Belgium Plans to Restrict Vape Flavours from September 2028: What Changes for Retailers?

Belgium plans to restrict flavoured e-cigarettes from September 1, 2028. For affected retailers, the proposed change concerns which vape products may be sold and how product assortments are managed, rather than a new GKS 2.0 or cash register requirement.

Belgium is preparing restrictions on flavourings used in electronic cigarettes. On the proposal of Minister of Public Health Frank Vandenbroucke, the Council of Ministers approved a draft Royal Decree and a draft Ministerial Decree intended to limit the flavouring additives that may be used in e-liquids.

The measures are planned to apply from September 1, 2028. For the Fiscal Portal audience, their main relevance is to retailers selling electronic cigarettes and e-liquids, because the rules would determine which products may continue to be offered for Sale in Belgium and how those products should be presented.

This should not, however, be interpreted as a new Belgian fiscalization requirement. The proposed measures concern product compliance, marketing and retail assortment, rather than the Registered Cash Register System (GKS), Fiscal Data Module or fiscal recording of retail transactions. Ordinary retail is not brought within the GKS 2.0 scope simply because a Store sells electronic cigarettes.

The Council of Ministers approved two connected draft measures. The draft Royal Decree would amend the Royal Decree of October 28, 2016, concerning the manufacture and marketing of electronic cigarettes. Its purpose is to restrict flavourings in electronic cigarettes and prevent manufacturers from circumventing those restrictions through other product characteristics.

Under the draft, technical elements that modify the taste, smell or colour of emissions from electronic cigarettes or refill containers would be prohibited. This would apply to refill containers and electronic cigarettes both with and without nicotine.

The draft would also restrict how flavour is presented on packaging. Only “tobacco” could be indicated as a taste on unit packets, outer packaging and package inserts. References to flavouring substances would be limited to the additives permitted under the accompanying Ministerial Decree.

The draft Ministerial Decree would then determine which flavouring additives may actually be used in e-liquids. According to the Council of Ministers' announcement, only flavouring additives listed in the annex to that decree would be authorised.

The legal status is therefore important. These are currently draft measures approved by the Council of Ministers, not requirements already applicable to retailers. The drafts have been sent to the Council of State for its opinion. Retailers should consequently follow the final texts before treating any individual product as definitively permitted or prohibited.

What does the proposed restriction mean for retailers in practice?

For retailers legally selling electronic cigarettes and e-liquids, the most practical question will be whether products currently in their assortment comply with the final list of permitted flavouring additives.

Before the planned September 2028 application date, affected retailers may need to review their assortment with suppliers and identify products that will no longer comply once the new rules apply. Depending on the final legal text and any transitional provisions, some Stock Keeping Units may need to be discontinued, replaced or removed from Sale.

This may involve several parts of a retail organisation. Purchasing teams may need confirmation from suppliers about which products will remain compliant for the Belgian market. Product-management teams may need to identify affected products and update master data, while Store personnel may need instructions on when products can no longer be offered to customers.

The final treatment of existing stock is particularly relevant. The currently published Council of Ministers information describes the proposed restrictions but does not provide sufficient detail to conclude how all stock already present in the retail chain will be treated when the rules become applicable. This should therefore be checked against the final Royal Decree, Ministerial Decree and any accompanying transitional provisions.

The flavour restriction would also operate alongside Belgium's existing rules governing tobacco and related products, including electronic cigarettes. Retailers already need to consider requirements concerning age restrictions, permitted sales locations, product presentation, labelling and the prohibition on displaying covered products at points of sale accessible to consumers.

The new proposal should therefore be viewed as an additional product-assortment restriction within that wider retail compliance framework.

Does this require changes to GKS 2.0 or cash registers in any way?

Based on the currently published measures, no direct GKS 2.0 or cash register implementation requirement has been introduced. This distinction matters for POS and cash register providers. A retailer may eventually need to deactivate a prohibited product in its POS product database or otherwise prevent its Sale after the applicable date. Such an adjustment would support the retailer's compliance with the product restriction, but it would not in itself represent a new fiscalization function.

Belgium's Registered Cash Register System (GKS) belongs to a separate fiscalization framework and is currently associated with businesses falling within the applicable HoReCa scope.

What should the retailers actually do?

For retailers, preparation should focus on the final legal texts, the permitted flavouring additives, supplier confirmation, product assortment and the treatment of stock approaching the 2028 application date.

We emphasize that the central point is understanding where the required change belongs. The proposal affects what retailers may place on the Belgian market and offer in their stores. It does not currently change how the sale itself must be fiscally recorded.

Retail software may therefore support compliance through product blocking, assortment changes or master-data updates, while the Belgian fiscalization process remains separate. Until the Royal Decree and Ministerial Decree are finalized, retailers should monitor the legislative process and avoid implementing assumptions that are not yet supported by the final legal text.

The final Royal Decree and Ministerial Decree should therefore be monitored before the 2028 application date. Primary source for these changes is in the official source confirming approval of the draft Royal Decree and draft Ministerial Decree, their main content and referral to the Council of State. Source

Tara Nedeljković, Team Lead of Legal Consultants at Fiscal Solutions

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