28 JANVIER 2004. - An Act to amend the Value Added Tax Code (1)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers have adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 78 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. This Act transposes Council Directive 2001/115/EC of 20 December 2001, amending Directive 77/388/EEC to simplify, modernize and harmonize the terms and conditions for billing on value added tax.
Art. 3. Article 17, § 1^er, from the Value Added Tax Code, replaced by the Act of December 28, 1992, paragraph 3 is repealed.
Art. 4. In section 22, § 2, of the same Code, replaced by the Act of 28 December 1992, paragraph 3 is repealed.
Art. 5. In Article 38, § 1^er, paragraph 2, of the same Code, replaced by the Act of 28 December 1992, the words "in Article 17, § 1^erparagraphs 2 and 3, § 2 and 3, as well as Article 22, § 2, paragraphs 2 and 3, and § 3, are replaced by the words "in Article 17, § 1^er, paragraph 2, paragraphs 2 and 3, as well as article 22, § 2, paragraph 2, and § 3".
Art. 6. Section 51 of the same Code, replaced by the Act of 28 December 1992 and amended by the Royal Decrees of 29 December 1992 and 22 December 1995 and the Act of 7 March 2002, are amended as follows:
1° in § 2, 2°, the words "in Article 53, paragraph 1^er, 2°" are replaced by the words "in article 53, § 2, paragraph 1^er";
2° in § 2, 5°, the words "in Article 53, paragraph 1^er, 3°" are replaced by the words "in article 53, § 1^erParagraph 1^erTwo.
Art. 7. Section 53 of the Code, replaced by the Act of 28 December 1992, is replaced by the following:
“Art. 53. § 1^er. The subject, excluding the person who has no right to deduction, is bound to the following obligations:
1° file a declaration at the beginning, change or cessation of the activity;
2° give each month a statement in which it states:
(a) the amount of transactions covered by this Code that it has carried out or were provided to it in the preceding month in the course of its economic activity;
(b) the amount of the tax payable, the deductions to be made and the regulations to be made;
(c) the data that the King considers necessary to meet the statistical provisions of the Community and to ensure control of the application of the tax;
3° pay, within the time limit set for filing the declaration provided for in 2°, the tax that is due.
Derogation from paragraph 1^er, the subject referred to in Article 56, § 2 shall be held to the obligations provided for in paragraph 1^er1°.
§ 2. The subject who makes deliveries of goods or services, other than those exempted under section 44 and who do not open any deduction rights to him, is required to issue an invoice to his or her partner or to ensure that such invoice is issued on his or her behalf, by his or her contractor or by a third party:
1° in the event of a delivery of goods or a service provision for a non-subscribed person or corporation;
2° where a delivery of goods referred to in Article 15, §§ 4 and 5 is made for any person not subject;
3° where he delivered goods referred to in section 39bis, paragraph 1^er2°, for any person not subject;
4° where, before delivery of goods or the completion of a service referred to in 1° and 2°, the tax is payable by application of Articles 17, § 1^er and 22, § 2, on all or part of the cost of the operation;
5° where, before delivery referred to in section 39bis, paragraph 1^er, 1° to 3°, the price is cashed in whole or in part.
The issuance of invoices by the contracting party is authorized provided that there is a prior agreement between the two parties and that each invoice is subject to acceptance by the subject person performing the delivery of goods or the provision of services.
Any document that amends the original invoice and makes reference to it in a specific and unambiguous manner is assimilated to an invoice and must be issued by the same person as that who issued the original invoice.
The King may impose on the subjecters the obligation to issue an invoice for goods or services, other than those referred to in paragraph 1^er, they perform in Belgium. "
Art. 8. In article 53ter, paragraph 1^er, of the same Code, inserted by the law of 28 December 1992 and amended by the Royal Decree of 29 December 1992, the words "in article 53, paragraph 1^er, 3° and 4° are replaced by the words "in article 53, § 1^erParagraph 1^erTwo and three.
Art. 9. Section 53octies of the same Code, inserted by the Act of 28 December 1992 and amended by the Acts of 5 September 2001 and 22 April 2003, are amended as follows:
1° in § 1^erParagraph 2 is replaced by the following paragraph:
"It may authorize, under the conditions and terms and conditions that it determines, that the issue of the invoice referred to in section 53, § 2, is by the transmission of the data that it must contain by a procedure using the telematics techniques, provided that the authenticity of their origin and the integrity of their content is guaranteed. »;
2° in § 1^erParagraph 3 is replaced by the following paragraph:
"It may authorize the categories of subject matter that He designates, not to file the declaration provided for in Article 53, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 2°, only by quarter, semester or year. »;
3° § 1^er is completed by the following paragraph:
"It can provide for other obligations to ensure the exact perception of the tax and to avoid fraud. »;
4° in § 2, the words "in articles 53, paragraph 1^er, 1° and 3°, and 53ter are replaced by the words "at articles 53, § 1^erParagraph 1^er, 2°, and 53ter
5° in § 3, the words "by articles 53, paragraph 1^er, 3°" are replaced by the words "by articles 53, § 1^erParagraph 1^erTwo.
Art. 10. In article 53nonies, § 1^er, paragraph 2, of the same Code, inserted by the law of 28 December 1992, the words "Articles 53, paragraph 1^er, 3° and 4°, are replaced by the words "Articles 53, § 1^erParagraph 1^erTwo and three.
Art. 11. In section 60 of the same Code, replaced by the Act of 28 December 1992 and amended by the Royal Decree of 23 December 1994, the following amendments are made:
1° in § 1^erParagraph 1^er is replaced by the following paragraph:
« § 1^er. Books, invoices and other documents whose holding, writing, or issuance are prescribed by this Code or pursuant to it, shall be retained by persons who have held, prepared, issued or received them for ten years from 1^er January of the year following their closure if it is for books, their date if it is for invoices or other documents, or the year in which the right to deduction was born, in the situations referred to in Article 58, § 4, 7°, paragraph 2, if it is the documents referred to in Article 58, § 4, 7°, paragraph 4. »;
2° it is inserted instead of § 3 which becomes § 4, a new § 3, written as follows:
Ҥ3. All invoices issued by the subject-matters, either by themselves or on their behalf by their contractor or by a third party, as well as all invoices received, must be kept in Belgian territory. However, invoices that are kept electronically in Belgium guaranteeing full and online access to the data concerned may be kept in another Member State of the Community provided that the administration that has the value added tax in its responsibilities is informed beforehand.
The authenticity of the origin and integrity of the contents of the invoices, as well as their readability, must be guaranteed throughout the retention period.
Invoices must be retained in the original, paper or electronic form, in which they were received. For invoices that are stored electronically, data guaranteeing the authenticity of the origin and integrity of the contents of each invoice must also be retained.
The preservation of an electronic invoice means a storage by means of electronic data retention equipment including digital compression. »;
3° § 4, new, is replaced by the following provision:
“§4. In cases where the retention of books, invoices or other documents leads to significant difficulties, the Minister of Finance or his delegate may, by derogation from §§ 1^er and 3, provide, to persons or categories of persons designated by them, a reduction in the retention period, an exemption from the obligation to keep books, invoices or other documents and determine the mode of conservation. "
Art. 12. Section 61 of the Code, replaced by the Act of 28 December 1992 and amended by the Act of 7 March 2002, is amended as follows:
1° the words "books and documents" are replaced by the words "books, invoices and other documents";
2° in § 1^erthe following paragraphs shall be inserted between paragraphs 2 and 3:
"Any condition that keeps the invoices that it delivers or receives through an electronic channel that guarantees in Belgium an online access to the data and that the place of storage is located in another Member State is required to ensure to the administrative officers who have the value-added tax in their duties, for control purposes, the right to electronic access, download and use in respect of these invoices.
Where this is necessary for control purposes, the administration that has the value-added tax in its powers may require, for invoices in a language other than one of the national languages, a translation into one of these national languages of invoices relating to delivery of goods or services that take place in Belgium in accordance with Articles 15 and 21, as well as those received by the subject-matters established in Belgium. "
Art. 13. In article 66, paragraph 1^er, of the same Code, replaced by the Act of 28 December 1992, the words "in article 53, paragraph 1^er, 3°" are replaced by the words "in article 53, § 1^erParagraph 1^erTwo.
Art. 14. In section 78 of the same Code, replaced by the Act of 28 December 1992, the words "in section 53, paragraph 1^er, 3°" are replaced by words in article 53, § 1^erParagraph 1^erTwo.
Art. 15. In Article 91, § 1^er, 1°, of the same Code, replaced by the law of 28 December 1992, the words "53, paragraph 1^er, 4°" are replaced by the words "53, § 1^erParagraph 1^erThree.
Art. 16. This Act produces its effects on 1^er January 2004.
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 28 January 2004.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Finance,
D. REYNDERS
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Note
(1) Session 2003-2004
House of Representatives.
Documents. - Bill, 51-431 - No. 1. - Report, 51-431 - No. 2. - Text adopted in plenary and transmitted to the Senate, 51-431 - No. 3.
Full report. - 18 December 2003.
Session 2003-2004
Senate.
Documents. - Project referred to by the Senate, 3-423 - No. 1. - Amendments, 3-423 - No. 2. - Report, 3-423 - No. 3. - Text corrected by the commission, 3-423 - No. 4 - Decision not to amend, 3-423- No. 5.