Yearly statement
Foreign companies are required to file a yearly statement reporting taxable transactions (goods and services) with all taxable persons identified for VAT purposes in Belgium. The statement should be filed by electronic means via "Intervat" before March 30th of the next calendar year.
Voluntary VAT registration
Foreign companies having local transactions for which the general reverse charge is applicable can decide to be voluntarily VAT registered to recover Belgian VAT incurred on their expenses through a VAT return instead of via electronic procedure as laid down by Directive 2008/9. This option is only applicable to EU foreign companies having more than € 10.000 of VAT recoverable by civil year.
Local reverse charge in the construction sector
According to Belgian law, immovable works including construction, repair, cleaning or maintenance works on an immovable property as well as transaction consisting in incorporating movable goods into immovable property, installation with a building of sanitary, fire, alarm, phone, electrical or air-conditioning equipment, embedded cupboards, stores and shutters, wall or floor-covering provided by a Belgian company are subject to local reverse charge if the recipient is either a taxpayer established in Belgium filing periodical VAT returns, either a taxpayer not established in Belgium but VAT registered through a VAT representative.
Member States which, at 01/01/1977, applied special measures to simplify the procedure for collecting VAT or to prevent certain forms of tax evasion or avoidance may retain them provided that they have notified the Commission accordingly before 01/01/1978 […] (art. 394 of the VAT Directive).
The VAT authorities change structure and audit procedures
The Belgian tax authorities will entirely remodel their structure effective on 01/07/2016. Non-resident companies having activities in Belgium will now depend from the “Centre Etrangers”. Part of the re-organization also includes new control procedures to be inspired by corporate tax ones already in place. All essentials such as response deadline, administrative appeals, management of the legal dispute, etc. will be altered.
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