Assortment policy

Is CE marking also mandatory for you?

CE marking is mandatory for items in the following product groups (please note that this does not mean you are allowed to sell all these items via bol):

• Explosives for civilian use
• Pyrotechnic articles
• Construction products
• Toys
• Personal protective equipment
• Electrical, electronic and energy-related items
• Medical devices (please note that these are subject to specific guidelines you need to comply with in addition to the CE markings. You can read about it in Medical Devices Policy)
• Measuring and weighing equipment
• Machinery and related items
• Transport equipment

Is the ECE marking also mandatory for you?

An ECE marking is mandatory for items in the following product groups (please note, this does not mean that you can sell all these items via bol):

• Car seats
• Car lamps
• Helmets

Which responsibilities you have regarding the CE marking depends on your role – i.e. whether you are the importer, distributor or manufacturer. It is your own responsibility to determine whether the articles you sell require CE marking. Use this overview from the RVO to check whether CE marking is mandatory for your item.

Take the following actions to ensure that your product range complies with CE marking:

1. Complete the product information ‘CE marking’. You can find this below mandatory information in the seller dashboard. Via a dropdown menu you can indicate that the CE marking is ‘visible’ (on your item, on the packaging of your item or on a manual of your item). Should your item still not be covered by CE regulations, you can select ‘not applicable’ here. We will check this product information. For current offer it is not obliged to upload a photo.
2. For new product ranges (this means offering a new item for which no product information is yet available), you must upload a photo (JPEG or PDF file type) of the CE marking as applied to the item. If this is not technically possible, a photo of the CE marking on the packaging or on the instruction manual will suffice. Instructions and examples for adding CE marking can be found here.
3. The trade name and contact address of the manufacturer or importer in Europe:
   For existing and new ranges, we ask you to fill in the text attribute ‘Trade name and contact address of manufacturer or importer in EU‘ under optional information in the seller dashboard. You should fill in the name and contact address of the manufacturer or importer in EU. The information entered will not be visible on bol, nor will we search for the purchase channel. You hereby declare that the information entered is also visible/present on the product or packaging.

Please take the following actions to ensure your range is compliant with the ECE marking:

1. We ask you to fill in the product information ‘ECE marking’ from 24 August 2023 (under optional information in the seller dashboard). From 1 March 2024, this can be found under compulsory information in the seller dashboard. Here you can indicate via a dropdown menu that the ECE marking is ‘visible’ (on your item, on the packaging of your item or on a manual of your item). Should your item still not be covered by ECE regulations, you can select ‘not applicable’ here. We will check this product information. For existing offer, it is not required to upload a photo.
2. For new assortment (this means offering a new article for which no product information is available yet), from 1 March 2024 you have to upload a photo (JPEG or PDF file type) of the ECE marking as applied to the item. If this is not technically possible, a photo of the ECE marking on the packaging or on the instruction manual will suffice. To add the ECE marking, please use the instructions for CE marking, which can be found here.
3. The trade name and contact address of the manufacturer or importer in Europe:
   For existing and new offer, we ask you to fill in the text attribute ‘Handelsnaam en contactadres van fabrikant of importeur in EU’, to be filled in under optional information in the seller dashboard. From 1 March 2024, this will be mandatory. Here you must then fill in the name and contact address of the manufacturer or importer in the EU. The information entered will not be visible on bol, nor will we search for the purchase channel. You hereby declare that the information entered is also visible/present on the item or packaging.

• If you sell an item from a country outside the EU and sell it under that manufacturer’s brand name, then you are an importer, with the accompanying responsibilities.
• Do you sell an item you bought from a party within the EU? For example, from an importer, a European manufacturer or another distributor? Then you are a distributor.

We will check the product information for completeness and accuracy.

• • If the item is a toy and has safety warnings, add these in the textual product information below ‘Veiligheidswaarschuwingen’ (Safety warnings).
  • Make sure you have the documentation and the declaration of conformity (conformity statement) accompanying the item available. Both bol and the authorities could ask for these.

  Should you need help for the above, we recommend you consult the following resources:

  • The website of the RFO
  • European Commission website
  • Our service partners who can give you advice
  • Our policy on the Partnerplatform

  How to use the CE mark?

  You can recognise the CE marking by the familiar CE mark. It must be affixed to the product or the attached data plate. If this is not technically practicable, you may affix the CE marking to the product packaging or to an accompanying document (you can find the appropriate image here).

  What if you do not fulfil this obligation?

  The (safety) rules are set by law – and so you need to be able to prove that you have the necessary CE mark(s). If not, you are breaking the law. If you do not comply with our policy, your product will be taken offline. We do this to prevent customers from being put at risk by potentially unsafe items.

  Want to find out more?

  To meet all product safety requirements, our service partners are happy to help you on your way. They also offer advice and guidance on testing, certification, marking, quality assurance, labelling, manual writing and packaging design. Read more about our service partners and how they can help you on our product safety Partnerplatform.

Non-retractable knives and catapults

Due to safety reasons, you can only offer knives at bol that are collapsible, such as Stanley knives and pocketknives. Axes are also allowed. With collapsible knives we mean knives that you can make smaller by hinging or sliding and where you fold the blade into the handle to store it safely in your pocket. Non-folding knives include machetes (including those intended for gardening), daggers and hunting knives. When you offer a knife, we ask you to indicate whether or not your knife is collapsible. 

Furthermore, your offer must comply with the applicable laws and regulations. Items in the product category ‘knives’ are regulated in the Netherlands by the Wet Wapens en Munitie (the Weapons and Ammunition Act). You are not allowed to sell any of the items covered by this law via bol. Not even if the law allows certain weapons to be sold to licensees. We cannot allow this because it is impossible to check if customers have a valid license. 

*The above applies to the Sport, Camping & Outdoor range. This means that cooking knives and dinner knives are, however, allowed for sale when offered in the appropriate category. 

It is the responsibility of every partner to know the Weapons and Ammunition Act, if you sell assortment that qualifies for it. In order to best enforce the Weapons and Ammunition Act, it has been decided to provide additional clarification and/or guidelines within a number of categories: 

The following items are not allowed to sell on bol: 

• Butterfly knives / Balisong
  Neither is it allowed to sell so-called training knives / trainers of this type via bol. 
• Stiletto knives, also known as drop knives and switchblade knives
  Neither is it allowed to sell so-called training knives / trainers of this type via bol. 
• Knives that are ‘concealed’ by resembling an innocuous item such as a pen, comb, bank card, etc.
  Also described as blank weapons that, in appearance, resemble an object other than a weapon.
• Throwing knives and throwing stars (also known as shuriken, ninja stars)
  Including trainers. Excluded are costume accessories that fall under the toy directive and are therefore in terms of target group intended for children under 14. 

Precursors for explosives

European regulation on explosives precursors 

Home-explosives are weapons commonly used by terrorists and other criminals. This is due to the accessibility of some raw materials for explosives. The availability of these substances is restricted by European regulations. As of February 1, 2021, the new European Regulation 2019/1148 applies for explosives precursors. This may have implications for you as an entrepreneur and partner of bol. 

The implications for you as an entrepreneur 

The regulation brings new obligations for sellers of assortment that may contain raw materials for explosives, so possibly also for you as a business owner. These obligations are described in European Regulation 2019/1148. You can read more information on the website of the NCTV (note: this website has not yet been updated to the new regulation). Bol, as an online platform, is legally obliged under the Regulation, among other things, to report suspicious transactions, disappearance and theft of items containing certain raw materials to the Suspicious Transactions Chemicals Disclosure Office. Please note that this reporting obligation does not only apply to online platforms like bol, but also to you as an entrepreneur. 

The implications for your offer on bol – provide additional information 

Bol will only allow the sales of items in which concentrations of the specific raw materials are below the limit for (license-free) sales as specified in the regulation. To make this possible, from February 1, 2021, it will be compulsory at bol to fill in the concentrations of the specific raw materials at product attributes. If you do not fill in this information before 1 February, the relevant article will be taken offline. This will also happen if the concentrations of the specific raw materials are above the limit mentioned above. The annexes of the European Regulation 2019/1148 describe the specific limit values of the raw materials. You can find the regulation here. 

Which product attributes are mandatory? 

Below you can find the raw materials that are mandatory to add to your product attributes, depending on the type of assortment:

These items, among others, may contain these raw materials:

Adhesive strips and glue boards

The use of adhesive strips or glue boards for catching rats and mice is prohibited in the Netherlands unless an exemption has been granted by the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO). Moreover, the use of glue boards is animal unfriendly. Therefore, these items are not wanted on both the Dutch and Belgian platforms. 

Mouse and rat poison

Since June 29, 2023, it is no longer permitted to sell mouse and rat poison based on anticoagulants in the Netherlands. Alpha chloralose, however, is permitted. If you want to offer mouse and rat poison through bol, you must always mention the approval number for the relevant country in the product information. More information about approval numbers can be found below.

Authorisation number Chemical pesticides

Items in this category are only released on the market after they have been extensively tested. Independent authorities check whether the product is safe enough for humans, animals and the environment. All approved products are given an approval number. We ask you to include this approval number in the product information. Without an approval number, you cannot offer any products in the ‘Pesticides & Biocides’ category. 

You can find the admission number in 1 of the following 3 databases: 

• To be sold in the Netherlands: Ctgb 
• To sell in Belgium: Phyto 
• To be sold in all European member states: ECHA 

Click here to edit your product information. 

Virus claims

It is not allowed to make virus claims in the product information of biocides. Some examples of claims that are not allowed are:

• “Kills and/or controls bacteria and viruses”
• “Eliminates viruses”
• “Provides protection against corona virus and/or viruses”

Second-hand & Refurbished

Second-hand 

Second-hand items or margin goods can only be offered in the book, music and film categories. You cannot apply for selling rights for the other categories. It is therefore not possible to offer second-hand items other than books, music and films at bol. 

Refurbished 

The sale of refurbished range at bol has unfortunately been discontinued for the time being. This is because it is our responsibility to clearly show customers whether an item is refurbished, which is currently not technically possible. And we cannot solve this in the short term either. Refurbished items were allowed in a closed group until January 2022. It is not allowed to offer refurbished items.

CLP Safety warnings

Some consumer products hold safety information on its packaging. To ensure the safety and quality of our collective range and to comply with European directives, this safety information must also be displayed on the product page. This obligation is stated in European Regulations. More information on these regulations can be found here: CLP.

Mandatory safety information can be found on the item’s packaging. Comprehensive safety information can be found on the Safety Data Sheet (SDS). You can request the SDS from the supplier of the item.

This applies to product groups with items containing hazardous substances. Examples include items such as superglue, detergent and washing-up liquid. For your assortment, make sure the following attributes provide information, corresponding with the safety information on the product packaging’s label:

• SIGNALING WORD: ‘Danger’ or ‘Warning’.
• DANGER INDICATIONS: on the label, these can be found under the heading hazard statements. They can be identified by the h-codes on the SDS.
• PRECAUTIONS: these are the recommended precautions. They can be identified by the p-codes on the SDS.

Deposit

• In the Netherlands there is a deposit on both small plastic ‘pet’ bottles (< 1 liter) and large plastic ‘pet’ bottles (>1 liter) soft drinks and water and from 01-04-23 there is also a deposit on (metal) beverage containers (cans). This amount, 0.15 cents for small plastic ‘pet’ bottles and 0.25 cents for large plastic ‘pet’ bottles, is charged at the time of purchase of the bottle and is returned upon return at a collection point. Bottles sold on the Dutch market must bear a deposit logo.
• From April 1, 2023, all metal beverage containers with a capacity of 3 liters or less must also bear a deposit logo and a new EAN code. These items must also be registered with Deposit Money Netherlands. The deposit obligation concerns cans for all types of beverages (such as soft drinks, water, milk and juice).
• The deposit obligation does not apply to cans with liquids that are not primarily intended to be drunk (such as lemonade syrup, thick juice, soups or condensed milk). Likewise, the deposit obligation does not apply to (canned) cans for non-liquids such as crisps, vegetables, etc.
• It is not possible to redeem deposit products at bol. More information about deposits is available here.
• There is currently no deposit on Belgian plastic bottles and metal drinking containers.
  For this reason, it is not possible to offer these items without a deposit via bol on the Dutch market.
  However, it is possible to offer these items without a deposit via bol on the Belgian market.
  More information can be found on the website of Recycling Network Benelux.

Since August 1, 2023, the sale of cans without a deposit is no longer allowed in the Netherlands. Not even through bol. This is why all cans in the assortment are checked to see if they contain a deposit. To comply with the laws and regulations, cans of drinks without a deposit are taken offline in the Netherlands.

Excise duty

• Excise information for the Netherlands
• Excise information for Belgium

Production safety
To confirm that your items comply with guidelines and do not commit food fraud, among other things, we can request production documentation. This must demonstrate compliance with HACCP, such as the product manufacturer’s food safety plan and hygiene regulations. Once there is a serious suspicion that assortment is dangerous for the customer, your assortment can be (temporarily) offline while we assess the (potentially) dangerous items.

The European Quality Mark for Organic (Skal)

To ensure that our customers receive verified organic items, and we comply with the laws and regulations concerning organic items, we have set up a number of additional guidelines for the use of the Skal seal. 

What is SKAL and what does it mean for sales of organic items? 

SKAL is an independent administrative body that ensures that the production, processing and trading of organic items is done in a controlled and registered way. 

Within the food, food supplements, animal food, plants and flower bulbs product groups, the term organic is a protected term. It may only be used for items that have been evaluated. You can recognise these items by the European Quality Mark for Organic, also known as the green leaf. The quality marks Agriculture Biologique, Demeter and EKO also meet SKAL’s requirements. The quality marks, therefore, may also display the green leaf on items. Any company that offers these products to our customers through our platform will have to register. Bol may only offer and trade in demonstrably certified organic items. This means that both the middleman and the producer must be certified. 

Items must comply with: 

1. EU organic regulation
2. Dutch agricultural quality legislation
3. The regulations and bases of SKAL Bio control