On 10 September 2012, the Belgian Ruling Commission published an interesting tax ruling on real estate situated at airports. It is the first official publication on the subject-matter.
The ruling concerns both airport operators, real estate investors and end-users (handlers, forwarders, logistics, etc. …) at airports.
In essence the ruling confirms that real estate (old or new, buildings or land) at airports can be put at the disposal free from any VAT leakage.
These principles equally apply to real estate at ports and navigable waterways.
Anybody (public or private) planning to invest in or holding property at ports and airports will be allowed full VAT recovery on investments made. In addition, conditions under which the properties can be put at the disposal in a VAT neutral way are more flexible than ever before. For end-users, the ‘rents’ paid should no longer embed irrecoverable VAT.
Full text of the ruling can be consulted on www.fisconetplus.be
