Retail and wholesale

Rules and regulations for your sector

Retail and wholesale general (28 regulations)Selling animals and animal feed (12 regulations)Selling flowers and plants (7 regulations)Selling food and beverages (13 regulations)Selling medicines (7 regulations)Selling non-food products (27 regulations)Selling outside a store (10 regulations)Vehicle sales and maintenance (16 regulations)

Applying food hygiene principles

Do you work with food or drinks in the Netherlands? For example, in a restaurant, ice cream shop, bakery, food truck, or from home? You must do so safely. You must work according to hygiene rules when...

Excise duty and consumption tax

Do you import consumer goods or other excisable goods into the Netherlands? Or do you produce such products in the Netherlands? You may have to pay consumption tax and excise tax on these goods....

Attention: amendment

Killing and slaughtering animals

If you want to kill or slaughter animals, strict regulations apply to all actions. You must have proof of your expertise and you must apply for recognition for your slaughterhouse. You must ensure...

Labelling of food

Do you sell or manufacture pre-packaged foods in the Netherlands? You must make sure these products have a label which includes information about the product. If you sell unpacked or non-prepacked...

Making or selling food supplements

If you make or sell food supplements or herbal preparations, you need to comply with the European directive on food supplements and Dutch Legislation. Food supplements Food supplements are vitamins,...

Making, trading, and transporting wine

Do you produce, trade, or transport wine in the Netherlands? You must comply with several European regulations for wine. There are for instance rules for producing wine, labelling bottles, reporting...

Phytosanitary and veterinary export certificate

Do you plan to export agricultural goods from the Netherlands to non-EU countries? You will need a veterinary or phytosanitary export certificate. What is an export certificate? The export certificate...

Protection of regional products

Do you produce or process a regional product? You can apply for European protection against copying or misuse. With this protection you can protect your product from vendors who wrongfully sell the...

Registration and accreditation with the NVWA

Do you make, process, or transport food or feed? Or do you store foodstuffs? You must register all of your branches in the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority’s (NVWA) register....

Reporting and recalling unsafe food and animal feed

Are you a producer, distributor, or seller of human food or animal feed in the Netherlands? And did you potentially make, supply, or store an unsafe product? You must report this immediately to the...

Sale of cannabis in coffeeshops

Toleration policy In the Netherlands, selling drugs is illegal. However, the Dutch government tolerates the sale of soft drugs in so-called coffeeshops. Their owners will not be prosecuted if their...

Sales of tobacco

Do you sell tobacco, e-cigarettes, and e-liquids? You are not allowed to sell these products everywhere and to everyone. You are not allowed to sell tobacco in a supermarket, liquor store, or online,...