Belgium: Amendments to VAT exemption for medical and hospital care
New provisions explicitly would exclude non-therapeutic services from the scope of the VAT exemption.
Provisions explicitly would exclude non-therapeutic services from scope of VAT exemption
The Belgian Parliament passed legislation that would change the scope of the value added tax (VAT) exemption for medical and hospital care.
The amendments concern two aspects of the VAT exemption:
- The nature of the exempt activities (material scope)
- The qualification of the service providers (personal scope).
The new provisions explicitly would exclude non-therapeutic services from the scope of the VAT exemption. Under the new provisions, interventions and treatments that are aesthetic in nature or have other non-therapeutic aim would not be eligible for the VAT exemption for medical and hospital care. Examples of non-therapeutic services could include the supply of medical expert reports or medical certificates. The exclusion of non-therapeutic services from the scope of the VAT exemption would apply regardless whether these services are provided in or outside of a hospital.
Furthermore, the amendments would incorporate exceptions to the exempt supplies of hospitals and stipulate that the supply of services and goods by hospitals are not granted the exemption for medical and hospital care in certain instances.
The amendments extending the personal scope of the exemption for medical care provided outside of hospitals would mean that the exemption would not only apply to professionals of regulated medical and paramedical professions, but also to those with adequate qualifications to provide equally qualifying services. The amendment would not change the personal scope of the exemption for medical services provided in hospitals.
The measures would be effective beginning 1 January 2022 and could have implications for service providers of medical and hospital care, depending on the current VAT treatment of their services.
Read a July 2021 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in Belgium
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