2018/0078/B
EC/EFTA
BE Belgien
  • C60A - Etikettierung
2018-05-24
2018-03-01

Tobacco products

Royal Decree amending the Royal Decree of 5 February 2016 on the manufacture and placement on the market of tobacco products

The draft provides for an amendment to the Royal Decree of 5 February 2016 on the manufacture and placement on the market of tobacco products, which partially transposes Directive 2014/40/EU.

The planned amendments mainly involve adding or modifying definitions, annual notification, regulations concerning ingredients, labelling, product presentation, distance sales and novel tobacco products. Finally, some amendments are made to correct technical errors in the transposition.

More specifically, the words ‘tobacco products’ are replaced by ‘tobacco-based products’ throughout the Royal Decree.

As regards definitions, the concept of ‘device’ is added and the definition ‘importer of tobacco-based products or related products’ is modified. As regards the concept of importer, we have modified the definition of importer to ensure that there is a responsible person in Belgium to enable the inspectorate to take measures against companies in breach of the law. In fact, the definition as currently drafted does not allow for pursuit of importers or manufacturers in breach of the law. Since the Royal Decree entered into force, many companies have been in breach of the law and the inspectorate cannot do anything against them because of the current definition. This change is absolutely necessary and fundamental for public health. The Directive allows us to go further and make this change. Article 23 of the Directive indeed provides that Member States are responsible for implementation and control.

Since some Member States have no inspection service (e.g. France), Belgium needs to take its own measures to ensure its citizens’ health and ensure that the Directive is applied in full.

Amendments are made to Article 4 of the Royal Decree as regards notification, particularly in terms of the date on which the annual notification must be made, file data, annual sales data and fees. Moreover, Article 4(1) has been added regarding the application of enhanced reporting obligations for certain additives.

As regards the regulations concerning ingredients, the exception granted to tobacco products containing a particular characterising flavour, for which the volume of sales across the European Union represents 3% or more in a given product category has been eliminated (entry into force three months after publication of the amending Royal Decree) and paragraph 9 has been added to Article 5 prohibiting the use of technical features and methods to modify the smell, taste, smoke intensity or colour of emissions from tobacco-based products.

Amendments have been made to Article 7 of the Royal Decree concerning the thickness of cigarette packets and roll-your-own tobacco in pouches.

Amendments have been made to Article 8 of the Royal Decree concerning combined health warnings on cylindrical packets and concerning the replacement of ‘brand names and logos’ by the word ‘brands’.

Article 9 of the Royal Decree is supplemented by reference to the Ligne Tabac Stop [Tabac Stop Line].

Paragraph 2 of Article 11 of the Royal Decree is supplemented by a sentence prohibiting any reference to pricing except for the price indicated on the tax stamp. Moreover, a new paragraph 4 has been added to the same Article to allow the Minister to draw up a list of prohibited brands of tobacco-based products.

As regards Article 12 of the Royal Decree, a new paragraph 3 has been added to specify that each tobacco-based product must be packaged or have outside packaging.

Article 13 of the Royal Decree concerning distance sales has been remodelled.

A new paragraph 5 has been added to Article 14 of the Royal Decree to improve the regulation of novel tobacco-based products.

Some amendments have been made to Article 16 concerning herbal products for smoking, particularly concerning fees.