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By Royal Decree of King Willem-Alexander of 25 November 2020 the new Dutch Franchise Act has entered into force as of the 1st of January 2021.

The minimum implementation period of at least 2 months, i.e. the period between the date of publication and the date of entry into force, has not been respected. However, this deviation from the two-month period is considered justified by the Dutch government. It is argued that during the parliamentary discussion of the Franchise Act, January 1, 2021, has already been mentioned several times as the intended date of entry into force. Thus, this intended date of entry into force has long been known to the parties falling within the scope of the Franchise Act. Further it is argued that these parties actually consider this date to be the date of entry into force as is shown by the fact that January 1, 2021 is mentioned by the parties concerned themselves as the date of entry into force in their own lines of communication about the Franchise Act. In view of this, and in view of the fact that the Franchise Act has already been published in the Dutch Bulletin of Acts and Decrees on 15 July 2020, according to the Dutch government it has been clear to the parties concerned for several months now which rights and obligations derive from the Franchise Act and as of which date they would come into effect.

In any event, not all franchise organizations are happy with this material change in legislation entering into force amidst a global pandemic.