On 20 May 2026, the Belgian Council of State ruled that the Belgian rules that strictly regulate summer and winter sales (soldes/solden) do not comply with the EU Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29. Our highest administrative Court (Raad van State/Conseil d’Etat) cancelled the fines that the Federal Public Service Economy had imposed on three retailers for breach of the rules on sales.
As a result, neither the Federal Public Service nor the courts can in the future enforce the rules on sales.
The decision of the Council of State did not come as a surprise because the Court of Justice of the EU had ruled in the past that the Belgian rules on sales did not comply with the Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29 (CJEU 15 December 2011, C-126/11). In response to this decision of the Court of Justice, the Belgian parliament changed the law: it added to the existing law that the rules on sales were merely introduced to create a level playing field for sellers. The new law would not touch on consumer protection and, therefore, the new law would not fall within the scope of the Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29. This cosmetic change has now been rejected by the Council of State, which found that the rules on sales do touch on consumer protection and are therefore exhaustively governed by the Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29.
The decision of the Council of State has far-reaching and immediate consequences. From now on:
- The rules regarding the waiting periods, one month prior to the start of the sales periods, are no longer valid. During the waiting periods (sperperiodes/périodes d’attente), in June and December, announcements of price reductions for apparel, shoes and leatherwear are prohibited. Traders may from now on run price reduction promotions the whole year round.
- The sales can from now on start whenever the traders want. The official start dates of 1 July and 3 January no longer have any legal effect. Traders can organize sales with strong price reductions at any time of the year.
- The use of the words SOLDEN, SOLDES or SCHLUSSVERKAUF is no longer restricted to the summer or winter sale of goods. Sales can also be used for services, if the service providers offer solid price reductions on their services.
Another consequence of the Council of State’s decisions is that loss sales (vente à perte/verkoop met verlies) should no longer be prohibited in Belgium. Loss sales are promotions that are not prohibited in the EU Commercial Practices Directive and therefore they should not be prohibited in Belgium. The argument that the prohibition of loss sales protects traders and not consumers should be rejected because the Council of State rejected this argument in relation to the sales.
Finally, the rules on liquidation sales (uitverkoop/liquidation) will no longer be enforceable. When a trader sells his existing stock to carry out construction work in his shop or to terminate his business, he can do so without further restrictions or formalities.
The decisions of the Council of State are well motivated and are available ‘in Dutch only’:
- https://www.raadvst-consetat.be/Arresten/266000/700/266735.pdf
- https://www.raadvst-consetat.be/Arresten/266000/700/266736.pdf
- https://www.raadvst-consetat.be/Arresten/266000/700/266737.pdf
The conclusion of the Council of State, on page 47, reads: “It follows from the foregoing that Article VI.25 of the Belgian Economic Law Code, with its general prohibition on the use of the term ‘sales’ or equivalent designations for sales promotions outside the statutory sales periods, falls within the personal scope of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. Since this directive, which aims for full harmonization, does not provide for such a prohibition, Article VI.25 of the Belgian Economic Law Code is contrary to the directive and must be set aside by the Council of State. […] Consequently, the contested fine is based on an unlawful legal ground and must be annulled.”
