1. VAT in Europe
3. VAT in Belgium
5. Belgian VAT Returns

Belgian VAT Returns

Frequency of Belgian VAT returns

All registered businesses in Belgium must file VAT returns monthly or quarterly.

As a general rule, VAT returns must be filed monthly in Belgium. Quarterly VAT returns may be allowed when certain conditions are met:

• The total amount of intra-Community supplies of goods does not exceed €50,000 in the current or any of the previous four quarters; and
• The annual turnover in Belgium does not exceed €2,500,000. This threshold is reduced to €250,000 for companies trading with energy products, land vehicles, mobile phones, computers and their accessories and IT components

There is no application or additional formality to be met to change the frequency of filing. Normally, the tax office will notify taxpayers about the change of frequency of filing based on the above rules.

• Frequency of filing

• • Monthly
    Standard reporting period
  • Quarterly
    If the following conditions are met: i) Total amount of IC-supplies of goods below €50,000 in the current or any of the previous four quarters; and ii) Annual turnover below €2,500,000. This threshold is reduced to €250,000 for companies trading with energy products, land vehicles, mobile phones, computers and their accessories and IT components.
  • Annual
    Not applicable.

VAT returns due dates in Belgium

As a general rule, Belgian VAT returns must be submitted and paid by the 20^th day of the month following the reporting period. Exceptionally, the second quarter VAT return can be submitted (not paid) by August 10^th. Similarly, the June VAT return can be submitted by August 10 and the July VAT return can be submitted by September 10. The exact summer due dates are communicated every year by the tax authorities. You may also consider the following additional rules:

• There is no holiday extension for the payment of VAT. The due dates for payments remain the 20^th day of the following month.
• As a general rule, if the due dates fall on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday, the due date is shifted to the next working day. The Belgian tax authorities publish a calendar with all applicable VAT return due dates. 
• The annual VAT prepayment is no longer required. This annual prepayment was definitely abolished in 2021. Also, the monthly prepayments for businesses filing quarterly returns are no longer required. These prepayments were abolished in April 2017.

The following due dates apply to Belgian VAT returns:

• Belgian VAT returns: due dates

• • Monthly
    20th of the following month
  • Quarterly
    20th of the following month

Belgian VAT payments

The VAT payment is due within the same deadline as for the submission. VAT payments must be done by the 20th day of month following the reporting period. There is no holiday extension for payments as there is for VAT return submission. 

VAT payments in Belgium can be done from a foreign bank account. It is not mandatory to make payments from a local or SEPA bank account. Non-established companies can make their VAT payments into the following bank account:

• Beneficiary: BTW-ontvangsten, Brussel
• Bank: Postcheque, WTC II, 1100 Brussel
• Bank account: 679-2003000-47
• IBAN code: BE 22 679 200 3000 47 – Confirm with your Marosa client manager
• Swift code: PCHQ BE BB
• Reference: The reference to be included in every VAT payment is made up of the VAT number of the company and an individual reference received when registering for VAT in Belgium. You can also find this number by entering your VAT number in the following website.

Belgian VAT refunds

When a VAT return is in a repayable position, a VAT refund can be requested in the quarterly VAT return. It is not possible to get monthly VAT refunds unless you are registered in the frequent exporter regime. The tax authorities will reimburse the repayable amount by the end of the third month following the reporting period. If not repaid, interest will be added to the total amount due by the tax authorities. There are minimum amounts and specific time limits for VAT repayments. If you are submitting VAT returns quarterly:

• You can request a refund in the first, second or third quarter when the receivable amount exceeds €400. The refund is repaid by 30^th June, 30^th September (delays may apply when using the holiday extension) or 31^st December
• You can request a refund in the fourth quarter VAT return when the receivable amount exceeds €50.

If you are submitting VAT returns monthly:

• You can request a refund in your March, June or September VAT return when the receivable amount exceeds €400.
• You can request a refund in your December VAT return when the receivable amount exceeds €50.

VAT refunds are only repaid to bank accounts in SEPA countries (EU Member States, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). The bank details used by the authorities would have been communicated when registering for VAT purposes in Belgium (form 604A). These bank details can also be updated using the form 604B. When the VAT refund is material or when there is a deviation from the usual amounts reported by the registered company, the Belgian tax authorities may start a tax audit. These audits will normally request an explanation of the overall business, copies of (some) invoices and input and output VAT ledgers.

Belgian nil and corrective VAT returns

A nil VAT return needs to be submitted even if there are no transactions to be reported for that period. Corrective VAT returns must be submitted whenever the change introduced exceeds the €25,000 threshold. Where this limit is not exceeded, corrections can be made directly into the following VAT return. Corrective VAT returns replace the previously submitted declarations.

VAT penalties in Belgium

Penalties in Belgium are divided between proportionate and non-proportionate penalties. And each of these categories is also divided between legal and reduced set of penalties.

Proportionate:

• Legal proportionate penalties
• Reduced proportionate penalties

Non-proportionate:

• Legal non-proportionate penalties - applicable when there is an intention of eluding the obligation, and the
• Reduced non-proportionate penalties - which apply according to the scales regulated in the Annex to Royal Decree nº44, of 9 July 2012.

The following penalties apply in Belgium in relation to VAT obligations:

• Cause
  Penalty
• Late filing
  A fixed penalty of EUR 100 per month filed late, with a maximum of EUR 1,000. In case of non-submission, the penalty amounts to 1,000 EUR per return.
• Late payment
  Fixed interest of 0.8% of the VAT due per month plus a fine equal to the double of the VAT paid late.
• Late registration 
  Minimum penalty of €100 and maximum of €500, depending on the total VAT due during the un-registered period

You can find more information about the applicable penalties and surcharges in the tax authorities' website and the official regulation.

If an intra-Community acquisition or any other purchase under the reverse charge mechanism is missed, the Belgian tax authorities does not foresee a penalty because the VAT position remains nil (provided the taxpayer has full right to deduct). Additional penalties may be charged by the authorities, particularly where the corrections are triggered by an investigation or VAT audit. For penalties on ECSL, Intrastat and other returns, please see the relevant section. Belgium has a dedicated tax office for non-established companies.

Belgian distance sales. VAT on e-commerce

You can find more information about the general EU VAT regime for distance sales in our manual about VAT on e-commerce. You may also watch our webinar explaining VAT rules for e-commerce in the European Union.

Annual Sales Listing in Belgium

Belgium requires all taxpayers to submit an annual return with details about all domestic sales made in Belgium during the previous year. This return includes detailed information about each sale made to VAT registered customers in Belgium. In principle, only taxable sales are included in the return (no need to report exempt supplies). The content of Annual Sales Listing in Belgium includes the taxpayer details, the customer name and VAT number, the total net amount of sales to that customer and the total VAT amount on sales to that customer. The same level of information must be provided for each different VAT number. Where the net amount does not exceed €250, there is no need to report the sale in the Annual Sales Listings.

The Annual Sales Listing return must be submitted before March 31st of the year following the reporting period. However, special consideration must be made in case you are de-registering your company for VAT purposes: in such case, Annual Sales Listing must be submitted within a period of three months since the de-registration date selected.

General information about the Belgian ASL is available in the website of the tax authorities. Also, for more information, you can see our article about Annual Sales Listing return. 

Belgian tax authorities contact

Belgium has a dedicated tax office for non-established companies. Bureau Central TVA Tour des Finances Boulevard du Jardin Botanique, 50 – boïte 3627 (Etage 18/R) 1000 Bruxelles e-mail : foreigners@minfin.fed.be Validation des numéros de TVA : Tél. : 0257 740 30 or 0257 70230 Fax : 0257 963 57

Separate email addresses and PO boxes apply for VAT refunds and VAT audits. More information is available in the website of the authorities. Companies with local presence should address their queries to their local tax office (allocated depending on the place of establishment). More information about the applicable tax office is available in the website of the Belgian tax authorities.