Belgium Support Measures: Will They Be Clear and Targeted After VAT Chaos?

The Belgian federal administration has announced that the postponed value added tax (VAT) chain reform measures will officially become effective on May 1, 2026. This decision follows several years of delays and phased postponements of the modernization initiative.

The VAT chain reform was first introduced on March 12, 2023. Although it was subsequently postponed in phases until January 1, 2025, the implementation of the new rules remained unfeasible at that time. This led to a transition period that lasted until October 1, 2025, before being prolonged indefinitely.

Key Changes to the VAT Chain

A primary component of the reformed VAT chain is the replacement of the existing VAT current account with a new VAT provision account. The federal administration specified that amounts currently held in the VAT current account will be transferred to the VAT provision account, provided that all periodic VAT returns have been filed by April 30, 2026.

The administration has also clarified the procedure for requesting VAT credits. When a taxable person ticks the box to request a refund of the VAT credit in a periodic VAT return, the request will only apply to the VAT credit resulting from that specific return, which is the amount listed in box 72.

Taxable persons who wish to receive an outstanding VAT credit from the VAT provision account must submit a separate request through MyMinfin, the Belgian digital portal for tax administration.

Broader Context of Belgian VAT Modernization

The VAT chain reform is part of a wider series of compliance and procedural changes. Some measures within this framework had already become effective on January 1 and May 1, 2025. These included:

• The extension of filing deadlines for the periodic VAT return and the intra-Community Sales Listing for quarterly taxable persons to the 25th day of the month following the quarterly period.
• The abolition of corrected or revised VAT returns after the statutory filing deadline, requiring any corrections to be included in the subsequent VAT return.
• A requirement for taxpayers to respond to information requests from the VAT administration within one month, though this deadline may be shortened to 10 days during a VAT refund audit.

The indefinite postponement of the remaining measures prior to the May 2026 date was intended to allow taxpayers more time to prepare for the transition. It also aimed to let businesses focus on the introduction of electronic invoicing, which began on January 1, 2026, and provided the Belgian tax administration with the opportunity to conduct more thorough testing.

a federal government coalition agreement concluded on January 31, 2025, by five political parties outlined further VAT objectives. These include the introduction of near real-time reporting, the simplification of administrative processes, and adjustments to VAT rates to support climate change actions and the expansion of the VAT regime for demolition and reconstruction.

Other postponed measures that are now tied to the modernization effort include a new VAT refund procedure, the use of a new bank account number, and the implementation of a new payment method via direct debit.