Your company has activities in Belgium and you want to know whether or not you need to apply for a Belgian VAT number?
Belgium is known worldwide as the country of surrealism. What applies to art and painting also applies to VAT: there are situations where VAT identification in Belgium is compulsory and others where it can be granted upon the express request of the foreign business. The Belgian tax authorities also allow a waiver or exemption from registration in certain cases.
All in all, there are 23 possible situations!
| Operations carried out | VAT registration | |
| Import | ||
| 1. | Importation of goods placed in a VAT warehouse | Compulsory identification and no derogation possible |
| 2. | Import of goods followed by delivery of the same goods | Compulsory identification and no derogation possible |
| 3. | Import of goods followed by delivery of these goods after processing | Exemption |
| - occasional transaction | Obligation | |
| - non occasional operation | ||
| 4. | Import other than 1, 2 et 3 | Exemption |
| Intra-EU acquisition (ICA) | ||
| 5. | ICA not subject to VAT | Identification excluded |
| 6. | ICA subject to tax, carried out within the framework of the scheme referred to in Nos. 42 et seq. of Circular No. 16/1994 | Possible dispense |
| 7. | ICA of goods placed in a VAT warehouse | Compulsory identification and no derogation possible |
| 8. | ICA subject to fee, other than 5 to 7 | Compulsory identification and no derogation possible |
| Delivery of goods (DG) | ||
| 9. | DG exempted by Article 39bis of the Belgian VAT Code | Compulsory identification and no derogation possible |
| 10. | DG referred to in Article 15, § 4 of the Belgian VAT Code (distance selling) | Compulsory identification and no derogation possible |
| 11. | DG exempted by articles 39, 40, 42, 44 and 44bis of the Belgian VAT Code giving right to deduction | |
| Supplier not established in the Community | Possible dispense unless derogation applies | |
| Supplier established in another Member State | ||
| Deductible VAT < 2,500 EUR/year | Possible dispense | |
| Deductible VAT >= 2.500 EUR/year | Exemption | |
| 12. | DG with application of article 51, § 2, 2°, of the Belgian VAT Code | Identification excluded |
| 13. | DG with application of article 51, § 2, 5°, of the Belgian VAT Code | |
| Supplier not established in the Community | Identification excluded | |
| Supplier established in another Member State | ||
| Deductible VAT < 10.000 EUR/year | Identification excluded | |
| Deductible VAT >= 10.000 EUR/year | Possibility of identification | |
| 14. | DG carried out within the framework of the schemes referred to in nos. 47 to 52 or 53 to 56 of circular no. 8/1998 | Possible dispense |
| 15. | DG other than 9 to 14 | |
| Occasional operation | Exemption | |
| Non occasional operation | Compulsory Identification | |
| Provision of services (PS) | ||
| 16. | PS exempted by Articles 39, 40, 41, 42, 44 and 44bis of the Belgian VAT Code giving right to deduction | |
| Supplier not established in the Community | Exemption unless derogation applies | |
| Supplier established in another Member State | ||
| Deductible VAT < 2,500 EUR/year | Exemption | |
| Deductible VAT >= 2.500 EUR/year | Possible dispense | |
| 17. | PS with application of article 51, § 2, 1°, of the Belgian VAT Code | Identification excluded |
| 18. | PS with application of Article 51, § 2, 5°, of the Belgian VAT Code | |
| Transaction referred to in Art. 20 § 2 of RD No. 1 | ||
| Occasional operation | Identification excluded | |
| Non occasional operation | Possibility of d'identification | |
| Transaction other than referred to in Art. 20 § 2 of Royal Decree No. 1 | ||
| Supplier not established in the Community | Identification excluded | |
| Supplier established in another Member State | ||
| Deductible VAT < 10.000 EUR/year | Identification excluded | |
| Deductible VAT >= 10.000 EUR/year | Possibility of identification | |
| 19. | PS other than 16 to 18 | |
| Occasional operation | Exemption | |
| Non-occasional operation | Compulsory identification | |
| Transaction linked to the VAT warehouse system | ||
| 20. | Purchase of goods exempted by Article 39quater, § 1, 1°, of the Belgian VAT Code | Compulsory identification |
| 21. | Internal transfer of goods to a VAT warehouse | Compulsory identification |
| 22. | Removal of goods from the VAT warehouse | Compulsory identification |
| 23. | Purchase of goods or services exempted by Article 39quater, § 1, 2° and 3°, of the Belgian VAT Code | Exemption |
The advice of a VAT expert?
Belgium offers many alternatives to VAT registration for foreign companies: identification waiver, exemption from identification, etc. The Belgian administrative doctrine on foreign companies is full of circulars, parliamentary questions, individual decisions, etc. of several hundred pages. Also, a good knowledge of administrative doctrine in Belgium often allows foreign companies to save a lot of money.