Selling fuels in the Netherlands
Do you sell fuels? If so, you must comply with the rules of the Environmental Activities Decree (Bal). You must also offer alternative (bio)fuels, label the different types of fuels, and display a fuel price comparison.
Soil and air rules
Fuels must not enter the soil, and you must also prevent emissions from fuels into the air. You must comply with the following rules:
- You must have a liquid-proof floor or a liquid-resistant floor. And you must collect wastewater in a safe way (soil regulations, in Dutch).
- You must comply with rules for safe discharge. For example, the wastewater may only contain a certain amount of oil or undissolved substances. There are rules for large scale and for small scale operations (in Dutch).
- You must have a vapour recovery system that reduces the emission of vapours into the atmosphere (air regulations, in Dutch). This system has to meet certain requirements.
Safety regulations
When working with fuels, there is a risk of fire and explosion. If you supply or temporarily store fuels, you must comply with the safety regulations from the Dangerous Substances Publication series (Publicatiereeks Gevaarlijke Stoffen, PGS):
- The safety regulations for liquid fuels (in Dutch) can be found in PGS 28 for below-ground storage (in Dutch) and PGS 30 for above-ground storage (in Dutch)
- The safety regulations for compressed natural gas (CNG) (in Dutch) can be found in PGS 25 (in Dutch)
These publications contain the requirements for, for example:
- the construction, positioning, and design of the LPG delivery installation or CNG filling station
- inspections, monitoring, and maintenance of the LPG delivery installation
- operational management of the installation, such as supervision, what to do in case of emergencies, and which signs to put up
- minimum distances between the delivery installation or road tanker and other objects
Obligation to report
Do you want to sell or store fuel? Then you must report this (in Dutch). You submit the notification via the Environment and Planning Portal (Omgevingsloket, in Dutch) at least 4 weeks before starting your activities.
Offering biofuels
Do you sell fuels for vehicles using public roads? Then your annual sales must consist partly of biofuels. This is registered in the Energy for Transport Registry. Biofuels are made from plant material or waste.
Offer E10 petrol
Does your petrol station have 2 or more filling installations (pumps)? If so, at least half of them must offer E10 petrol. E10 contains a higher percentage of biofuel. The other half of the pumps may contain other types of petrol. Do you only have 1 pump? Then you may choose which petrol you sell.
Fuel stickers
In the EU, all filling station owners must put the same fuel stickers on their pumps (in Dutch). New vehicles have the same sticker showing which fuel to use. This way drivers can easily see which fuel they need in any EU country.
Comparing fuel prices
All pump owners in the EU must show a fuel price comparison (in Dutch). You must show a price comparison of the average price per 100 km for:
- petrol (gasoline)
- diesel
- LPG
- electricity
- hydrogen
- green gas (CNG)
Biofuels such as biodiesel, bioethanol, or biogas will not be shown in the comparison as their fuel consumption is not determined.
Organic halogen compounds in fuels
You may not use, sell, or keep fuels with:
- a PCB content of more than 0.5 mg/kg per congener
- an organic halogen compound content of more than 50 mg/kg
Please note: The technical requirements in the Netherlands for the organic halogen content of (raw materials for) fuels differ from those in other EU member states. If a (raw material for) fuel is permitted in another EU member state, the Dutch government may only ban its sale in the Netherlands in exceptional cases.