What is the legal deadline for filing a VAT return?
The deadline for companies subject to monthly filing
The deadline for filing a VAT return is between the 1st and the 20th day of the month following the period to which it relates or the first working day following when the 20th is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
A company that fails to submit its VAT return within the prescribed time limit will be fined € 100 per declaration and per month of delay, up to a maximum of € 1,000. In the event of failure to file, the fine is automatically and immediately increased to € 1,000.
The deadline for companies subject to quarterly filing
The deadline for filing a VAT return is between the 1st and the 20th day of the month following the period to which it relates or the first working day following when the twentieth is a Saturday, Sunday or statutory holiday.
What is the legal deadline for filing an intra-Community listing ?
The same periodicity rules apply when a company has to file a statement of its intra-Community transactions.
However, the administrative fines applied by the administration in the event of failure to do so are different: for late filing, the fine can be as high as € 2,250. Beyond 6 months, the statement is considered not to have been filed and the fine is then set at a fixed amount of € 3,000.
The deadline for companies subject to monthly filing
The deadline for filing a ESL is between the 1st and the 20th day of the month following the period to which it relates or the first working day following when the 20th is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
The deadline for companies subject to quarterly filing
The deadline for filing a ESL is between the 1st and the 20th day of the month following the period to which it relates or the first working day following when the twentieth is a Saturday, Sunday or statutory holiday.
What is the legal deadline for filing annual recapitulative 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:
- Transactions of the year 2021 must be included in a listing to be filed no later than March 30, 2022.
- Transaction of the year 2022 will have to be included in a listing to be filed no later than March 30, 2023.
In case of failure to file, the penalty imposed by the tax authorities is € 3,000 per listing.
What is the legal deadline for Intrastat filing?
The deadline for filing a ESL is between the 1st and the 20th day of the month following the period to which it relates.
What is the legal deadline for paying VAT?
You must make VAT payments on the normal deadlines, i.e. by 20 July for VAT and 20 August for summer returns.
If, on one of these due dates, you have not yet paid the full amount due, the administration will debit interests from your current account. It will be calculated in accordance with the rules set out in the VAT Code: 0.8% per month of delay based on the amount due (any month started counts as a whole month). You will also be fined for late payment.
VAT Calendar 2022
| Monthly VAT return | Quarterly VAT return | Monthly ESL | Quarterly ESL | Annual Listing | Intrastat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20th | 20th | 20th | 20th | 20th | |
| February | 21st | 21st | 20th | |||
| March | 21st | 21st | 31th | 20th | ||
| April | 20th | 20th | 20th | 20th | 20th | |
| May | 20th | 20th | 20th | |||
| June | 20th | 20th | 20th | |||
| July | 20th (facilities 10/08) | 20th (facilities 10/08) | 20th (facilities 10/08) | 20th (facilities 10/08) | 20th | |
| August | 22/08 (facilities 09/09) | 22/08 (facilities 09/09) | 20th | |||
| September | 20th | 20th | 20th | |||
| October | 20th (facilities 25/10) | 20th (facilities 25/10) | 20th (facilities 25/10) | 20th (facilities 25/10) | 20th | |
| November | 21st | 21st | 20th | |||
| December | 20th | 20th | 20th |
Good to know
General tolerance
The administration has provided for a period of tolerance since 1983 in order not to impose fines too promptly for late filing. Thus, the administration does not apply the fine when the VAT return is submitted by the 10th day of the following month at the latest, without changing the deadline for payment of the tax. The Minister confirms that this administrative tolerance still applies.
Specific tolerance during the summer holidays
Every year the tax authorities grant facilities to VAT taxable persons during the summer period. This is a easing of the deadlines for filing their VAT returns and intra-Community listings.
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