New national serving rules for alcohol lead to milder regulation in Bergen
Bergen inspectors believe the new national regulations for serving will cause fewer places to lose their license as a result of a breach of rules.
The current point system was introduced in January 2016. Since then, no single place in Bergen has received the license removal prosecution, according to Bergens Tidende newspaper.
‘The new point system is significantly milder than what we previously had in Bergen. It’s more liberal, but we have to follow it,’ said Terje Gjertsen, head of the office for alcohol service in the city.
Earlier, eight points qualified a bar to have its grant withdrawn for two weeks. Now it’s eight points that the grant is going to cost more, and for one week only. The points last for two years.
According to Gjertsen, several places would have lost their licence if the previous rules were still applicable.
‘Up to now, this year, maybe three or four places would have lost their licences. Last year, there would have been five or six places’, he said.
With the old system, serving minors and serving to intoxicated persons automatically resulted in a lost licence. Now these infringements give eight and four points, respectively.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
