Is Alcohol legal in Solomon Islands?

Also known as: booze

Legal status

Legal, with limits. Alcohol is lawful to sell and drink in Solomon Islands within the Liquor Act (Cap. 144), reprint as in force at 5 February 2024. Section 2 defines 'liquor' as 'any wine, spirits, beer, or any liquid containing alcohol ordinarily used or fit for use as a beverage, or any other liquid which the Minister may by notice declare to be liquor', excluding alcohol whose importation is restricted under section 34 of the Customs and Excise Act, which was not read. Selling liquor needs one of the licences listed in section 3, and section 57(1) makes selling without a licence an offence. Limits found: under a retail licence, sales only on weekdays other than Good Friday and Christmas Day between eight in the forenoon and six in the evening (section 5, which governs the retail licence alone); under a publican's licence section 10 sets different hours, namely weekdays other than Good Friday and Christmas Day from ten in the forenoon to half past ten in the evening, and Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day from twelve noon to half past two in the afternoon and from seven to ten in the evening, with a further hours permit possible under section 10(2); a minimum age of twenty one years for the sale and supply offences (section 72); a ban on consuming liquor in streets and public places in a town area (section 65) and in motor vehicles on a road (section 66); and a ban on brewing or distilling without the Minister's written approval (section 50). The Dangerous Drugs Act and the Pharmacy and Poisons Act do not treat alcohol as a drug or poison in the sections read.

Consequences if caught

Sale without a licence: section 57(1) states a fine of 2,000 penalty units for a first offence, and for a second or later offence a fine of 10,000 penalty units or imprisonment for one year or both, with forfeiture of the liquor and, on a repeat, twelve months disqualification from holding a licence. Sale or supply to a person under twenty one: section 72(1) and (2) state a fine of 8,000 penalty units or imprisonment for nine months or both. A person under twenty one who consumes, buys or tries to buy liquor in licensed premises: section 72(3) states a fine of 10,000 penalty units or imprisonment for one year. Sending a person under twenty one to obtain liquor: section 72(4), a fine of 2,000 penalty units. Drinking in a street or public place in a town area: section 65, a fine of 2,000 penalty units. Drinking in a motor vehicle on a road: section 66(3), a fine of 10,000 penalty units or imprisonment for twelve months or both. Brewing, distilling, making liquor or holding a still without approval: section 50(2), a fine of 30,000 penalty units or imprisonment for three years or both. Sale outside the hours: section 5(2), a fine of 3,000 penalty units per sale. A licensee supplying a person who is intoxicated: section 68, 250 penalty units for a first offence and 3,000 for a later one. Publican's licence: section 10(3) forbids the holder to sell or deliver liquor in unbroken containers, or liquor not intended to be consumed on the premises, after nine o'clock in the evening on any day; section 10(6) makes a person (other than a bona fide lodger, the guest of a lodger or a person employed at the premises) who drinks liquor in licensed premises, or is found leaving them with liquor, outside the hours and days in section 10(1) guilty of an offence with a fine of 1,500 penalty units. Licensed premises: section 69(2) makes a person referred to in section 69(1), such as one who is drunk, violent, quarrelsome or disorderly, who refuses or fails to leave when requested by the licensee, his agent or servant or a police officer liable to a fine of 5,000 penalty units or, in default of payment, imprisonment for six months. Private possession and drinking by an adult at home: no offence was found in the Act as read, except under a court order. Section 71 lets a court, on the application of a police officer and on proof that a person is 'of confirmed intemperate habits', prohibit that person from having liquor in possession or drinking it for a period not exceeding twelve months, and section 71(2) makes a person who breaches such an order liable to a fine of 1,000 penalty units or imprisonment for one month or both. Import of liquor: the Liquor Act as read states no offence for importing liquor beyond the still and equipment offence in section 50(2)(a). The Liquor Act states no death penalty. The Act does not state the value of a penalty unit and none is converted here.

If prescribed or medical

Alcohol is not a prescription drug under the Act. The only medical reference is the proviso to section 57(1), which exempts a registered pharmacist supplying liquor in quantities not exceeding six ounces on the prescription of a person registered as a medical practitioner under the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act. Alcohol in medicines is addressed by section 50 of the Pharmacy and Poisons Act only as a labelling duty for imported medicines (percentage of proof spirit).

Documentation

The Liquor Act as read does not set a traveller's allowance or an import permit rule for liquor. Its definition excludes alcohol whose importation is restricted under section 34 of the Customs and Excise Act, and that Act was not read, so the rules for carrying liquor into Solomon Islands are not verified. Section 50(2)(a) separately makes it an offence, without the Minister's written approval, to import a still or equipment for brewing or distilling liquor. Methylated spirits are listed in Part II of the Poisons List in Schedule B of the Pharmacy and Poisons Act, which is a separate regime.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Solomon Islands’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.