Belgium consignment call-off stock VAT
Non-Belgian companies without a permanent establishment (local company, staff, offices etc.) and holding stocks for resale may be required to VAT register in Belgium to record the arrival of the intra-community supply and onward sale. This includes VAT reporting and tax payments, if applicable.
Belgian VAT stock simplification
In the European Union, and under the EU VAT Directive, there are two different possibilities for the requirement to VAT register when holding stock. Below is a summary of the position in Belgium for VAT on stock holdings.
Belgian Call Off Stock
Where the goods are supplied to the final customer’s warehouse and are under their control even if legal title does not transfer, then there is the possibility to avoid the requirement for the foreign consignor to VAT register in Belgium.
However, the stock simplification option in Belgium is complicated mainly because of the administrative burden for the customer/consignee. The buyer should record an intra-community supply on receipt of the goods, and then a domestic reverse charge sale when the goods’ title is transferred. The following requirements must be satisfied:
- The seller does not have a Belgian VAT number
- The goods are held by the customer on a sale or return contractual basis
- The seller have concluded a consignment contract
- The buyer maintains books to record the stock in Belgium on behalf of the seller, and retains documentary proof of the purchase and use of the stock.
- The buyer supplies the customer with a special goods transfer note (similar to an invoice with disclosure details.
Note, aside from intra-community supplies, it is also potentially possible to use the call off stock simplification for certain imports.
Belgian Consignment Stock
When the goods are under the control of the seller, and there are multiple final customers in Belgium, then the seller must VAT register itself in Belgium.
They will then be required to complete filings for the intra-community arrival of the goods into Belgium, and then the sale to a Belgian customer. Although there may be nil VAT if the buyer is in turn Belgian VAT registered.
Note, if the goods are coming from outside the EU, they are an import (as opposed to an intra-community supply), and a registration may be required on this basis alone.
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