Registration of the place of storage of alcohol in Ukraine in 2023

When providing services to alcoholic beverage producers and businesses whose activities are related to alcohol wholesale and retail, we often hear the following questions:

• Do I need to register my alcohol and tobacco storage facility?
• Do I need to register a storage facility for alcohol used for production purposes?
• What are the penalties for failure to register an alcohol storage facility?

We will talk about the procedure of registration of warehouses for alcohol and alcoholic beverages storage, and explain how it all happens in practice today.

You may also like: How To Start An Alcoholic Beverage Salespoint?

Who shall register an alcohol storage facility (warehouse)?

You have to be prepared for the fact that the state regulation in the sphere of alcohol circulation is extremely regulated. Almost each action connected with such products requires the corresponding permitting documentation - the licence, the permit or other document.

The main document which gives the right to deal with corresponding products is the Alcohol License. The most common are licenses for retail trade (shops, booths selling alcohol to consumers), wholesale trade (selling to other economic entities) and alcohol production.

Note: Our company can help you obtain any of the above licenses.

However, a license is not the only document that the business entity will need to carry out its activity.

If you:

• produce alcohol or alcoholic beverages;
• receive, store (e.g. transport to production facilities), process alcohol for production purposes (with quantities exceeding 100 decalitres per quarter);
• store alcoholic beverages out of the salespoint, -

You need to register the appropriate storage facility in the state register.

Please note! Storing alcohol and alcoholic beverages in an unregistered facility is subject to a fine in the amount of UAH 17,000.

Registration procedure of alcohol / alcoholic beverages storage facility

To enter an alcohol storage facility in the state register, you’ll need to pass two stages:

1. Obtain a certificate of compliance of the storage facility with the established requirements.

In fact, this is the most difficult and key stage. In order to obtain the certificate, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the requirements for the facility, as a non-compliance of the facility may be a reason for refusing the certificate.

Please note! Applying for the certificate without understanding what your facility should be and what requirements shall be met will be an ineffective waste of time in 99% of cases.

Our lawyers always offer first of all advice on all nuances of the rules of alcohol circulation: reception, storage, transportation. Where can tanks be installed? What area, conditions shall the facility meet? What kind of measuring equipment should there be? You must understand the chances of obtaining the certificate and the license, as well as be able to correct any mistakes before applying for documents.

Time is money. And reapplying for documents is unfortunately a waste of time.

Technically, the procedure for obtaining the certificate is as follows:

1) Filing an application of optional form to the State Tax Service for inspection of the alcohol storage facility. There is no need to add any additional documents to the application. One of the nuances is that the application should specify the type of alcohol to be stored.

2) Within 15 days, an inspector should come to the facility and check it for compliance with all requirements. The inspection takes several hours and you should provide all the certificates and permits for the facility, including:

• a certificate of compliance with fire, construction, sanitation standards;
• a document confirming the rights to the facility (ownership or use).

Of course, apart from documents, the facility and the alcohol / alcoholic beverage storage tanks are also subject to inspection. For example, they will check the container used for storing the product, because storage in steel, galvanized or aluminum containers, or other containers whose properties affect the quality of alcohol is prohibited.

The facility must be prepared for an unobstructed inspection - for example, the tank must be accessible from all sides for inspection (to check alcohol level, collect samples, etc.).

3) If you successfully pass the inspection, you’ll get a certificate of compliance of the storage facility with the requirements of the law. The certificate is valid for 5 years, there is no state fee to be paid for its receipt.

2. The alcohol storage facility must be included in the Register.

For this purpose, you need to apply again to the State Tax Service, forming the application for registration of the storage facility, adding the obtained certificate of compliance of the facility and the documents confirming the ownership right / right to use the facility.

The only reason for refusal is incompleteness or unreliability of documents. Thus, if you successfully pass the previous stage, the second one will not be a problem for you. You will simply have to form the application correctly and remember to enter the information correctly. The registration of the storage facility takes about 5 days.

Registering an alcohol storage facility is just one step you will need to take to organise and run your business legally. However, it can also take you a lot of time, if you try to bring the facility in compliance with the law and communicate with the inspection authority yourself.

If you are set up for a quick and smooth start of your business - our lawyers will help you take care of this process in advance and without further delay.

Learn more about Alcohol Wholesaling here