SLOVAKIA officially lifted its ban on the import and sale of Czech spirits containing more than 20 percent alcohol at 17:00 on October 9. Slovak stores and pubs will, however, only be able to sell Czech-made liquor under strict regulations defined by an expert commission, whose members will be appointed by various ministries. The conditions will ensure that consumers are properly informed of the origin of the spirits they buy, the TASR newswire reported.
Spirits produced before January 1, 2012 will be exempt from the regulations. All other alcohol, currently estimated to be around 1.2 million bottles stored in Slovak shops, will have to be clearly identified with a green label. If the alcohol was produced between January 1 and September 27, the label will have to include the identification code of the body that issued the certificate of safety for the bottle. Moreover, every bottle containing a Czech spirit made in 2012 will have to have a ‘birth certificate’ adopted by the Czech government.
Retailers say the formal lifting of the ban will be of little use, mainly because of the strict conditions imposed by the Slovak authorities.
