Retail and wholesale
Amendments for your sector
Yet to come into effect (9)
GPSR: new rules for product safety
Effective date: 13 december 2024
Do you sell non-food consumer products in the EU and Northern Ireland? You must comply with new product safety rules when the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) takes effect. The GPSR protects...
USB-C mandatory for all portable devices
Effective date: 28 december 2024
Do you manufacture, import, or sell electronic devices? Small and medium-sized electronic devices that can be charged via a wired connection must have a USB Type-C port. USB-C is the mandatory...
Ban on cash payments over €3,000
Effective date: 31 maart 2025
Do you often pay large amounts in banknotes? The government intends to ban cash payments for amounts of over €3,000. This ban applies to traders (professional or commercial buyers and vendors of...
Security of smart devices must be improved
Effective date: 1 augustus 2025
Do you manufacture or sell smart devices? There will be minimum requirements to ensure the digital security of devices connected to the internet – Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These new rules...
Doorstep sales only binding after written consent (withdrawn)
Effective date: withdrawn
Please note: this change will not happen. The EU does not allow the introduction of the requirement for a written agreement (schriftelijkheidsvereiste). Do you sell contracts or subscriptions at the...
Digital register for second-hand traders
Effective date: not yet known
Do you buy or trade second-hand goods? You will have to register both the goods and the people offering the goods in a digital traders register (Digitaal Opkopersregister, DOR). In some...
Plain packaging for vapes and cigars
Effective date: not yet known
Do you sell cigars and e-cigarettes (vapes)? Soon these products will have to be sold in neutral packaging. This plain packaging requirement already applies to cigarettes and rolling tobacco since...
Registration duty for tobacco outlets
Effective date: 2024
Do you sell tobacco and related products, such as e-cigarettes? If so, you will soon have to register your sales outlet. From 2024, a registration duty applies to outlets selling tobacco and smoking...
Preventing child labour
Effective date: not yet known
Do you sell products or services? You have to make sure that these do not involve child labour at any stage. You have to be able to show that you are doing what is needed to prevent child labour. If...
Already in effect (4)
Supermarkets may no longer sell cigarettes
Effective date: 1 juli 2024
Do you own or run a supermarket? Sales of tobacco products and vapes (e-cigarettes) is banned from supermarkets. The Dutch Cabinet wants to reduce the number of outlets selling tobacco. In 2024 the...
Excise duty on tobacco up extra in April 2024
Effective date: 1 april 2024
The excise duties on cigarettes, loose tobacco, and cigars increased on 1 April 2024. The price of a packet of cigarettes (20 pieces) increased by €0.93 to an average price of €11.10. The excise duty...
Excise duty on alcohol goes up in 2024
Effective date: 1 januari 2024
Do you sell beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages? The excise duty on wine, and other alcoholic beverages has increased by 8.4% from 1 January 2024. From 1 January the calculation of excise duty on...
Higher consumption tax on non-alcoholic drinks
Effective date: 1 januari 2024
Do you sell non-alcoholic drinks, such as soft drinks and fruit juices? The consumption tax (verbruiksbelasting) on these drinks has gone up. From 1 January 2024, the consumption tax on non-alcoholic...
Questions relating to this article?
Please contact the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO