Introduction
In our previous newsflash regarding the public country-by-country reporting (PCbCR) directive, we informed you that EU member states must introduce the directive in their domestic legislation by 22 June 2023 at the latest.
Belgian PCbCR draft law
On 10 November 2023, the Belgian draft law was finally published. As per the draft text, companies that fall in scope of the PCbCR requirements are: (i) Belgian (parent) companies with a net turnover of more than EUR 750 million and which are subject to income taxation in multiple jurisdictions as well as (ii) non-European parent companies with a net turnover of more than EUR 750 million that are economically active in Belgium through a subsidiary or branch and which are therefore subject to the Belgian tax system.
Key takeaways
Although the Belgian draft text was generally drawn up to be consistent with the directive, specific deviations include among others:
- The draft text defines small enterprises as entities with a yearly turnover below EUR 9 million for at least two consecutive financial years as opposed to the EU directive, which applies a EUR 8 million threshold.
- In principle, entities in scope must publish their PCbCR on their company website and simultaneously file it with the Balance Sheet Centre of the National Bank of Belgium.
- Disaggregated information should not only be published for jurisdictions that are mentioned on the blacklist (the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes) or that have been – for two consecutive years – on the greylist (list of the state of play of cooperative jurisdictions that have taken commitments to implement tax good governance principles), but also for those jurisdictions on the (generally broader) Belgian lists of countries with no or low taxation.
- An exception to the scope not only applies for credit institutions but also for investment companies and management corporations of collective investment undertakings.
- The draft text adopts the filing term of 12 months after the closing date, which differs from the filing term of seven months for the filing of annual accounts as provided for in the Belgian Companies and Associations Code.
- The draft text does not provide for a ‘safeguarding clause’ to defer disclosure of commercially sensitive information.
- Members of a management body, as well as persons entrusted with the governance of an establishment in Belgium, who fail to comply with the Belgian PCbCR requirements, will be punished with a fine of between EUR 50 and EUR 10,000 (and/or a prison sentence of up to one year in the case of fraudulent intent).
Next steps
It is important to bear in mind that CbCR data will soon be publicly available as the first Belgian PCbCR must be published for financial years starting on or after 22 June 2024. Hence, the first Belgian PCbCR filing date is set at 21 June 2026 (31 December 2026 for companies with financial statements following the calendar year).
However, the content of the PCbCR still needs to be determined by Royal Decree.
Please contact Carla Buyens, Stefaan De Baets, Jonas Van de Gucht or your usual contact at PwC for further information.
More news about
- Accounting and Tax Compliance
- Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS)
- Corporate income tax
- International taxation
- Transfer pricing
