Intrastat returns in Belgium: 2022 updates

Belgium authorities have released the Newsletter no. 32 for February 2022, containing some important updates and reminders for Intrastat returns in 2022.

The newsletter covers the following important topics: transaction codes, region codes, nomenclature of commodity codes, e-commerce Intrastat obligation, and Intrastat thresholds.    

Transaction codes for Intrastat in Belgium

Transaction codes for Intrastat returns in Belgium are changed from 1 to 2 digits as from January 2022 reporting period. Therefore, all transactions codes that before contained only one digit, now must be updated to two-digit codes.

You can check the conversion table here and make sure you are using the updated code of transaction.

Also, the full list of nature of transactions codes for January 2022 is available at the National Belgium Bank website. Nature of transactions codes are the result of combining code numbers from column A with the subdivisions in column B of the same table.

Region codes

Belgium authorities remind the importance of using correct region codes in the Intrastat returns, as they have verified that this type of information is frequently submitted incorrectly.

The region to be included on this return field does not correspond with the place where the company is established.

In order to report it correctly, we must pay attention to the real flow of goods and assign correct region code per each movement of goods:

• Region of arrival of the goods (for arrivals flow), this is the region of destination. It will correspond to the region where the goods will be consumed, or processed, assembled, repaired, etc. In case this information is not known, we must indicate the region to which the goods were sent or marketed.
• Region of dispatch of the goods (for the dispatches flow), this is the region of origin. It will correspond to the region where the goods were produced, or processed, assembled, repaired, etc. In case this information is not known, we must indicate the region from where the goods were sent or marketed.

In this case, the Intrastat manual Part 1 contains the relevant region codes correspondence:

• Code 1 for the Flemish Region.
• Code 2 for the Walloon Region.
• Code 3 for the Brussels capital Region.

Nomenclature codes

As previously informed in our article for general Intrastat updates in 2022, nomenclature codes were subject to a general update, coming into force in 2022.

Following the revision of the Harmonised System (HS) for 2022, 942 codes were modified: 592 codes were added, while 350 codes were deleted. Updated list can be found under the following link.

Intrastat returns and e-commerce

The introduction of the OSS schemes has simplified many online sellers life’s concerning their VAT compliance obligations, and the same applies for the statistics returns. Online sellers under the OSS scheme might avoid reporting their arrivals or dispatches flows when they are foreign companies – ie, not established in Belgium, but the country of arrival of the goods to final customers is Belgium.

For more detail, please find below when Intrastat returns are due on e-commerce:

1. Under the old system, ie, online sellers not registered in OSS schemes: the company must report distance sales on Intrastat if the relevant thresholds are exceeded – either on arrivals or dispatches flows.
2. Under OSS scheme: i) concerning arrivals flow, the foreign company making distance sales to final customers in Belgium is not required to submit Intrastat returns – even if the arrivals threshold in Belgium is exceeded; ii) however, for the dispatches flow, instructions indicate that a Belgium company selling goods to final customers in other EU countries must submit an Intrastat return if the dispatches threshold is exceeded.

Intrastat thresholds

Intrastat thresholds remain unchanged this year in Belgium. Check the full list of Intrastat thresholds for 2022 here.

• For the arrivals flow, the threshold is equal to or more than EUR 1.5 million a year
• For the dispatches flow, the threshold is equal to or more than EUR 1 million a year
• For the extended Intrastat return, the threshold for both flows corresponds to EUR 25 million a year.