Court lowers the penalty for grocery bags to the poor

It was in November last year that the City of Gothenburg’s environmental administration sent the written decision It was taken on « Sanction fee according to the Food Act » to the Free Church Assembly Smyrna, the second largest in the Pentecostal movement with around 3,000 members.

In the church’s new main building in Frihamnen in Gothenburg there is a food supply called Manna. There, the needy can pick up grocery bags with content that various contacts and food wholesalers have submitted. The fresh goods often have a short expiry date.

According to what Smyrna Director and Pastor Mats Särnholm previously said in DN, they have been dealing with the distribution of groceries for at least a decade, although « Manna » opened in Frihamnen in September last year.

« We have been completely unaware that this dividend was subject to a permit, » said Mats Särnholm.

When the municipality warned of a penalty fee, Smyrna protested and considered that the non -profit purpose of the food distribution should be taken into account, but received the answer that the reasons « are not sufficient ». The decision meant that the Free Church Assembly Smyrna would pay the highest possible penalty, SEK 75,000.

After the decision became known in social media, private individuals and companies that were upset the double sum, SEK 150,000, donated.

Environmental management responsible Said that « it may sound square, but the person who starts such a business is also responsible for knowing the regulations ».

The congregation appealed the decision to the Administrative Court in Gothenburg, which has now come up with its judgment, which can be said to give both parties the right.

The Court writes that the City of Gothenburg has had the right to impose a penalty fee for breach of the registration obligation.

But in view of the fact that the government on February 20, with Smyrnafallet in fresh memory, decided on Changes to the Food Regulation which means that non -profit organizations with a non -profit purpose that donate food to the needy, among other things, have to pay only SEK 1,000 in the penalty fee, the Administrative Court considers that the fee in the Gothenburg case « should be set at only SEK 1000 ».

It didn’t has been right to completely delete the fee, the court considers: « For such a conclusion, the overall purpose of the duty to register as such, partly that the amendments does not mean that the current type of activity would no longer be subject to registration. »