A new system for awarding penalty points was established in the regulations of 01.01.2016.

The Alcohol Regulations Chapter 10
s. 10-2.
The Municipality is required to award a set number of penalty points to a licence holder for contraventions specified in s. 10-3.  Similar contraventions revealed during the same inspection are deemed to be a single contravention.
If a licensee is awarded a total of 12 penalty points during a period of two years, the Municipal Council shall suspend the licence for one week. If more than 12 points are awarded in the course of a two-year period the Municipal Council shall increase the period of suspension correspondingly.
When calculating the two-year period, the times of the contraventions shall be used as the basis.
The two-year period applies independently of any licence renewal during the period, cf the Alcohol Act s. 1-6. On transfer, a new period begins at the time of transfer, cf the Alcohol Act s. 1-10 first paragraph.


The standard sanction shall be used as a starting point in those cases where the basis of suspension is twelve penalty points. If the basis of suspension is more than twelve penalty points, the period of suspension shall be increased “correspondingly”. 12 extra penalty points thus mean that the suspension period is increased by one week. On practical grounds and to ensure that the scheme is kept as simple as possible, two extra points should be taken to correspond to one whole day’s suspension. If the licensed establishment is awarded more than 12 penalty points, the Municipality will therefore mete out periods of suspension as follows:
1 penalty point = 1 day’s suspension
2-3 penalty points = 2 days’ suspension
4-5 penalty points = 3 days’ suspension
6-7 penalty points = 4 days’ suspension
8-9 penalty points = 5 days’ suspension
10-1 penalty points = 6 days’ suspension12 penalty points = 7 days’ suspension

s. 10-3

The following contraventions lead to an award of eight penalty points:

  • selling, supplying or serving to a person under 18 years of age, cf the Alcohol Act s. 1-5 second paragraph
  • breach of the obligation to assist, cf s.4-1 second paragraph in these regulations
  • breach of the obligation to operate in a proper manner, cf the Alcohol Act s. 3-9 and 4-7
  • obstructing a municipal inspection, cf the Alcohol Act s. 1-9.

The following contraventions lead to an award of four penalty points:

  • selling or supplying to a person clearly under the influence of intoxicants, cf s. 3-1 in these regulations; serving a person who is or must be presumed to be clearly under the influence of intoxicants, cf s. 4-2 first paragraph in these regulations
  • breach of the regulations governing permitted opening hours for retail sale, supply or serving of alcoholic beverages, cf the Alcohol Act s. 3-7 and s. 4-4
  • serving an alcoholic beverage in Group 3 to a person of 18 or 19 years of age, cf the Alcohol Act s. 1-5 first paragraph
  • breach of the age requirement for persons selling, supplying or serving alcoholic beverages cf. the Alcohol Act s. 1-5 third paragraph.

The following contraventions lead to an award of two penalty points:

  • allowing entry to a person who is clearly under the influence of intoxicants, or failure by a licensee to ensure that a person under the influence of intoxicants leaves the premises, cf s. 4-1 in these regulations
  • deficiencies in the licensee’s internal control, cf the Alcohol Act s. 1-9 final paragraph cf Chapter 8 in these regulations
  • failure to submit a sales turnover return by the Municipality’s deadline, cf Chapter 6 in these regulations
  • failure to pay a licence fee by the Municipality’s deadline, cf Chapter 6 in these regulations
  • breach of the requirement to have a manager and deputy, cf the Alcohol Act s. 1-7c
  • repeated sale of narcotics in the establishment, cf the Alcohol Act s. 1-8 second paragraph
  • repeated discrimination, cf the Alcohol Act s. 1-8 second paragraph.

The following contraventions lead to an award one penalty point:

  • breach of the requirement for non-alcoholic alternatives, cf s. 4-6 in these regulations
  • breach of the rules on volume served, cf s. 4-5 in these regulations
  • consumption of alcoholic beverages brought in by a guest, cf s. 4-4 in these regulations
  • guests take alcohol off the premises with them, cf s. 4-4 in these regulations
  • breach of the requirement on placement of alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages in a retail outlet, cf s. 3-3 in these regulations
  • breach of terms in the licensing decision, cf the Alcohol Act s. 3-2 and s. 4-3
  • breach of the prohibition on advertising, cf the Alcohol Act s. 9-2 cf Chapter 14 in these regulations
  • other contraventions covered by the Alcohol Act s. 1-8 first paragraph, cf other Alcohol Act provisions including s. 3-1 sixth paragraph, s. 4-1 second paragraph, s. 8-6, s. 8-6a, s. 8-12 and s. 8-13.


s. 10-4
If there are very special and strongly mitigating circumstances, the Municipality may award fewer penalty points for a contravention than provided in s. 10-3.
If there are strongly aggravating circumstances, the Municipality may award more penalty points for a contravention than provided in s. 10-3. In strongly aggravating circumstances, the Municipal Council may also increase the length of any suspension beyond that provided in s. 10-2, in the most serious cases for the rest of the licence period.
If weight is attached to circumstances such as those in the first and second paragraphs, the grounds must be included in the decision.

 

s. 10-5

If there are grounds for awarding penalty points, the Municipality must give prior notice of the award of points, cf the Public Administration Act s. 16.
The Municipal Council makes individual administrative decisions on the award of penalty points. In relation to the decision, the licensee must be informed of the possible consequences if further penalty points are awarded.
A decision made under the second paragraph can be appealed in accordance with the rules in the Public Administration Act. If the right of appeal is not exercised, the award of penalty points can nevertheless be appealed in connection with a later decision on suspension, which is based on penalty points awarded.

s. 10-6

If suspension is based on penalty points awarded, the Municipality shall give prior notice of suspension of the licence, cf the Administration Act s. 16.
The Municipal Council makes individual administrative decisions on suspension of a licence on the grounds of penalty points awarded.
The Municipality should implement a decision on suspension within four weeks of the date of the decision.

s. 10-7 (formerly s. 10-1)
A licence can be revoked if it has not been used during the last year.
The licence cannot however be revoked if the reason for its lack of use is an impediment beyond the licensee’s control, whose consequences he/she could not reasonably have avoided or surmounted. This only applies to the extent that it can be presumed that operation can start again within a reasonable time.

See the Directorate of Health’s comments on the Alcohol Act s. 1-8 and the Alcohol Regulations ss. 5, 6, 9 and 10, effective from 01.01.2016. See the link in the menu to the right.

Enquiries

Please direct any questions about types of sanction for contravention of the provisions in the Alcohol Act to Executive officer: Linda Rostad on telephone 7559 3314 or email: linda.rostad@bodo.kommune.no