Filing due date approaching for FY2017 Belgian Local File
Belgian group entities should take into account the upcoming deadline for mandatory filing of the Local File. Starting from financial year 2017, more detailed information will have to be disclosed towards the Belgian tax authorities. A timely take-off for the update of the FY2017 Local File is therefore highly recommended.
Qualifying Belgian group entities?
In the context of BEPS action 13 of the OECD, the Belgian legislator has introduced mandatory transfer pricing documentation requirements for Belgian group entities.
In this respect, each qualifying Belgian group entity (company, legal branches and fiscal permanent establishments) which is member of an international group is required to file a Master File (via the specific form 275 MF) as well as a Local File (275 LF).
A qualifying Belgian group entity is subject to mandatory filing if only one of following criteria is exceeded in its statutory financial accounts (on a ‘stand alone’ basis) in the prior year:
- Gross operating and financial income exceeding EUR 50 million (excluding non-recurring items);
- Balance sheet total exceeding EUR 1 billion;
- Average annual number of employees of 100 in full time equivalents (‘FTEs’).
Legal filing due date?
The Local File (form 275 LF) should list information on the local entity, containing general information regarding the activities in Belgium and detailed information of cross border transactions per business unit of the Belgian entity. The Belgian Local File content is fully in line with OECD BEPS 13 requirements.
The local file should be filed within the same term as the corporate income tax return or the non-resident corporate income tax return. The general due date for filing the corporate income tax return has been set on 27th September 2018. Note that the exact due date can still differ depending on the company’s closing date of the accounting year and the month in which the general shareholders’ meeting takes place.
The Master File (form 275 MF) contains an overview of the multinational group, including the nature of its business operations, transfer pricing policy, its intangible assets, intercompany financial activities, consolidated financial and tax position of the group.
The Master File form should be filed within a period of 12 months following the last day of the group ‘s reporting period. For a group with a financial year ending on 31 December 2017, the due date has therefore been set on 31st December 2018.
Also the annual CBC reporting notification form (275 CBC NOT) will have to be filed at the latest by 31st December 2018, for a MNE group with a financial year ending on 31st December 2018.
Call for action!
Starting from financial year 2017, more detailed information will have to be disclosed in the Local File form 275LF, including amounts of intercompany transactions. The reporting approach may be considered as more strict compared to OECD guidelines. A timely take-off for the update of the FY2017 Local File report and form is therefore highly recommended. Our transfer pricing experts can of course assist you with the update of the Local File, the administrative process as well as meeting the filing requirements.
Publication date: 9 July 2018