The closer we get to the last day of the year, the more often illegal fireworks are found and confiscated by the police. For example, on Saturday 900 Cobras were discovered in a house in Veldhoven. Not only life-threatening, the penalties for setting off and possessing illegal fireworks are severe. Here’s what to expect if you’re having or setting off fireworks illegally.
During the last three working days of the year, everyone can have consumer fireworks at home. There is a limit: it cannot be more than 25 kilos. If you have more than that in the shed or attic, you can expect a fine. They start at 250 euros, depending on whether you have been caught before.
And anyone who takes legal fireworks into their home earlier than those last three days, even if only a little, can expect a fine of at least 100 euros.
Legal and illegal
And then there are the categories of fireworks that are not intended for consumers: professional fireworks or homemade fireworks. Professional fireworks may only be set off by fireworks specialists with a certificate. For them, professional fireworks are legal. If you start working with it without a certificate, you are working illegally and therefore punishable.
The amount of the penalty depends, among other things, on the type of fireworks. The heavier the fireworks, the more explosive powder it contains, the more severe the penalties. Anyone who has previously been convicted of illegal fireworks will also receive a heavier sentence.
If you get caught, you can the following punishments to expect:
- Anyone who owns up to 10 kilos of the lightest category of professional fireworks can be fined 400 euros. Adults can receive a community service order of 20 hours. Minors are given 40 hours of community service.
- Cobras fall into the heaviest category of fireworks (F4). The maximum penalty for 200 or more pieces or more is 9 months imprisonment for adult. Anyone who has made a mistake before can be jailed for 15 months.
- Homemade fireworks are the most severely punished. The sentences start from 6 months, even if the suspect has only 1 lying around.
In addition to having and setting off illegal fireworks, the storage and trade also count towards the penalty. This is in addition to the penalties for fireworks. In October, for example, the largest illegal fireworks dealer in the Netherlands was sentenced to 20 months in prison and a fine of 63,000 euros.
56,500 kilos
Until the end of October, the judiciary has seized more than 56,500 kilos this year. The closer we get to the turn of the year, the more confiscations are made, according to Numbers.
Last year we ended with a record amount of almost 206,000 and in 2020 with almost 123,000 kilos. In both years, a general fireworks ban was in effect to relieve hospitals and aid workers in ‘corona time’. Only children’s fireworks (F1) were allowed. In 2019, more than 61,000 kilos were seized.
Belgium is popular with fireworks enthusiasts because fireworks are sold there all year round. Those who buy fireworks there often get off with a warning and lose their loot. Anyone who has fireworks sent will lose their order and will receive a minimum fine depending on the order.
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