GloBE registration requirements in Belgium

The Belgian Tax Authorities published details about the GloBE registration requirements (see Pillar 2 - Binnenkort opening systeem verplichte notificatie voor MNO-groepen en omvangrijke binnenlandse groepen | FOD Financiën (belgium.be) ). The legal basis for registration of in-scope groups in the Belgian Commercial Register was introduced by the recent amendments to the Belgian Law on minimum taxation (see our news item). While the Royal Decree of 15 May 2024 concerning the details of the registration process is not yet published in the Belgian Official Gazette, the Belgian Tax Authorities released the below information.

MNEs and large-scale domestic groups in-scope of the Belgian Law on minimum taxation are required to register in the Belgian Commercial Register (i.e., Crossroads Bank for Enterprises - CBE). The notification for registration must be made no later than 30 days after the start of the fiscal year for which the group comes in-scope of the Belgian Law on minimum taxation. However, to give sufficient time to collect the requested information, the first notification deadline will be in any case 45 days after the publication of the Royal Decree in the Belgian Official Gazette.

The burden of registration rests on the following entity:

1. If there is a Belgian Ultimate Parent Entity (UPE): on this UPE
2. If there is more than one Belgian UPE: on the UPE which is appointed by the other(s)
3. If there is no Belgian UPE, but there is a Belgian Constituent Entity (CE): on this Belgian CE
4. If there is no Belgian UPE, but there are several Belgian CEs: on the Belgian CE which is appointed by the others.

In the case of appointment(s), the appointment of an entity needs to be formalized by completing a mandatory and electronic proxy template by the appointing Belgian entity(ies), incl. electronic signature.

The registration requirements apply regardless of whether there is a Belgian UPE. If the UPE is not in Belgium (and does not have a number in the Belgian Commercial register), this UPE will also receive a registration number (i.e., in addition to that of the group).

The registration form (see visual) consists of four parts, each requiring specific information about the group. The required information includes especially:

1. Part I: MNE Group or large-scale domestic group
   Unique name of the group (i.e., must be different from the one of the UPE); fiscal year; address of UPE; contact details of UPE.
2. Part II: Consolidated Financial Statements (CFS)
   Type of CFS according to GloBE definition, applied accounting standard, currency, and publication.
3. Part III: Ownership structure
   List of all UPE(s), Intermediate Parent Entities, and Partially Owned Parent Entities. If a Parent Entity is in Belgium, also a list of all Belgian and foreign entities held by this Parent Entity. The ownership structure must be presented as it existed on the first day of the fiscal year when the group first came into scope of GloBE (e.g., 1 January 2024 if the fiscal year is the calendar year).
   Additionally, for each listed entity, the GLoBE status must also be indicated and the sub-group. This classification for GloBE purposes is aligned with that proposed by the OECD for the GloBE Information Return.
4. Part IV: Contact details
   Contact details of the entity that bears the burden of registration. If this is based on appointment, the completed proxy template(s) must also be provided as proof.  

The in-scope group must notify the Belgian Tax Authorities using a notification form which is available on MyMinfin. The registration must be done through the “MyMinfin” account of the Belgian entity that has the burden of registration. The required information will have to be submitted in the format of an XML-file, but an XML-generator tool is available in Tax Authorities’ website.

Upon valid notification, the Belgian Tax Authorities will register the group with the Belgian Commercial Register. The enterprise number for the group is then sent by e-mail to the entity that notified the group. More information about the technical aspects of the notification process is available on the website of the Belgian Ministry of Finance: Aanmelden voor inschrijving in de KBO | FOD Financiën (belgium.be)

The timeframe to comply with the GloBE registration requirements is short and the deadline is very soon. We advise all in-scope groups with Belgian Constituent Entities to take immediate action to gather the relevant information and make the necessary arrangements for timely registration. If you need any assistance, do not hesitate to contact us. We can assist you with both preparing the notification form (incl. group mapping for GloBE purposes) as well as the actual filing (incl. XML-file generation).