In the Netherlands, all arms dealers who sell loose gunpowder must comply with the Explosives Act for Civil Use (Wecg). The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) monitors this to ensure explosives are safe and used for the correct purpose.
In the first half of 2025, the ILT re-inspected 14 arms dealers who previously received a warning letter. As a result, most arms dealers now comply with the rules.
However, the inspectorate imposed an enforcement order (LOD) on 2 arms dealers: 1 for lacking the required Wecg recognition and 1 for an incomplete transaction register. If this is not resolved by the next inspection, they will forfeit a fine of 20ac3,000 per violation up to a maximum of 20ac30,000.
No Gunpowder Sales Without Wecg Recognition
Anyone conducting activities with gunpowder must have Wecg recognition. This applies to the owner, staff of an arms dealer, and customers who buy gunpowder. Without this recognition, gunpowder may not be sold or purchased. This prevents unauthorized persons from possessing gunpowder. The Korpscheftaken department of the police issues the recognition. It is granted only after a police screening. One arms dealer repeatedly handled gunpowder without the required Wecg recognition and was issued an enforcement order.
LOD for Incomplete Transaction Register
Arms dealers must keep precise records of to whom they sell gunpowder, what type, and in what quantity. They do this in a transaction register. This clarifies who buys what and prevents gunpowder from ending up in unauthorized or wrong hands. During the re-inspection, 4 of the 14 arms dealers kept the register incompletely or incorrectly. One arms dealer received an LOD because he repeatedly ignored ILT warnings.
Missing Transfer Permit
A transfer permit is required to transport explosives, so it is clear where gunpowder is transported and possibly stored. This permit is issued by the municipality where the gunpowder transport ends. Through inspections at wholesalers, the ILT also ensured that arms dealers without a transfer permit cannot buy gunpowder.
During rechecks, 5 arms dealers still did not have a transfer permit. This was due to ignorance about the permit among both arms dealers and involved municipalities. With ILTs help, the municipalities subsequently issued the transfer permits.
Better Compliance in 2025
Compared to 2024, the ILT sees a clear improvement in compliance due to its supervision. Now all inspected arms dealers have a valid transfer permit. This also applies to the mandatory Wecg recognition. In 2024, 9 arms dealers lacked this recognition. One dealer then received an LOD for selling gunpowder to customers without WECG recognition. This LOD was lifted after 2 re-inspections in 2025. Regarding the intra-community permit needed for transporting gunpowder to and from other EU countries, the ILT found no irregularities in 2025. Also, all dealers only had gunpowder cans with the required CE marking in storage.
Supervision by the ILT
The ILT supervises the civil use of explosives and compliance with the Explosives Act for Civil Use (Wecg) to ensure explosives are traded and transported safely to protect people and the environment. In its supervision, the inspectorate works closely with chain partners such as the police by exchanging knowledge. More information about explosives for civil use can be found on the ILT website.