What applies until 30 June 2028?
Until and including 30 June 2028, the previous, broader application of the non-transfer rule remains available.
When goods are temporarily moved from Belgium to another Member State for use there in connection with a supply of services, it is sufficient for the taxable person concerned to be identified for VAT purposes in Belgium. For the time being, it is therefore not required that the taxable person is also established in Belgium.
The other conditions of Article 12bis, second paragraph, 5°, of the Belgian VAT Code naturally continue to apply. The goods must, among other things:
- only be used temporarily in the other Member State;
- be used in the context of a supply of services;
- form part of the taxable person’s business assets; and
- return after the temporary use.
The taxable person must also record the dispatch or transport of the goods in its accounts. This accounting record is deemed to satisfy the requirement to keep the register of non-transfers. An exception applies to certain goods.
There is, however, one important additional condition. The competent tax authorities of the Member State in which the goods are temporarily used must accept the same treatment. The taxable person must be able to demonstrate this if requested by the Belgian VAT authorities.
The Belgian postponement therefore does not automatically mean that the rule can be applied in every other Member State without further analysis.
What does this mean in practice?
In practice, the postponement is particularly relevant for businesses that temporarily send goods from Belgian distribution centres or logistics hubs to other Member States without themselves being established in Belgium. This may arise, for example, in relation to:
- rental and leasing structures;
- hardware temporarily placed at customer locations in connection with services;
- technical equipment and spare parts;
- demonstration and test equipment;
- machinery or equipment temporarily deployed for installation or maintenance work;
- pallets, containers, crates and other pooling equipment.
Under the stricter interpretation in Circular 2026/C/60, such movements of goods would in certain cases have to be treated as intra-Community transfers of own goods. This can trigger additional VAT registrations, intra-Community reporting and other compliance obligations.
As a result of the postponement, the existing treatment can be maintained for the time being. The VAT treatment in the Member State of destination must nevertheless be assessed in each case.
From 1 July 2028
As matters currently stand, the stricter administrative interpretation will apply from 1 July 2028.
From that date, Belgian VAT identification on its own would no longer be sufficient. For goods temporarily sent from Belgium to another Member State, the non-transfer rule would in principle only be available where the taxable person concerned is established in Belgium.
Businesses currently relying on the broader treatment therefore have additional time to map their goods flows and assess the VAT consequences that the stricter interpretation may have for them from 1 July 2028.
For temporary cross-border movements of goods, it remains important to consider both the Belgian VAT treatment and the position in the other Member State concerned.
Source: Circular 2026/C/60 of 7 May 2026 and the administrative update of 15 September 2026.