Last year, Belgium officially enforced the Pillar 2 rules introducing a minimum tax for multinational companies and large domestic groups further to the publication of the law in the Belgian Official Gazette (Belgisch Staatsblad / Moniteur Belge) in December 2023. To comply with the requirements, groups in scope of the rules have to register at the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (Kruispuntbank van Ondernemingen / Banque Carrefour des Entreprises).
The modalities included in a Royal Decree dated 15 May 2024 were published on 29 May 2024 in the Belgian Official Gazette (Belgisch Staatsblad/Moniteur Belge). Please also refer to the Pillar 2 section on the website of the Belgian tax authorities.
Key items regarding the Belgian Pillar 2 mandatory notification:
What?
Multinational companies and large domestic groups in scope of Pillar 2 will have to submit a Pillar 2 notification form including:
1. General group information, such as group name, fiscal year, address etc.
2. Information on the type of consolidated financial statements
3. Detailed information on the ownership structure, including the entities that are (an) ultimate parent entity/ies (UPE), intermediate parent entity/ies (IPE), partially-owned parent entity/ies (POPE) and their subsidiaries
4. Information on the group point of contact
Who?
- The UPE, if located in Belgium
- Otherwise another entity located in Belgium. In case of multiple Belgian entities, one Belgian entity should be appointed for the filing of the notification form through a mandate. A template mandate was published on the website of the Belgian tax authorities.
When?
- For groups who are already subject to Pillar 2 (e.g. as from 1 January 2024), the notification will need to happen within 45 days after the publication of the Royal Decree of 15 May 2024 in the Belgian Official Gazette (Belgisch Staatsblad / Moniteur Belge). As the Royal Decree was published on 29 May 2024, the Pillar 2 notification will be due by 13 July 2024 at the very latest.
- In other cases, the Pillar 2 notification must be made no later than 30 days after the start of the fiscal year for which the multinational or large domestic group enters into the scope of Pillar 2.
How?
- The notification to the Belgian Tax Authorities must be made via a standard form published in the Royal Decree, to be filed in a XML format through the MyMinfin Pro e-platform of the designated filing entity.
- The group company number will be subsequently emailed to the designated group filing entity. The Belgian tax authorities designed an XML generator tool which is accessible online but requires manual completion of the required information.
In addition, note that the law establishing various tax provisions and amending the mentioned law of 19 December 2023 was adopted by the Belgian Parliament on 2 May 2024 (and published in the Official Gazette on 29 May 2024). This law implements some of the additional Administrative Guidance published by the OECD in July and December 2023 as well as adjustments to the innovation income deduction regime.
How can we assist you?
Given the short filing window, immediate action is required. Are you struggling with the completion of the notification form, the Pillar 2 scoping, the conversion of the notification form into a XML format or its actual filing? Why not reach out to your regular PwC contact, or contact Pieter Deré, Koen De Grave or Maxim Allart.
