Groups with Belgian entities that are in scope of the Pillar Two rules must register at the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE). A Royal Decree was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 29 May 2024 with further information on this registration requirement.
Groups that currently already fall into the scope of the Pillar Two rules must file the notification form by 13 July 2024 at the latest. Other groups must file the form within 30 days after the start of the Fiscal Year for which a group enters into the scope of the Pillar Two rules.
Immediate action is thus required since the deadlines are short, the information to be provided is substantial, part of the information may require a more in-debt Pillar Two scoping analysis to be made and the administrative process might be time-consuming.
Belgium implemented the Pillar Two rules at the end of last year via publication of the Law of 19 December 2023 (see our Tax Flash). The Pillar Two rules entered into force on 31 December 2023 and apply to Fiscal Years starting on or after 31 December 2023 for in-scope multinational or domestic groups. Recently, the Law has been amended to incorporate a.o. Administrative Guidance of the OECD issued in the course of 2023 (see our Tax Flash).
In-scope groups with Belgian entities will now need to register at the CBE within a rather short timeframe.
Why is registration needed?
For organizational purposes, each group (with Belgian entities) that is in scope of the Pillar Two rules needs to obtain one so-called CBE-number. This facilitates contacts with the Belgian tax authorities regarding Pillar Two, the filing of the relevant Pillar Two returns (e.g. Globe Information return and QDMTT return) and levying of the IIR, UTPR or QDMTT.
How to comply with this registration requirement?
To register with the CBE, an in-scope group must register with the FPS Finance using a specific notification form, to be filed in a XML format on the MyMinFin platform.
When to comply with this registration requirement?
The notification form must be filed within 30 days after the start of the Fiscal Year for which a group enters into the scope of the Pillar Two rules. Groups that wish to rely on a safe harbour must therefore also comply with this requirement. For example, if the first Fiscal Year that a group falls in scope of Pillar Two is 1 July 2024, the due date will be 31 July 2024.
Groups that currently already fall into the scope of the Pillar Two rules (i.e. in-scope groups with a Fiscal Year starting on or after 31 December 2023 but before 29 May 2024) must file the notification form within 45 days after the publication of the Royal Decree in the Belgian Official Gazette, i.e. by 13 July 2024 at the latest. This would, for example, be the case for in-scope groups whose Fiscal Year started at 1 January 2024.
Who must file the notification form?
- If the Ultimate Parent Entity (UPE) is established in Belgium: the UPE (in case of multiple UPEs in Belgium, the UPE that is appointed as an agent through a mandate)
- If the ultimate parent entity is established outside of Belgium: the Belgian group entity (in case of multiple Belgian entities in Belgium, the entity that is appointed as an agent through a mandate)
The template mandate to be used in case of multiple Belgian entities or multiple Belgian UPEs can be found here and must be digitally signed. The signed mandate form should be filed together with the notification form.
What information must be provided?
The notification form consists of four parts and requires disclosing a substantial volume of information relating to the group and the Pillar Two status of the respective affected entities.
Part I requires completing general information regarding the group, including group name, start & end date of the reporting period, address & contact details as well as details of the individual representing the UPE.
Part II requires completing detailed information on the consolidated financial statements of the UPE used for Pillar Two calculation purposes, including the accounting standard, currency, and online publication location.
Part III requires completing extensive information regarding the ownership structure of the group, including for each entity to be reported in the notification form the TIN and Pillar Two status (i.e. UPE, intermediate parent entity (IPE), partially owned parent entity (POPE), constituent entity, flow-through entity, hybrid entity, permanent establishment (PE), main entity, minority-owned parent entity, minority-owned subsidiary, minority-owned constituent entity, investment entity, joint-venture, joint venture subsidiary, non-material constituent entity or excluded entity) as well as the type of excluded entity and subgroup (if applicable).
All (Belgian or foreign) UPEs, IPEs or POPEs as well as all Belgian group entities should be reported. In addition, in case of a Belgian UPE, IPE or POPE, all Belgian and foreign entities below said parent entity should be reported.
Completing part III will thus require a thorough scoping analysis to identify all entities to be reported as well as their Pillar Two status.
Finally, part IV requires information regarding the entity that will act as the contact point for the group, including the name, TIN, address, and contact details.
A more detailed overview of information to be provided can be found here in Dutch and in French.
When submitting the notification, the entity should further indicate whether it wishes to make use of Pillar II related prepayments (although this is not binding).
If the notification form contains all the necessary information, the FPS Finance registers the group with the CBE. The company number for the group is then sent by e-mail to the entity that notified the group.
Immediate action needed
Given the short timeframe and comprehensive information to be provided, it is recommended for groups in scope of Pillar Two to take immediate action. Indeed, completing the notification form may require prior Pillar Two scoping analysis (if not already done) and also the administrative process to effectively submit the form may take time (depending on the case, before submitting the form, the following actions may be needed: designation of a Belgian entity to represent the group for Pillar Two purposes in case of multiple entities, prior registration of a foreign legal representative to obtain a so-called BIS number in the absence of a Belgian legal representative, creating a mandate for the person/advisor that will file the notification in case of outsourcing, ...).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.