Dual-sided reporting via Peppol
The draft law provides for a dual-sided reporting obligation. Both the supplier of goods or services and the customer will have to transmit the relevant invoice data (new Article 53quinquies, §§ 1 and 2 of the Belgian VAT Code).
Reporting must take place within a
maximum of five calendar days, except in cases of force majeure determined by
the King. The specific deadlines will be laid down by Royal Decree. Data will
be exchanged via the Peppol network (new Article 53quinquies, § 4 of the
Belgian VAT Code).
The obligation mainly covers domestic B2B transactions that are not exempt under Article 44 of the Belgian VAT Code and for which a structured electronic invoice must be issued.
Intra-Community transactions fall
outside this national scheme. For those transactions, the European ViDA
Directive provides for a separate reporting system from 1 July 2030, which will
replace the current intra-Community sales listing (Article 53sexies of the
Belgian VAT Code and Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2025/516).
Corrective documents, including
credit notes, will also have to be reported. Reporting is based on the invoice
as issued and received, i.e. before the customer has reviewed its substance.
Errors are corrected by means of a corrective document, which must in turn be
reported.
Which invoice data will be reported?
The definitive list of data to be
reported will be established by Royal Decree. Reporting may cover only data
that the VAT rules require to be included on the structured electronic invoice
or an equivalent document.
According to the explanation
provided by the government's representative to the Council of State, the data
referred to in Article 5, § 1, 1° and 5° to 11°, of Royal Decree No. 1 would be
reported, together with the VAT identification numbers of the supplier and
customer. These include, among other things, the invoice date and invoice
number, the nature of the transaction, the taxable amount, the VAT rate and the
VAT due (opinion No. 79.900/3, footnote 2).
The names and addresses of the
supplier and customer are not included in this preliminary selection, although
they are mandatory invoice particulars. Whether they will ultimately remain
outside the reporting requirement will have to be clarified by the implementing
Royal Decree.
That Royal Decree will also
determine the specific reporting deadlines and technical arrangements. The law
itself provides for transmission via the Peppol network (new Article
53quinquies, § 4 of the Belgian VAT Code). According to the explanatory memorandum,
there will be no separate application or API provided by the Belgian Federal
Public Service Finance.
Annual client listing abolished, but
not for everyone
The annual client listing will be abolished for taxable persons subject to the new mandatory electronic reporting requirements.
However, the existing obligation
remains in place for transactions carried out in 2027: that client listing must
still be submitted by 31 March 2028 at the latest.
An important exception applies to
taxable persons not established in Belgium who hold a Belgian VAT number. From
2028, they will not be required to electronically report their outgoing
transactions.
For these foreign taxable persons,
the annual client listing will, in principle, remain in place for transactions
carried out up to and including 30 June 2030. They may, however, opt to
electronically report all transactions concerned under their Belgian VAT
number. In that case, the annual client listing requirement will cease to apply
to those transactions (new Article 53quinquies, § 5 of the Belgian VAT Code).
Notably: reporting required even
without mandatory e-invoicing
Belgian suppliers will therefore
also have to report electronically when carrying out domestic transactions for
foreign businesses holding a Belgian VAT number, even though those transactions
are not subject to mandatory structured e-invoicing.
For example, a Belgian supplier
delivering goods in Belgium to a Dutch business holding a Belgian VAT number
will have to report the invoice data. The foreign customer is not subject to
that obligation. Reporting is therefore one-sided (new Article 53quinquies, §
1, second paragraph, of the Belgian VAT Code).
In its opinion No. 79.900/3, the
Council of State questions the compatibility of this extension with Article 273
of the VAT Directive. It recommends, pending the ViDA rules from 1 July 2030,
limiting reporting to cases in which it follows on from electronic invoicing,
or seeking an EU authorisation under Article 395 of the VAT Directive for the
remaining cases.
The government has not followed this
advice. In its view, Article 273 permits a separate reporting obligation,
provided it does not impose any additional invoicing obligation, without the
need for an EU authorisation.
The legal basis under EU law
therefore remains a matter of debate.
Intra-group transactions within VAT
units also covered
The draft law also contains specific
provisions for VAT units.
The reporting obligation legally
rests with the individual members of the VAT unit. It applies not only to the
relevant outgoing and incoming transactions with third parties, but also to
goods and services supplied between members for which a special document must
be issued in accordance with Article 53, § 3, third paragraph, of the Belgian
VAT Code.
From annual totals to individual
invoices
The new reporting system will
significantly change the information available to the VAT authorities.
Instead of annual totals per
customer, the authorities will receive invoice-level data shortly after the
invoice has been issued or received. The current administrative tolerances
applicable to the annual client listing, including the tolerance for transactions
of up to EUR 250, will not be carried over to the new reporting system.
Periodic VAT returns will, however,
remain in place. Electronic reporting does not contain all the information
needed to determine the VAT due and the right to deduct VAT.
Less administration, more scrutiny
The annual client listing will disappear for most businesses, but in return the VAT authorities will gain much faster and more detailed insight into their transactions. Dual-sided reporting will allow them to compare invoice data from suppliers and customers almost immediately, without waiting for VAT returns.
It will therefore be important to
report the correct data. An incorrect VAT number, an incorrect VAT treatment or
an incorrectly processed credit note may raise questions more quickly than
before. According to the explanatory memorandum, a discrepancy between the two
reports does not, in itself, constitute evidence of an irregularity. An
adjustment will never follow automatically, but only after an assessment by a
competent official.
Another challenge is undoubtedly the
professional secrecy and duty of discretion applicable to certain professional
groups. It will be necessary to examine which data are (automatically)
transmitted to the tax authorities and which are not strictly necessary from a
VAT perspective.
What does this mean for businesses?
Preparing for electronic VAT
reporting involves more than a technical adjustment. Businesses will have to
determine which transactions fall within the reporting obligation and how the
correct VAT data are processed in their systems. Credit notes, transactions
within VAT units and transactions with foreign customers, among others, will
require particular attention.
1 January 2028 is fast approaching.
The draft law still has to be adopted by the Chamber of Representatives. The
specific data to be reported, deadlines and technical arrangements still have
to be laid down by Royal Decree. Given the preparation time businesses need, it
is high time these implementing rules were made available.