Appeal Government Decisions – Serving Permits & Tobacco Permits

Has an official decision been against you? It is possible to have the decision reconsidered. If you are not satisfied with a municipal decision, you can normally appeal!

The right of appeal exists primarily to guarantee the legal protection and the claim to guarantee everyone’s right to apply to a court in an administrative case that concerns his or her right, interest or obligation.

Decision regarding serving license according to the Alcohol Act (2010: 1622)

The municipality is the authority that makes decisions on serving permits to traders within the municipality’s geographical area.

Have you applied for a serving permit in accordance with the Alcohol Act and have not had your application approved? Has your business been subject to a sanction as a reminder or warning? Or has the municipality decided to revoke your serving permit?

Who can appeal a decision?

According to the Public Administration Act (2017: 900), you can appeal decisions made on the basis of special statutes, such as the Alcohol Act (2010: 1622). Special statutes such as the Alcohol Act contain rules which, among other things, indicates which specific decisions may be appealed.

A decision may be appealed if the decision can be assumed to affect someone’s situation in a not insignificant way. However, a decision may only be appealed by the person directly affected by the decision and if the decision has been against him or her. This means that the person who is a party to a case has the right to appeal. (Sections 41- 42 of the Public Administration Act)

How do you go about appealing a decision?

An appeal must be in writing and contain a number of specific criteria, e.g. which decision you want to appeal and in which way you want the decision to be changed. It must be submitted to the authority that decided the case (municipality), within three weeks from the day you took note of the decision. (Public Administration Act § 43). The Administrative Procedure Act (1971: 291) contains further provisions on what an appeal must contain.

In connection with the submission of the appeal, the municipality has the opportunity to reconsider the decision or stand by the decision. If you do not end the decision, it will be the Administrative Court that hears the appeal and it is the municipality that forwards the appeal to the court.

The Administrative Court is the first appellate body for administrative matters and thus handles and decides disputes between individuals and authorities as well as disputes between companies and authorities. In Sweden, there are 12 administrative courts. The administrative court is the first instance among the administrative courts.

The task of the administrative court is to determine whether the authority has complied with the law or not when they made the decision in question. The court may amend the decision or replace it with another decision. They may also dismiss the appeal.

Are you considering an appeal?

We at Krogarna.se can help you review your specific conditions for possibly appealing the municipality’s decision. We specialize in Alcohol legislation and have long and broad experience in the field. We have a team consisting of political scientists, legal representatives, economists and former police officers. With our broad resource expertise and long experience, we can help you in the best way!

Remember – the appeal period only runs for three weeks, calculated from the day you as a party have been informed of the municipality’s decision! Contact us today and we will help you!