The new coalition agreement contains a radical change in VAT legislation. Namely, a step is taken in the further digitization of VAT collection and the fight against VAT fraud thanks to so-called "near real-time e-reporting.

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E-reporting of invoices

E-reporting of invoices is a system in which invoicing is transmitted almost instantly ("near real-time") to tax authorities. Here, cash registers and payment and billing systems will be connected to the administration and transmit automated VAT data.

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E-reporting will become mandatory for all transactions between VAT-registered companies and for transactions for which a Registered Cash System (GKS) is used (the so-called "white cash register" from the hospitality industry).

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The purpose of this measure is twofold:

• On the one hand, this means an administrative simplification due to the abolition of the customer list. The customer list is an annual compulsory declaration for companies subject to VAT in Belgium, whereby they submit an overview of their Belgian VAT-registered customers to whom they have invoiced more than €250 (excl. VAT) during the past year.
• A second reason is that thanks to this measure, VAT fraud will decrease significantly because the government will receive the data of each invoice. This data will be analyzed quickly through data mining, which will allow suspicious transactions to be spotted more quickly. According to an IMF study from 2023, the tax authorities annually rate one-fifth of the VAT to be collected. Thanks to the e-reporting system, this so-called "VAT gap" will be drastically reduced.

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Moreover, this new measure is fully in line with Europe's VIDA(VAT in a Digital Age) proposal approved by European finance ministers late last year.

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From e-invoicing to e-reporting

The previous government, on the initiative of Minister Van Petegem, has already made e-invoicing, or sending structured electronic invoices, mandatory by Jan. 1, 2026. The introduction of e-invoicing prohibits sending invoices on paper or via PDF between companies subject to VAT. The fact that invoices are processed in a structured electronic format makes it easier for tax authorities to analyze them via data mining.

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Be prepared with Billtobox

Billtobox is part of Unifiedpost Group, an international group specialized in document processing, payment processing and digital identity. Thanks to Billtobox, you are already ready for the mandatory e-invoicing and we ensure that our solution will meet the e-reporting requirements.