What has Belgium announced?

The Belgian government has announced a pre-draft law to introduce near-real-time, two-sided reporting of certain mandatory invoice data alongside structured B2B e-invoicing.

The proposal will next be submitted to the Belgian Data Protection Authority and the Council of State for advice before continuing through the legislative process.

When will Belgium's two-sided e-reporting rules take effect?

The measure is expected to apply from 1 January 2028, based on earlier communications from the Belgian authorities, but this date remains to be confirmed through the legislative process.

What will Belgium's two-sided e-reporting requirements mean for businesses?

According to the government announcement, the two-sided reporting obligation would provide the Belgian tax administration with faster, more detailed and reliable transaction data. For taxpayers covered by e-reporting, it would also replace the existing annual customer listing.

Although the pre-draft law is not currently available for public review, consultation material published by the Belgian High Council for the Self-Employed and SMEs indicates that the rules are expected to take effect on 1 January 2028 and be designed from the outset to align with the EU’s ViDA digital reporting requirements that apply from 1 July 2030.

The legislation would establish the overall framework, while a subsequent Royal Decree would determine the reportable data, reporting deadlines, transmission method and technical requirements. The consultation material indicates that the reporting timelines are expected to follow the ViDA model, under which suppliers report when an invoice is issued or should have been issued, while recipients generally report within five days of receiving it.

The consultation material also indicates that Belgium intends to expand mandatory structured e-invoicing to non-established taxpayers registered for Belgian VAT.

This potential expansion, as well as the other details drawn from the consultation material, should be confirmed against the official legislative text once it becomes publicly available and is approved.