VAT representative in Belgium

A taxable person established outside the EU must have a responsible representative established in Belgium and approved by the Minister of Finance or a delegate before any operation in Belgium (VAT Code Art. 55 section 1, text of 2002). The Minister may determine when the duty is discharged. Whether a company falls under a discharge is a question for its own adviser.

No. A taxable person established in another Member State may appoint a representative but never must (VAT Code Art. 55 section 2). EU law is permissive on the point (Directive 2006/112/EC, Art. 204(1), first subparagraph). Identification without a representative is covered on the Belgian VAT registration page, so it is not repeated here.

FPS Finance states that appointing a representative is not mandatory for a taxable person established in a country with a legal instrument on mutual assistance similar in scope to Directive 2010/24/EU and Regulation (EU) No 904/2010. The list of qualifying countries is not published, so a company cannot be placed by nationality. FPS Finance names only the United Kingdom, in transitional wording.

Royal Decree No. 31 provides for no application or approval fee. That is a reading of one instrument, not a tariff page. The real cost is the security and whatever a bank or insurer charges to issue it, and no figure for that is published. Our own pricing is on request.

For an individual representative: 10 percent of the balance of taxes due for twelve calendar months, taken from the returns of the preceding calendar year, never below EUR 7,500 and never above EUR 1,000,000 (Royal Decree No. 31, Art. 3 section 3, in force since 1 October 2021). With no reference period the administration fixes it provisionally on estimates, definitively by 30 April of the following year.

Royal Decree No. 31 asks the representative to provide it, as a cash bond, a bond in securities, or a personal guarantee of an insurer, bank or private savings bank that may operate in Belgium (Art. 3 section 2). The decree is silent on who bears the cost, so that is settled between the parties and is not a rule of law.

The representative is substituted for the represented person for all rights and obligations under the VAT Code and is jointly and severally liable for the tax, the late-payment interest and the fines (VAT Code Art. 55 section 4). The Law of 20 November 2022 changed one word, interest to late-payment interest. The current consolidated Art. 55 was not read, so the text of 2002 is what we cite.

The Belgian customer accounts for the tax on the supplies made to them, in their periodic return, in their Art. 53ter return or by payment to a financial account designated by the Minister (Royal Decree No. 31, Art. 5 section 1). Tax, interest and fines may be recovered from the customer, unless the customer proves in good faith that they paid an identified supplier (VAT Code Art. 55 section 6).

The amount is fixed until 31 December of the second year after the year in which it was fixed (Royal Decree No. 31, Art. 3 section 3). At the end of that period the representative may ask for a reduction and the administration may revise the amount upward. Nothing changes if the difference is under 10 percent (Art. 3 section 4).

It is the pre-approved person, personne préalablement agréée, who acts for several non-established taxable persons under two global VAT numbers: one for imports for a subsequent supply and one for the other listed operations (Royal Decree No. 31, Art. 2). It is open only to a person not identified under Art. 50 section 1, first paragraph, 3° of the VAT Code who carries out exclusively the five listed categories of operation.

The five closed categories of Royal Decree No. 31, Art. 2 section 1 decide it: any taxed operation outside them closes the global route. On the global route you hold no Belgian VAT number of your own, because you operate under the global number. The choice is yours; we state the criteria and do not say which route suits you.

For a non-EU person who has opted for the non-Union scheme, EU law bars a Member State from imposing a representative (Directive 2006/112/EC, Art. 204(1), third subparagraph, read with Art. 358a(1)). The Union scheme is only named here, not explained, and whether a seller qualifies for any scheme is a question for its own adviser.

The Minister of Finance or his delegate approves it, on an application from the non-established taxable person to the Centre PME Matières Spécifiques in Namur, naming the representative's complete identity (Royal Decree No. 31, Art. 1 section 1). The decree lists one accompanying document: form 604A, unless the person is already identified. The 604A is filed online only. No processing time is published.

A change or an end is declared to the Centre, and the outgoing representative's responsibility is limited to operations carried out until the date the administration accepts the request (Royal Decree No. 31, Art. 1 section 2). A replacement must be provided at once on death, withdrawal or incapacity (VAT Code Art. 55 section 5). The decree does not say when the security is released.

VAT representative and fiscal representative are the market's English words; the statute says représentant responsable. It concerns a taxable person's Belgian VAT position under the VAT Code, not customs clearance. The intermediary of the import scheme is a third, separate figure, also approved by the Centre (Royal Decree No. 31, Art. 2bis).