Estonian service delivers cheap booze to Finland

Finnish officials are at wit’s end over a loophole in import laws that is allowing an Estonian internet service to deliver alcohol inexpensively to Finland, Estonian Postimees newspaper reports. Although alcohol sales are controlled by a state monopoly in Finland, Alkotaxi.eu evades restrictions on the import and resale of alcohol there by requiring prepayment for its goods via the internet.

“It would be illegal to import alcohol to Finland and sell it there ourselves,” Alkotaxi chief Vasili Visnapuu told Finnish media, “but our trade is conducted in Estonia. We just don’t charge for delivery.” There is a €100 minimum on orders from the service.

According to Finnish news service YLE, about 50 orders have been placed with Alkotaxi so far. They are delivered in a bright yellow van decorated with images of alcoholic beverages.

The Finnish Social Affairs and Health Ministry admits Finnish law is unclear on the matter. “The law is quite unclear on this issue, which is why the parliamentary ombudsman has requested an inquiry on the matter,” said ministry spokesman Kari Paaso.

The free advertising the scandal is providing may have backfired for Visnapuu, however, as Estonian media have noted that his business is not on record with the Estonian Commercial Registry.