Welcome to the Field

The invoice is the commercial document ‘par excellence’. It constitutes confirmation of the services rendered or goods delivered, for which payment must be made. It is very important to ensure that invoices are raised correctly, in terms of both content and form, not just to avoid penalties but above all to guarantee good commercial relations with the customer, seeing as the latter runs the greatest risk of losing entitlement to deduct VAT in the event of an irregular invoice.

As Belgian resident you are obliged to declare your worldwide income in your Belgian income tax return, which includes income from movable and immovable property, professional and other income. Therefore, Belgian and foreign real estate held by Belgian citizens is to be declared as income from immovable property in their personal income tax return. Only the residential property (‘family residence’) does not have to be declared.

On 11 March 2021, the Court of Justice released its decision in the Danske Bank case (C-812/19) concerning supplies of services from a head office of a company that was part of a VAT group in one EU member state to its branch in another member state.

The Federal and regional governments have recently adopted measures to combat the corona crisis (Covid-19 virus). Considering the extent of the crisis, a large number of businesses are at risk of financial difficulties. The various support measures should serve to mitigate its economic impact. The main federal and regional support measures are listed and explained below.

The recently published Administrative Instructions for the third quarter of 2018 show that the NSSO provides an expanded interpretation of the concept of "wages" for the levying of social security contributions. The NSSO fills in the term 'at charge of the employer' more broadly. Advantages that are awarded by a third party, which is not the employer, directly to employees, without any intervention of the employer, can nevertheless be regarded by the NSSO as wages. Hereinafter we outline the terms "wages", "at charge of the employer" and the consequences of the extended interpretation.

In a B2B context services are considered to take place where the recipient of the services is established. However, for certain transport services the place of supply is determined based on the 'actual usage' of the services. This deviating place of supply rule (i.e. the 'use & enjoyment' rule) was amended with effect as of 23 November 2017.

With effect of 1 October 2018 an optional VAT system would be foreseen for the immovable lease of (parts of a) buildings, which are “erected” or “sustainably renewed” and used for business purposes (B2B context) under certain conditions.

This publication explains and illustrates key tools companies can use to make their financial statements an effective communcation tool.

An interesting measure further to the so-called tax shift is the ( almost full) exemption of employers contributions in case of a first employment in Belgium.

Optimising your activities is a part of your daily operations as a business owner or manager in a SME. While doing so, you’re also considering developing new products or looking for new ways to offer your services to your clients. You may not be aware, but this type of innovation you are considering as part of your normal day-to-day business, may be eligible for Research and Development tax incentives

There are a number of cost and commercial reasons why a group may consider relocating, but it is also important to understand the consequences.