Belgium Summary Guide

Business Forms in Belgium

The main business forms likely to be of interest to individuals wishing to set up a company in Belgium are the sole proprietorship or limited liability company. Branches, general, and limited partnerships are also available.

Less complex businesses may choose the Sole Proprietorship form due to its simplicity and reduced accounting requirements. A major disadvantage of this form is its unlimited liability to debt, placing its owner at risk of being personally liable to pay all debts incurred on an unlimited basis. Sole Proprietorships (and general partnerships) are subject to pass-through taxation and therefore the owner (or partners) will pay personal income tax on their respective share of profits. As Belgium has a 50% rate for the country’s highest earners, this may make the form inappropriate for larger, more profitable, businesses, which will likely choose a Limited Liability Company or a Limited Partnership.

The company registration procedure in Belgium has been significantly simplified in recent years (not least by the introduction of Business ‘One Stop Shops’), and now takes as little as three days to complete. A single company ID number now covers company registration, VAT and social security.

The minimum capital requirements for will vary according to the type of incorporated entity being formed, but certification must be received from a Belgian credit institution that the required amount (or permitted percentage thereof) is in a ‘blocked’ capital account.

Articles of Incorporation must be submitted, in French, Dutch or German, to the Crossroads Bank for Enteprises (Kruispuntbank voor Ondernemingen), through a Corporate Office (Ondernemingsloket).

Upon acceptance, the business will receive an enterprise number (ondernemingsnummer), which must then be activated at one of Belgium’s ‘business coordination centres’ (ondernemingsloketten). More complex registration rules apply to subsidiaries and branches.

Belgium permits both the subsidiary form and branch offices. A subsidiary assumes its own legal personality, separate from the parent company. A branch offices differ from a subsidiary, as it maintains the legal personality of its parent whilst establishing its own economic identity. Registration for social insurance purposes is required, both for self-employed sole proprietors, and for incorporated entities looking to employ people.

Resident businesses must register their local VAT authority if they exceed the modest threshold of EUR5,580. Although there is no threshold on non-resident businesses, they are required to register if the business is engaged in the following:

• Importing goods into Belgium;
• Buying and selling goods within Belgium;
• Selling goods from Belgium to other EU countries; and
• Distance selling to private individuals, e.g. internet retailing.
• 'Supply and install' services;
• Holding goods in a warehouse in Belgium as stock;
• Organising live events, conferences etc in Belgium (temporary registration);

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Belgium Summary Guide Contents

 Belgium Summary

 Belgium Summary Chart

 Belgium Residence

 Taxation of Business People in Belgium

 Living and Doing Business in Belgium

 Business Forms in Belgium

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