VAT 2025

1. New filling and payment deadlines

For quarterly declarers, the deadline for filing and paying the VAT declaration is extended to the ^25th of the month following the declaration period. Thus, the VAT declaration for the fourth quarter of 2024 must be filed by January 25th, 2025. For monthly declarers, the deadline remains unchanged at the ^20th of the month.

The deadline for the intra-Community declaration and special VAT declaration will also be extended to the ^25th.

Important: the deadline will no longer be automatically extended to the next business day when the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday. The FPS Finance published the VAT calendar, including the removal of this tolerance. However, there is a transition period with tolerance until May 1st, 2025.

2. New penalty scales

Some penalty scales in RD Nos. 41 and 44 have been adjusted. One of the notable adjustments concerns the reduction of the 15% penalty for late or non-payment of VAT:

• Timely declaration but late payment: 5%
• Late declaration: 10% – upon receipt of a proposed substitute declaration, the VAT payer still filed a declaration
• Definitive replacement declaration: 15%

In the past, the tax authorities applied a tolerance when imposing penalties in the case of late declarations. If the declaration was filed late, but no later than the 10th day of the month following the month in which the declaration was due, no penalty was imposed. This tolerance will also be completely abolished. From now on, a late declaration will always be penalized.

3. Statutory response period for VOI

From January 1st, 2025, a statutory response period of one month will apply to the request for information (counting from the third business day following the mailing). This term had been in effect for a long time for direct tax audits.

The response period can only be shortened to ten days when the rights of the Treasury are at risk or when the questions concern the audit of a refund.

4. The new ‘substitute declaration’

If a VAT payer fails to file his declaration, as of January 1, 2025, the tax authorities may send a proposal for a substitute declaration after a period of three months counting from the day the declaration period has expired. The VAT payer will receive a notification of the proposal for a substitute declaration. The VAT payer then still has one month to submit a declaration. If the VAT payer fails to do so, the substitute declaration will become final.

For example, the VAT payer does not file her VAT declaration for the first quarter of 2025 by April 25th, 2025. In that case, the tax authorities can send a proposal of a substitute declaration to the VAT payer as of July 1st, 2025. The VAT payer is then given a period of one month to still submit the (late) VAT declaration. If within this period, a declaration is again not submitted, the tax authorities may proceed to prepare a final substitute declaration.

That substitute declaration will state a VAT debt equal to the highest amount owed in the twelve months preceding the declaration period or the minimum amount of 2,100 EUR. No deductible VAT will be included. No deductible VAT will be included.

This final substitute declaration can then only be contested with an objection or a claim in court. VAT legislation did not provide a specific legal basis for the objection procedure. A legal basis for an objection against a final substitute declaration is now included in Royal Decree no. 1 under article 17bis.

5. On May 1 2025, the VAT current account wil lbe replaced by the Provision Account

The VAT current account as it exists from the time of introduction of the VAT legislation will disappear and be replaced by the so-called Provision Account. This Provision Account will only list the assets of the VAT payer, while the VAT debts will be recognised in the application FIRST (Federal Integrated Recovery System and Taks-refund).

The following amounts will be registered in the Provisions Account:

• (i) Credits evidenced by the VAT declaration and for which the refund was not requested in that declaration and for which the tax authorities have not refused the entry;
• (ii) Credits for which a refund was requested but the conditions were not met;
• (iii) Payments made to the account by the VAT payer himself as a provision for future VAT debts.

The VAT payer will be able to consult the provisions on the account at any time. Available provisions can be used to settle a debt – including for non-VAT debts – or their refund can be requested. The tax authorities will also be able to use the amounts in the Provision Account to pay VAT debts and, in some exceptional cases, other debts as well.

The subscription to the Provisions Account will be made no later than the end of the second (monthly declaration) or third month (quarterly declaration) following the declaration period. As these credits are freely available to the VAT payer, the tax authorities will be able to check the credit prior to the subscription.

The Provision Account will enter into force on May 1st, 2025. Until that date, the VAT current account will remain accessible. At the time of this entry into force, any credit in the VAT current account will be automatically subscribed in the Provision Account.

The Legislator has given the King the authority to elaborate further rules in a new Royal Decree no. 24. This RD has not been published until today.

6. Strickter conditions for obtain a VAT refund

The new legislation also tightens the conditions under which the VAT payer can reclaim a credit evidenced by the VAT declaration. Here, not only the VAT declaration in question, but also the declarations for the six months preceding the declaration period in question must have been submitted on time. The tax authorities must also have a valid bank account number.

The refund is limited to the amount shown in the declaration. A separate procedure will be provided for the refund of a credit from previous declarations that were registered in the Provision Account.

The refund will then be made no later than the end of the second (monthly declaration) or third month (quarterly declaration) following the declaration period.