On February 7th, 2023, the Belgium Parliament published a bill aimed at improving the processing of periodic VAT returns and payments.
Among the proposed measures, the bill provides for use of a substitute VAT return by the tax authorities when the taxpayer has failed to submit their VAT return within 3 months of the legal deadline.
The taxpayer will be notified of this substitute VAT return which will assess the VAT due by the taxpayer based on the highest amount of VAT due in the last 12 months.
A minimum amount of VAT due is set at € 2.100 for instances when the taxpayer has not submitted any VAT returns in the last 12-month period, or the maximum amount of those returns is inferior to € 2.100.
Upon receiving the notification, the taxpayer would submit its VAT return within 1 month to end the substitute VAT return procedure. Otherwise, the substitute VAT return will become permanent.
The bill also envisages more flexibility towards VAT refunds, allowing taxpayers to request a VAT refund not just in their VAT return but also through the “My minfin” platform.
Finally, the proposal extends the deadline for submission and payment of the quarterly VAT from the 20th of the month following the filling period to the 25th.
If passed, the law is expected to enter into effect on January 1st, 2024, although a possible postponement until January 1st, 2025, at the latest is also foreseen.
