B2B and Consumer Protection legislations in the spotlight

This webpage is dedicated to exploring the B2B regulations and consumer protection and rights that have been incorporated into the Belgian Code of Economic Law in recent years following European impetus.

The legislation governing B2B relationships and consumer protection and rights is rapidly evolving, presenting a complex array of obligations for businesses.

A glimpse of the consumer protection and rights in Belgium

In 2022, the Belgian legislator focused on consumer protection and rights by transposing:

• the Act of 2 March 2022 transposing the Sales of Goods Directive (applying to sales contracts concluded between consumers and professional sellers. It expressly covers the sale of goods incorporating or inter-connected with digital elements, such as the sale of a smartphone, a smart watch or a smart TV),
• the Act of 2 March 2022 transposing the Digital Content Directive (applying to any contract whereby a trader supplies digital content or service to a consumer, who pays a price in return (in money or by providing personal data)),
• the Act of 5 May 2022 transposing the Omnibus Directive (impacting several provisions of the Code of Economic law including new rules on price reduction announcements, additional precontractual information requirements for distance and off-premises contracts and contracts concluded on online marketplaces).

The ongoing fight of the European legislator against late payments in commercial transactions and its transposition in Belgian legislation.

See our regular alerts on this topic in the Insight Series below.