Mayor Eric van Oosterhout of Emmen must grant online liquor store Mood Company BV an Alcohol Act permit as soon as possible by the Council of State, it became apparent today after a court case in The Hague.
The judge found that the mayor has no convincing arguments why the liquor store, which mainly wants to focus on the online sale of whiskey, should not have a permit. Mayor Eric van Oosterhout refused the permit because the online liquor stores do not have a liquor store.
The mayor believes that you should only sell liquor online if there is a physical store, or a space with a sales counter, where you can also buy liquor in person. The liquor stores do have a building in Emmen, but you will not be able to report to a counter there to personally collect drinks. The people of Emmen want to handle everything online.
The Northern Netherlands court previously ruled in a ruling that a physical store or space with a counter is not a condition for setting up an online liquor store. There must be a so-called establishment where the online liquor store is located. And there is too. Furthermore, there are many such beverage web shops in the Netherlands without a visitable store.
The judge of the Council of State also could not find the obligation for a shop or establishment with a sales counter in the alcohol law. For that reason, he rejected the mayor’s request with an oral statement.
The ruling is a setback for the mayor and the municipality. They wanted to combat alcohol abuse with their stricter requirements.
