On 11 August 2017, a Bill was published in the Belgian Official Gazette implementing into Belgian tax law several EU Directives (see previous coverage) regarding the automatic and compulsory exchange of information in the field of taxation.
The Bill formally transposes (i) Directive 2015/2376/EU, the so-called DAC 3, and (ii) part of the Directive 2016/881/EU, the so-called DAC 4, into Belgian law whereby the text of these Directives is largely followed. The Directives relate to the automatic and compulsory exchange of cross-border tax rulings (‘rulings’) and advance pricing arrangements (‘APAs’), which are broadly defined, as well as country-by-country reports.
For rulings and APAs, the Bill is long-awaited. DAC 3, which entered into force on 1 January 2017, officially provides for the first exchange of rulings and APAs for the first semester of 2017 by the end of September. With this Bill, the legal basis for the exchange (which in practice already occurred to a certain extent in Belgium regarding APAs and rulings) is adopted. Note that the Bill, as the Directive, also lays down a retroactive application by equally requesting the exchange of rulings and APAs from 2012 till 2016.
DAC 4 entails the mandatory exchange of tax-related financial information which applies to multinational companies operating cross-border in the EU. Most measures related to the country-by-country reporting were already implemented in Belgian law, further to the BEPS Action Plan (Action 13). The Bill now merely sets the framework and timeline for the exchange of reports with the other Member States.
Further insights into the Bill will follow. In the meantime, please contact your local PwC contact or Evi Geerts, Pieter Deré or Maarten Temmerman for any questions regarding the related implications for your organisation.
