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Act To Amend Act Of 22 April 1999 On The Accounting And Tax Professions (I)

Original Language Title: Loi modifiant la loi du 22 avril 1999 relative aux professions comptables et fiscales (I)

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belgiquelex.be - Carrefour Bank of Legislation

25 FEBRUARY 2013. - An Act to amend the Act of 22 April 1999 on Accounting and Tax Professions (I)



ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
CHAPTER 1er. - Introductory provision
Article 1er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
CHAPTER 2. - Amendments to the Act of 22 April 1999
Accounting and Tax Professions
Art. 2. Section 1/1 of the Act of 22 April 1999 on Accounting and Tax Professions, inserted by the Royal Decree of 19 November 2009, is replaced by the following:
“Art. 1er/1er. For the purposes of this Act and its enforcement orders, the following means:
1st affiliated state: the member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) and countries outside the EEA as soon as the Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 7 September 2005 on recognition of professional qualifications will apply to these countries;
2° working days: all calendar days, excluding Sundays and legal holidays. If the period in working days expires on a Saturday, it is extended to the next business day. "
Art. 3. Section 44 of the Act, replaced by the Royal Decree of 19 November 2009, is supplemented by a paragraph written as follows:
"The Professional Institute keeps up to date the table of Chartered Accountants and Chartered Accountants as well as the list of Interns and Trainee Accountants. This table and list of trainees are made up on the one hand, of those who practise their profession on behalf of third parties on an independent basis, namely external members and external trainees, and on the other hand, of those who practise exclusively the profession in a subordination relationship via a contract of work or in a function paid by the public authorities to be the internal members and interns. If specifically targeted, the following categories are explicitly referred to, i.e., "external professionals or external trainees" or "internal professionals or internal trainees". "
Art. 4. The title of Chapter II of Part VI of the Act is replaced by the following:
“Chapter II. - Organization, operation and organs of the Professional Institute of Chartered Accountants".
Art. 5. In section 45 of the Act, the first part of the first sentence that begins with the words "Organization and Operation" and ends with the words "Intellectual professions service providers and" is replaced as follows:
"As long as the King has not set specific conditions for the Professional Institute, the organization and operation of the Professional Institute are governed".
Art. 6. In the same Act, an article 45/1 is inserted, which reads as follows:
"Art. 45/1. § 1er. They are members of the Professional Institute, all natural and legal persons who are listed in the Professional Table or on the list of trainees.
§ 2. The Professional Institute includes a National Council composed of an equal number of Dutch-speaking and French-speaking members, as well as two Executive Chambers and two Appeals Chambers that have French and Dutch as a Vehcular Language respectively.
Without prejudice to § 11, their actual and alternate members shall be elected for four years by the natural persons listed in the holders ' table.
The National Council is composed by a linguistic role of at least two thirds of external professionals.
The King determines the number of members, eligibility conditions and election terms.
It sets the operating rules of the Council and the rooms.
§ 3. The operating costs of the Professional Institute are covered by:
1° the liberalities made for his benefit;
2° the contributions of members, trainees and persons established abroad who have been authorized by the Chamber to occasionally practise the profession;
3° the costs set by the Board for the processing of administrative records;
4° the penalties for delay in payment of contributions set by the Commission;
5° income of furniture and real estate belonging to the Professional Institute.
Contributions, file fees and late payment penalties are subject to the approval of the Minister who has the Average Classes in his or her duties.
If a member fails to pay the contribution within the time limit set by the Board, the Executive Board may remove the member or trainee concerned in accordance with section 45/2. The contribution is not payable if the interested party has requested that it be removed from the list of trainees or from the holders' table prior to the expiry of the specified period.
The King sets out the way in which control is exercised over the annual accounts, budgets and accounting of the Professional Institute.
§ 4. The National Council may specify, adapt or supplement the rules of ethics and establish the rules of procedure. The rules of ethics and the rules of internship are binding only after their approval by the King, by order deliberately in the Council of Ministers.
The National Council also has a mission:
1° to ensure compliance with conditions of access to the profession and, to that end, to bring to justice, in particular by denouncing to the judicial authorities any violation of the laws and regulations protecting the professional title and organising the profession, and by requiring such authorities any measures to stop such an offence or to obtain compensation;
2° to set the admission conditions to which members must meet in order to be able to bear the title of an authorized accountant or registered accountant;
3° to determine the minimum criteria to which a professional must meet in order to intervene as an internship master;
4° to take measures relating to professional development and training of members.
§ 5. The National Council may take all necessary measures to carry out its mission, as defined in § 4.
The National Council sets out the rules of procedure and submits it to the Minister who has the Average Classes in his or her powers.
Both in court and in order to state and enforce the Professional Institute acts by the National Council.
He can be represented by his president or his vice-president.
§ 6. The control of the actions of the National Council is exercised by a government commissioner, assisted by an alternate.
Both are appointed by the King, on the proposal of the minister who has the middle classes in his duties, among the officials of his department.
The Commissioner of the Government shall have fifteen working days to appeal to the Minister against the execution of any decision of the National Council that is contrary to the laws and regulations or that is not part of the mission of the National Council as defined in § 4, which is likely to compromise the solvency of the Professional Institute or which is contrary to the approved budget of the Professional Institute.
This period runs from the day the Government Commissioner was aware of the minutes of the decision. The appeal is suspensive.
If the Minister has not made the cancellation within fifteen business days of receiving the appeal, the decision becomes final.
§ 7. The rooms have a mission:
1) to draw up and maintain the table of the holders of the profession, the list of trainees and the table of persons admitted to honorariat;
(2) to authorize the occasional exercise of the profession by persons established abroad, in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the directives made pursuant to it, or according to a treaty in reciprocity, provided that the person concerned complies with the conditions for the exercise of the profession in the country of his principal institution; the beneficiaries of the authorization must submit to the rules of professional ethics;
3) to ensure the application of the internship rules and rules of ethics and to make disciplinary decisions with respect to professionals, trainees and persons authorized to practise the profession on an occasional basis;
(4) to finalize, at the joint request of the concerned, the disputes relating to the fees claimed by a professional or an external trainee to his or her client and to give their opinion on the method of fixing fees, at the request of the courts and tribunals or in the event of disputes between external professionals registered in the table or on the list of interns;
5) establish and update the list of trainees, who are responsible for advising and assisting trainees and preparing an evaluation report.
§ 8. The jurisdiction of the Executive Chambers is determined by the place where the applicant will practise his profession for the first time or later by that of his principal institution. If this place is located in the bilingual region of Brussels-Capital, this jurisdiction will depend on the language used in the application or the language chosen by the defendant.
A person who does not have sufficient knowledge of the language of the procedure used by the board to which he or she is summoned may be present at the hearing by an interpreter of his or her choice.
§ 9. Disputes between persons in the table by different executive chambers are within the competence of the chambers. They also carry out the tasks set out in § 7 when they are interested in the German-speaking region. The rules of operation of the executive chambers met provide for a representation of this region.
§ 10. The Executive Chambers are assisted by a legal assessor or an alternate legal assessor, appointed for six years by the Minister of Average Classes, among lawyers listed in an order table.
§ 11. The executive and appeal chambers are presided over by an effective or honorary magistrate, or by a lawyer registered for at least ten years at a table of the Order of Lawyers, appointed by the King for a term of six years, or by his alternate, who must meet the same conditions.
§ 12. The Appeals Chambers decide on appeals against decisions taken by the Executive Chambers of their Vehcular Language. Appeals against decisions taken by the Executive Chambers convened pursuant to § 9 are within the competence of the Appeals Chambers. Appeals are brought by persons who have been the subject of decisions or by legal assessors.
§ 13. Members of the chambers are held incommunicado of the proceedings. "
Art. 7. In the same law, an article 45 /2, written as follows:
"Art. 45/2. Members and interns, natural or legal persons who have been proven to have failed in their duties are liable to one of the following disciplinary penalties:
1° warning;
2° the blame;
3° suspension;
4° radiation.
When a disciplinary penalty is imposed on a legal person, a disciplinary penalty may also be applied to the natural person(s), manager, administrators, members of the steering committee and, more generally, independent agents members or interns of the professional institute who intervene on behalf of the legal person and whose fault is the cause of the breach of the legal person.
The King stops how these disciplinary penalties can be imposed. It also sets out the rules whereby rehabilitation may be granted.
The suspension is for both the internal professional or the internal trainee and the external professional or the external trainee in the prohibition to carry the professional title in Belgium for a fixed term, which cannot exceed two years. It entails the deprivation of the right to participate in the elections referred to in Article 45/1, § 2. For the external professional or the external trainee, it also carries out the prohibition of exercising the regulated profession as an independent in Belgium during the same period of suspension.
The de-listing process involves both the internal professional or the intern for the external professional or the external intern the prohibition of wearing the professional title and, in addition, for external professionals and external trainees, the prohibition of exercising the regulated profession in Belgium as an independent. "
Art. 8. In section 46 of the Act, amended by Royal Decrees of 25 February 2003 and 19 November 2009, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced as follows:
"No one can carry the professional title of "accredited accountant", "accredited accountant-fiscaliste", an intern accountant" or "internal accountant-fiscaliste", or any other title that may cause confusion with any of the above professional titles, if not included in the membership table, or on the list of trainees held by the Professional Institute.
No person may exercise as an independent, on behalf of third parties, as a principal or an accessory, the accounting profession if he or she is not included in the table of the holders of the profession or on the list of trainees held by the Professional Institute. "
Art. 9. In section 47 of the Act, the following sentence is repealed:
"As long as the King has not set these conditions, Article 3 of the Framework Law of 1er March 1976 regulating the protection of the professional title and the exercise of the intellectual professions service providers remains of application. "
Art. 10. In section 49 of the Act, the words "and independent and on behalf of third parties" are repealed.
Art. 11. In section 51 of the Act, a paragraph read as follows is inserted between paragraphs 1 and 2:
"The provisions of the previous paragraph are also applicable to internal trainees, who complete their internship exclusively as part of a subordination link. "
Art. 12. In the same law an article 52ter is inserted as follows:
“Art. 52ter . § 1er. The holders of the profession who carry out their activities, as referred to in section 49, exclusively under a subordination link, through a contract of employment or in the context of a function paid by the public authorities and who, on the date of the entry into force of that provision, is:
1° has a degree referred to in Article 50, § 2 or § 3, as well as a proven professional experience as employees for activities as defined in Article 49 of at least 5 years in the last 8 years, at the date of their application for approval,
2° or have proven professional experience as employees for activities as defined in Article 49 of at least 8 years in the last 10 years at the date of their application for approval,
are exempted from the completion of the internship. As a transitional measure, they may, upon request, be included in the table of internal professionals as holders of the professional title of a Chartered Accountant or a Chartered Accountant approved by the Executive Chambers of the Professional Institute after having passed a practical examination of fitness. Those who, in the past, were removed from the Professional Institute's table as a disciplinary sanction cannot use this transitional measure.
§ 2. They have a period of six months from the date of entry into force of this provision to register for this practical examination of aptitude by registered letter. The Professional Institute of Chartered Accountants and Tax Directors, within 12 months of this registration period, shall organize at least two practical examinations of suitability in the execution of this article. During this transitional period, each candidate can only participate once in this practical fitness examination.
The procedure for registering in the Professional Table, for those who have passed the practical examination of fitness, is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Royal Decree of 27 November 1985 determining the rules of organization and operation of the Professional Institutes created for the intellectual professions service providers as long as the King has not taken an order in accordance with this law which regulates this procedure of registration for the Professional Institute of Chartered Accountants. The competence of executive chambers is determined by the language used in the application for registration. Those who have not succeeded may only be registered in the Professional Table in accordance with Article 51.
§ 3. A copy of the degree must be attached to the application for a practical examination of suitability or a copy of their employment contract and a statement by their employer(s) that specifies that they carry out the activities according to the provisions of section 49 and during periods as provided for in § 1. Evidence of the years of professional experience required under the specified reference period may also be provided by other means of evidence, except the oath.
§ 4. The application for registration is only reviewed by the Professional Institute after payment of the 150 euro file fee. "
Art. 13. In section 58 of the Act, amended by the Act of 23 December 2005 and the Royal Decree of 19 November 2009, paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following:
"Without prejudice to the competence of judicial police officers, the officials, commissioned by the King for this purpose on the proposal of the Minister who has the Middle Class in his powers, are responsible for the search for and by verbatim records of offences under articles 46 to 48. These minutes are believed to the contrary. They shall be transmitted promptly to the competent officers of the Public Prosecutor ' s Office; a copy is sent to the perpetrator of the offence, as well as to the above-mentioned minister within seven working days of the finding of the offences, barely nullity. Persons to whom this Act applies are required to provide any information and documents necessary to verify the application of this Act. Will be punished by imprisonment for eight to fifteen days and a fine of 26 to 1,000 euros or only one of these penalties, the person who refuses to provide the information and documents or who will oppose the investigation measures.
Section 458 of the Criminal Code is applicable to external auditors, external tax boards, external registered accountants, external registered trust accountants, externally registered trainees and persons responsible for them, and to persons referred to in sections 37bis and 52bis. "
CHAPTER 3. - Amendment of the Act of 11 January 1993 on the Prevention of the Use of the Financial System for the Purpose of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism
Art. 14. Section 3, 4°, of the Act of 11 January 1993 on the Prevention of the Use of the Financial System for the Purpose of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, renumbered and amended by the Act of 18 January 2010 is replaced by the following:
"4° natural persons or legal persons listed on the list of external auditors and on the list of external tax advice as referred to in Article 5, § 1the Act of 22 April 1999 on accounting and tax professions, as well as natural persons or legal persons listed in the table of external registered accountants and the table of external registered accountants as referred to in section 46 of the Act. "
CHAPTER 4. - Transitional provision
Art. 15. Royal Decrees pursuant to sections 7, paragraphs 2 to 4, 8, 9, 10 and 15 of the Framework Law of 3 August 2007 relating to the intellectual professions service providers and related to the accounting and fiscal professions referred to in this Act remain in force until they are replaced, provided that they are not contrary to this Act.
CHAPTER 5. - Entry into force
Art. 16. This Act comes into force on the first day of the fourth month following that of its publication in the Belgian Monitor.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 25 February 2013.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Average Classes, EMPs and Independents,
Mrs. S. LARUELLE
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. A. TURTELBOOM
____
Note
(1) Session 2012-2013.
House of Representatives
Documents. - 2477.
Number 1: Bill.
No. 2: Amendment.
Number three: Report.
No. 4: Text adopted.
No. 5: Text adopted.
Senate
Document. - S-5-1926.
N° 1: Non-Scheduled Project - Senate.