Belgium reforms VAT invoice tax point

Belgium is to complete a long-delayed change to the tax point on invoices. A new proposal will set the tax VAT is due as the date of issuance of the invoice. If the vendor fails to issue any invoice for the taxable supply by the 15^th of the month following, then the VAT becomes immediately liable.

The change affects only business-to-business transactions for domestic supplies. It will have not impact on intra-community supplies.

In 2013, the Belgian government attempted to reform the tax point issue by clarifying that the issuance of an invoice before completion of a supply did not represent the tax point. But this was confronted by a barrage of complaints from businesses who thought the new regime unworkable. The government therefore implemented a temporary rule with this new plan will replace from 1 January 2016.