1. New Belgian Pillar II law adopted
The Belgian parliament adopted a new Pillar II law on 2 May 2024. This law, which replaces the previous version adopted on 19 December 2023, includes provisions from the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS issued in 2023 and corrects errors in the original Pillar II law. Furthermore, the law modifies the Belgian innovation income deduction regime (IID) to maintain its effectiveness for groups subject to the Pillar II legislation in Belgium. Without these changes, the IID’s benefits would have been partially lost due to a top-up tax payable by groups with a GloBE tax rate in Belgium lower than 15%.
The new law will enter into force from the same dates as the original law: the qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (QDMTT) and income inclusion rule (IIR) from 1 January 2024, and the undertaxed payments rule (UTPR) from 1 January 2025.
2. New Belgian Pillar II notification form
On 21 May 2024, the Belgian tax authorities provided practical guidance regarding a Pillar II notification obligation for concerned groups, i.e. those with consolidated annual revenues exceeding EUR 750 million in two of the four previous tax years.
The Belgian tax authorities will issue a specific Pillar II identification number that taxpayers will need to use for Pillar II advance tax payments, reporting and compliance. Taxpayers that are required to notify must do so by filing the Pillar II notification form. Thereafter, they can make IIR and QDMTT advance tax payments and submit Pillar II related notifications and tax returns. The Pillar II notification form must be filed by:
- the Belgian ultimate parent company if there is only one ultimate parent entity established in Belgium;
- the Belgian ultimate parent entity designated as agent if there are several ultimate parent entities established in Belgium;
- a Belgian group entity if there is no ultimate parent entity and only one group entity is established in Belgium; and
- the Belgian group entity designated as agent if there is no ultimate parent entity and multiple group entities are established in Belgium.
The Pillar II notification form must be filed within 30 days from the start of the reporting year. For the first reporting year, however, taxpayers that are required to notify are granted an extended deadline of 45 days from the publication in the Belgian Official Gazette. The notification form must be submitted on 13 July 2024 at the latest. Non-compliance may give rise to a penalty ranging from EUR 2.500 to EUR 250.000.
The (substantial) notification must include information related to the taxpayer and its group, information related to the consolidated financial statements and information related to the ownership structure.
For more information on this new legislation and for any questions related to the Pillar II notification, reach out to your CMS client partner or the following CMS experts:
