Retail businesses will be allowed to open 7 days a week and until 9 p.m.

Context  

Parliament has reformed the Act of 10 November 2006 on opening hours in trade, crafts and services. It is now called the “Act on opening hours”. 

The legislator’s objective is to modernise the legislative framework in order to take account of developments in the retail sector and changes in consumer expectations over the past twenty years. 

Reform 

The Act introduces, in particular, the following changes: 

• It abolishes the mandatory weekly closing day; 
• It relaxes the opening hours applicable to retail businesses in general (excluding night shops), which will now be allowed to open every day from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.; 
• It clarifies that the Act of 10 November 2006 does not generally apply to services; 
• It sets out the rules applicable to so-called mixed activities, only some of which are subject to the Act of 10 November 2006. A business carrying out such activities is entirely excluded from the scope of the Act if the activities not subject to the Act account for at least 40% of its annual turnover; 
• it clarifies which retail businesses benefit from an exemption from the closing-hour rules, in particular newspaper shops. 

However, the Act does not amend the provisions on working time.  

The Act enters into force on 13 August 2026. 

Takeaway 

From 13 August 2026, retail businesses may open every day between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m., without a mandatory weekly closing day. However, this reform only concerns opening hours: employers remain fully bound by the rules on working time. 

Sources: Act of 20 July 2026 amending the Act of 10 November 2006 on opening hours in trade, crafts and services and the Act of 24 June 2013 on municipal administrative sanctions, Belgian Official Gazette, 3 August 2026