Must Belgian Shops Show the Lowest 30-Day Price?

Yes. Under the Omnibus Directive (EU) 2019/2161, as transposed into the Belgian Code of Economic Law (Code de droit économique / Wetboek van economisch recht), a shop that announces a price reduction must indicate the prior price — and that prior price is the lowest price applied during the 30 days before the reduction.

What this means in practice

The reference price you show next to a discounted item is a defined value, not a marketing choice. If you advertise “from €60 to €40”, the €60 must be the genuine lowest price you charged in the preceding 30 days. This prevents the familiar tactic of nudging a price up just before a sale to make the reduction look larger.

Who enforces it

Enforcement is handled by the FPS Economy (Federal Public Service Economy), whose inspectors supervise commercial practices in Belgium. Remember too that Belgium has three official languages — Dutch, French and German — so the reduction and its reference price should be presented in the language appropriate to the region you address.

• The rule applies to announced reductions, not to a genuinely stable everyday price.
• The reference price must be the true 30-day low.
• Keep a per-product price history so each reference figure is defensible.

So a Belgian shop cannot skip the 30-day reference price. The safest approach is to track your prices automatically and display the lowest 30-day figure for every reduction. For more, see our Omnibus law page and the complete Omnibus guide.

This answer is educational and does not constitute legal advice.