The protracted legal battle surrounding how age verification may be conducted when delivering tobacco and nicotine products to parcel lockers has reached its conclusion. The Supreme Administrative Court (HFD) announces that the court will not grant leave to appeal in the case.
This decision means that the previous ruling by the Stockholm Administrative Court of Appeal is now final and binding. The judgment thus creates a new legal precedent with immediate effect for the entire Swedish e-commerce industry within the segment.
The court’s stance establishes that the previous method – combining age verification with e-identification such as Bank-ID with geolocation at pickup from parcel lockers – does not meet the legal requirements for secure age verification of the actual recipient. All online actors selling tobacco and nicotine via parcel lockers in Sweden are now forced to adapt their delivery flows to the new legal situation.
Snusnetto Shut Down Immediately
For the e-commerce group Haypp Group, which has long been in legal dispute with the City of Stockholm regarding the design of the controls, the denial of leave to appeal has direct operational consequences. The group has chosen to close the online store Snusnetto.se with immediate effect.
As of today, Monday, October 19, the subsidiary Snusbolaget Norden AB will cease all sales via the website. This decision means that the subsidiary will completely stop selling tobacco and nicotine products, which has been informed to the Permit Unit in the City of Stockholm on Monday.
The closure of Snusnetto.se affects approximately 500 active customers. According to Haypp Group, the liquidation is not expected to have any significant financial impact on the group’s overall results.
New Technology Verifies the Person Opening the Locker
Instead, a new technical solution for age verification is being rolled out on the group’s other Swedish e-commerce sites, including the flagship Snusbolaget.se, with immediate effect. The system has been developed over the past six months in anticipation of the final court decision.
Unlike the rejected model, the new technology verifies the age specifically of the person physically at the parcel locker, opening the hatch and picking up the shipment. The rollout on the group’s remaining Swedish sites is scheduled to be fully completed during October. Deliveries to traditional post offices, where manual identification control takes place over the counter, are not affected by the ruling.
We are proud that Haypp Group is once again at the forefront of efforts to reduce the risk of minors accessing tobacco and nicotine products. The new solution provides an even higher level of security when picking up online orders, says Markus Lindblad, Head of Legal and External Relations at Haypp Group.
Foresees Digital Control Also in Physical Stores
According to Haypp Group, the new legal interpretation is expected to lead to limited changes for consumers in practice. The company also points out that minors’ purchases of tobacco and nicotine products do not occur via the internet today, an issue where the group has previously requested increased requirements for digital controls also in grocery retail.
Markus Lindblad believes that the requirements for technical verification will now be extended to all of retail.
I am firmly convinced that within two to three years we will see electronic age verification at all purchases of tobacco and nicotine products in Sweden, regardless of whether the purchase is made online or in a physical store, says Markus Lindblad.