to the general requirements, the website must contain the following information:

• The full name of your company;

• The working hours of the sales outlet and its exact address;

• Information about the license on the basis of which you work;

• Certificates of quality for alcohol (most often scans of such documents are published on the website to give the Clients easy access to all the following info).

Our lawyers offer work with the website of the online store in two ways:

• development of the website by our partners;

• consultation on the content of the website (we also offer this option as a bonus when ordering a liquor license from us). 

Courier delivery service of the online liquor store.

Another interesting question is whether the courier delivery of alcoholic beverages from the store is legal or in this business you should insist on the customer pickup of goods from the point of sale only?

The tax authority allows you to organize the delivery of alcoholic beverages from the online store, provided that the above requirements to the premises, cash register and license are met.

When organizing delivery, you need to consider the key aspects:

• The courier shall give the Customer the receipt along with the goods;

• Payment can only be made by a credit card if the courier has a POS terminal.

How can we help you open an online liquor store?

By contacting us, you get:

• Analysis of the available premises or a clear list of requirements to choose the right premises for an online liquor store;

• Installation of a cash register;

• Assistance with the website (according to your chosen option);

• License to sell alcohol.

We also provide accounting services supervised by a lawyer.

Do you want to create a website for the online liquor store and ensure that it operates legally? Don’t hesitate to contact us! We can help you regardless of the type of alcoholic drinks you want to sell or the complexity of your idea.

Your success is our result.