On April 6, 2022, the EU enacted new reduced EU VAT rate setting freedoms, enabling member states to apply a reduced VAT rate below 5% for the first time on a limited selection of products and services. expanded the supply categories that qualified for the other two reduced rates below their standard rate.
The current 6% and 12% reduced VAT rates will be combined into a new 9% rate, according to plans released by the Belgian Finance Ministry. The usual 21% VAT rate will not change. Since there are a lot more supplies available at the 6% rate, the consolidation would actually result in an increase in net taxes.
In order to counter the inflationary consequences of rising energy prices, the Ministry also wishes to permanently reduce the VAT on electricity. This reduction was recently made. The new 12% rate will also take into account home demolitions and rebuilds. Numerous items will be reclassified under the zero percent VAT rate, including fruit and vegetables, medications, personal care products, and transportation.
In Belgium, the typical VAT rate is 21%. All goods and services that do not fall under one of the reduced VAT rates are subject to this rate. A supply of commodities that travels from one member of the European Union (EU) to another is referred to as an intra-community supply. Under certain circumstances, the products may be non-cost from VAT in the member state of departure. As a result, the acquisition of the goods within the Community (i.e., when they arrive in the other member state) will be subject to tax.
A non-resident corporation must begin adhering to local compliance standards as soon as it acquires its Belgian VAT number. This comprises:
- Generating invoices that include the disclosure information specified in the Belgian VAT Code.
- Electronic invoices that have the recipient’s proper signature, verifying their identity and assent.
- Keeping up with accounts and records, which have a minimum retention period of seven years.
- Accurate time-of-supply VAT billing to clients for goods or services in compliance with Belgian regulations.
- Processing of corrections and credit notes.
- Use of authorized exchange rates.
The rules governing tax point (time of delivery) define when the VAT is due. 10 days following the conclusion of the VAT reporting period, it is then payable to the tax authorities (monthly or quarterly). It is the moment of delivery or title transmission for the majority of products. It is the conclusion of the service in the case of services.
To maintain efficient tax data collection and ensure that businesses are making the proper tax payments, it’s critical to be able to take into account all of these factors, which requires comprehension of how this tax is applied in this country.
Verification, however, is typically the result of human error, probably as a result of having to perform the time-consuming and repetitive task of verifying each number one at a time. So, using a programmatic interface to check the VAT and levels for each tax is what we advise. To speed up this procedure, use the VAT Validation API.
Several programming languages efficiently use the VAT Validation API. There are several options depending on how many API queries per month you can make. Businesses can use the information to carry out the required authentication and determine if a number is accurate or not.
In order to guarantee an appropriate tax collection process throughout the European Union, this VAT Lookup API provides findings on the veracity of the numbers. Along with other things, it verifies the numbers as well as the corporations to which they belong.
Additionally, this kind of API will help you automate the process so you can get results more quickly and easily. As a result, the entire office tasked with assessing this data will be able to respond more quickly since, in the event that it turns out to be false, they will be able to move promptly to fix the issue. Don’t miss the opportunity to start validating your VAT numbers with this VAT number validation API.