Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and by way of administrative tolerance, the Belgian government has granted a 6-month delay to fulfil the first reporting obligations under the DAC 6 legislation. The decision follows a European proposal for an amending council directive in this respect.
In short, DAC 6 provides for the obligation to report certain cross-border tax arrangements to the Belgian tax authorities. This obligation is incumbent on both taxpayers and intermediaries, such as tax advisers and consultants. The DAC 6 legislation becomes applicable on 1 July 2020. From this date onwards, a period of 30 days applies for the reporting of cross-border arrangements that become reportable as from 1 July 2020. Also historical cross-border arrangements of which the first step was implemented between 25 June 2018 and 30 June 2020 are to be reported under the DAC 6 legislation.
The reporting deadlines are now being deferred with 6 months. In practice, this means the following:
- The new date for the beginning of the period of 30 days for reporting is 1 January 2021 (instead of 1 July 2020). This is applicable to any cross-border arrangement that becomes reportable as from 1 July 2020 till 31 December 2020 and from 1 January 2021 onwards.
- The new date for the reporting of the historical reportable cross-border arrangements (i.e. arrangements in the period from 25 June 2018 to 30 June 2020) is 28 February 2021 (instead of 31 August 2020).
- The first periodical report on marketable arrangements is due by 30 April 2021.
- The first exchange of information between EU Member States on reportable cross-border arrangements will accordingly also be deferred.
Reporting will have to be done electronically using the XML-file that was recently published on a dedicated portal site.
This extra time might help you to fine-tune the necessary tools and procedures needed to comply with the reporting obligations. It is also expected that the Belgian tax authorities will provide for further guidance on several questions in respect of the application of the DAC 6 legislation.
For more insights and support, contact your local PwC advisor or Pieter Deré.
