Marketplaces must verify that Sellers comply with VAT registration in Belgium

According to Belgian Value Added Tax regulations, marketplaces must perform checks to ensure that Sellers are VAT registered in the country or using the OSS scheme in the country of establishment. This regulation takes effect on January 1, 2024. In consequence, sellers on Belgian marketplaces will be required to upload a valid VAT registration number on the seller platform by this date. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in the suspension of their accounts.

Notably, marketplaces like Amazon are obligated by law to collect compliance proof and have the authority to suspend non-compliant seller accounts. This action can have significant implications, affecting a seller's ability to conduct business on platforms like Amazon.com.be and impacting sales to Belgian customers.

Generally, online foreign sellers must register for VAT in Belgium if they perform the following taxable transactions based on the two most common scenarios:

• Storage of goods in a Belgian warehouse: This normally implies an intra-Community acquisition of goods in the country or an import transaction. Similarly, once the stock is placed in Belgium, domestic supplies of goods B2C and B2B may take place, as well as intra-Community supplies or exports. All of the previous transactions raise the need for a VAT registration.
• The goods are located abroad: If the goods are dispatched from a Member State to a final customer in Belgium, an online seller performs an intra-Community distance sale transaction that is, normally, taxable at the Belgian VAT rate. Therefore, the Seller will need to VAT register for VAT purposes in Belgium, or enroll the OSS scheme. Similarly, it is possible that the goods are sent from a non-EU country to the Belgian final customer (B2C); this transaction would also call for a VAT registration in Belgium, unless the Supplier has enrolled in the IOSS scheme.

Online sellers must ensure they are compliant with Belgian VAT regulations and get a VAT before the end of the year if required to avoid disrupting the marketplace services.