The first chamber of commerce in Sweden was established in Stockholm in 1902.
After that year new chambers were constituted in all parts of the country.
By 1915 most of the country was covered by the new organisation.
In 1917 the Government passed a royal resolution, by which the chambers of commerce were to be authorised by the King. The resolution was succeeded by a law in 1990, which has been amended once (in 1994). Attached to the law there is a Government resolution regulating the authorisation process and the international trade documents to be issued by the chambers. The resolution also appoints the National Board of Trade as the relevant government body on issues concerning the chambers.
The main issue of the original resolution (and the law) is to ensure a democratic framework to the chambers and to regulate the trade document administration of the chambers. The districts of the chambers are to be defined in the statutes of the chambers. The statutes must be approved by the government.
The main purpose behind the new law passed in 1990 was to strengthen the legal status of the document administration of the chambers and to tie this part of the chambers administration closer to the Swedish state. Violation of the chambers document rules now falls under public law.
The Swedish chambers of commerce are private law chambers. Membership is not compulsory as in most countries on the European continent. Of the total number of companies in Sweden only a fraction are members. Normally the most dominant and active companies in the region are among the members. Small businesses - like shops, restaurants and garages - are scarce among members.
To receive government authorisation the chambers must have a democratic constitution. All chamber members must have a say how the chamber is ruled.
The members elect an assembly which appoints an executive board of directors. Members pay their fees to the chambers. There is no common fee system. All chambers use different systems. Most of the commercial activities of the chambers are run through special service companies, which are wholly owned by the chambers.
All chambers have a defined district - normally one or more government counties. Today we have 11 chambers in Sweden. Several chambers, which operate large districts - have branch offices. The total number of offices is 32. The larger chambers have a staff of 30 - 70 people. Smaller chambers have a staff of less than ten people.
The chambers main task is to represent the business community in contacts with national, regional or local authorities. The chambers promote their region and make contacts with business organisations and government institutions abroad. The chambers are recognised as the official representative of the business community (in the region). Market economy and free competition are the cornerstones of the chambers of commerce policy.
The chambers are active promoting infrastructure projects within their regions, which are of prime importance to the business community. Chambers are active on fairs and other commercial events (e g exhibitions, conferences and other arrangements which will help promoting business in their region).
Several chambers have training programmes (which are not part of any official training programme). The chambers also authorise suppliers of services to the business community, such as commercial inspectors and surveyors. The Stockholm Chamber of Commerce has set up an international arbitration institute. All chambers issue ATA-carnets and other international trade documents.
The larger chambers have an extensive information service to their members (concerning laws, trade facilitation, taxes, trade marks, business ethics). All chambers advice their members on government contacts and business policy. The chambers receive enquires from foreign companies and organisations concerning business opportunities etc. Most chambers run incoming trade enquiries through the Chamber Trade system.
The chambers do not have any given official functions by law or government decisions (apart from issuing of international trade documents). The chambers should answer requests from national, regional and local governments – but this is not a duty. It is more up to the governments to take into consideration, proposals or viewpoints given by the chambers.
The chambers do not manage the official trade records or any official records. The cham-bers do not have any direct ownership or management responsibility of infrastructure facilites etc. Some chambers have ownership of or interests in local fairs.
The over all aim of all activities of the chambers is to serve and promote the business in their regions.
Swedish Chambers of Commerce in foreign countries
There are about 50 Swedish Chambers of Commerce, Business Clubs and simliar organizations in other countries. The missions of these organiszations are to serve their members. Some also have service to non members.
The Swedish Chambers of Commerce abroad are fully independent organizations and not part of the national Swedish Chamber organization. They operate under the conditions in their host country. All Swedish Chambers cooperate.
The Association of Swedish Chambers of Commerce
The Association of Swedish Chambers of Commerce was organised in 1974. The Associa-tion has no staff of its own. The Stockholm Chamber of Commerce is responsible for the services of the Association. The chamber managers constitute the board of directors of the Association and meet regularly. The Association also have co-operation agreements with Confederation of Swedish Enterprises and Swedish Government International Develop-ment Agency (Sida). The chambers can also act on the national level through the Asso-ciation concerning government regulations, new legislation etc. The Association is a member of and the main contact point with the European chamber organisation Eurochambres.
Summary of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce Law
of June 18, 1990; amended December 15, 1994
(SFS 1990:515; amended SFS 1994:1591)
This is a non official summary of the law! The full text in Swedish.
The law regulates the organisation and the tasks of the authorised Swedish regional chambers of commerce.
Authorisation is given by the Government. Authorisation can be given to a chamber of commerce created by a association of representatives of the business community in a region.
The purpose of the chamber should be to develop industry and commerce and to represent the business community in relation to the Government and local authorities.
The chambers statutes must be approved by the Government.
The law stipulates that the Assembly of each chamber should consist of at least 16 members - all with equal voting rights.
The chamber should have an appropriate geographical district, which must not include districts of other authorised chambers. Every business can, if he is not improper, be a member of the chamber.
Should the statutes of the chamber be amended, the amendment should be passed on to the Government for approval.
The Government can commission the chambers to issue certain international certificates and trade documents, which are related to international agreements or to regulations regarding imports from or exports to other countries.
The contents of the statement given accordingly to the chambers should be given on faith and honour. Incorrect or misleading statements will render prosecution.
The Government will have the supervision of the chambers through a Government agency, the National Board of Trade, which will be appointed by the Government.
The chambers of commerce should before the end of May send their annual reports to the appointed Government Agency.
The Government can cancel the authorisation of a chamber in case the chamber no longer fulfils its obligations.
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This summary is completed by a government resolution (SFS 1990:733) which prescribes the evaluation process and appoints the relevant government agency.
The resolution also enumerates relevant Swedish and EU documents, which chambers are commissioned to issue.
