Obtaining a VAT number in Belgium: procedure, form 604A and deadlines

Key takeaways

• Obtaining a VAT number in Belgium is done in two steps: CBE registration, then VAT activation via form 604A.
• The VAT number is your enterprise number preceded by BE, once activated with the tax administration.
• Form 604A is filed via the e604 application on MyMinfin, at least two days after CBE registration and before the first economic act.
• A VAT number remains mandatory even under the exemption scheme (annual turnover below 25,000 euros excluding VAT).

Obtaining a VAT number in Belgium is not a single formality but a series of two distinct steps, and it is here that many entrepreneurs go wrong. Registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE) gives you an enterprise number, but this number is not yet active for VAT. Until you have filed form 604A, you can neither charge VAT nor recover it on your purchases. This guide details the exact procedure, the role of the approved enterprise counter, the costs, the deadlines and the obligations that kick in once the number is activated.

Enterprise number and VAT number: the same sequence, two statuses

Since the centralisation of identifiers in the CBE, your enterprise number and your VAT number rest on the same sequence of ten digits. The only visible difference is the BE prefix that precedes the VAT number. For an existing company whose enterprise number is 0123.456.789, the corresponding VAT number is written BE 0123.456.789. Since 19 September 2023, the series starting with 0 is exhausted: new numbers assigned now start with 1 (for example BE 1XXX.XXX.XXX).

The distinction is not just a matter of format. The enterprise number exists from your CBE registration and identifies your business with all administrations. The VAT number, for its part, only exists after a specific activation with the tax administration. A business can therefore have an enterprise number without being identified for VAT, for example if its activity is exempt.

Who must obtain a VAT number

Anyone who carries out, on a habitual and independent basis, an economic activity of supplying goods or services covered by the VAT Code is required to identify for VAT. The legal form does not come into play: a self-employed natural person, an SRL or a cooperative company follow the same logic of liability.

Two nuances matter at the time of the application. Some activities are exempt from VAT by the VAT Code (medical services, teaching, certain financial services) and do not require identification. Conversely, the exemption scheme for small businesses exempts you from charging the tax below 25,000 euros of annual turnover excluding VAT, but does not exempt you from the obligation to have an activated number. For the detail of schemes, thresholds and returns, see our guide on VAT for the self-employed in Belgium.

The procedure to obtain a VAT number in Belgium

VAT identification is never triggered automatically at CBE registration. It is the subject of a separate application, to be submitted before the first economic act. Here is the complete sequence.

1. 1

   Register with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises

   Step 1

   You go to an approved enterprise counter with your identity card, the founders' data, the office address and the company's bank account number. Registration is mandatory before any start of activity.

2. 2

   Receive the enterprise number

   Step 2

   The unique ten-digit number is assigned at registration. For a natural person, it is obtained via the enterprise counter; for a company, it flows from filing the deed at the registry of the enterprise court.

3. 3

   File form 604A

   Step 3

   You submit the VAT identification request via the e604 application on MyMinfin, at least two days after CBE registration and before the first economic act. If you opt for the exemption, indicate it in this form.

4. 4

   Obtain the VAT number activation

   Step 4

   The competent tax-management team activates the number (format BE 1XXX.XXX.XXX for new numbers, the old ones starting with 0) and confirms it to you via eBox or by registered mail. The number must then appear on each invoice and official document.

Three routes exist to file form 604A: do it yourself online via the e604 application, entrust it to a chartered accountant, or go through an approved enterprise counter that handles all the formalities.

	Yourself (e604)	Enterprise counter	Chartered accountant
Cost of the 604A activation	Free	Paid service	Variable fee
CBE registration managed for you
Advice on the scheme (exemption or normal)
Suited to a simple file

Costs and deadlines to obtain a VAT number

The main cost item is not the VAT activation, which is free if you do it yourself via the e604 application, but registration with the CBE at the enterprise counter.

The processing time for VAT identification depends on the file and the competent tax-management team. Allow from a few working days to several weeks. The key is to file form 604A before starting your activity, because operating without an active VAT number exposes you to regularising the tax afterwards. If you are launching a company at the same time, our support services cover the office address, CBE registration and administrative compliance.

After activation: your first obligations

Activating the VAT number opens a series of declaration obligations that start from the first quarter of activity. Here they are in summary.

Once your VAT number is active

• Mention the number on every document

  The VAT number must appear on your invoices, returns, correspondence and orders, in accordance with the VAT Code.

• File the periodic returns

  Under the normal scheme, returns are monthly by default, or quarterly if the annual turnover does not exceed 2,500,000 euros excluding VAT. They are filed via Intervat.

• Submit the annual client listing

  Every taxable person files an annual statement of VAT-taxable clients, including under the exemption scheme.

• Declare any change or cessation

  Form 604B is used to report a change of activity, 604C a cessation. Both are filed via e604, an accountant or an approved counter.

Under the exemption scheme, you are exempt from the periodic returns, but the annual listing and the mention of the exemption on your invoices remain mandatory. To manage the frequency of returns, the filing deadlines and the choice between the normal scheme and exemption, refer to our guide VAT for the self-employed in Belgium.

Checking a VAT number and managing its life cycle

Once the number is active, you can check its validity, yours as well as that of your partners. For intra-community exchanges, checking a European VAT number goes through the VIES (VAT Information Exchange System) of the European Commission, which confirms the validity and displays the associated information. You can also obtain a certificate via MyMinfin after logging in.

The number then follows the company's life. A change of activity is declared by form 604B, a cessation by form 604C within the month following the stop. In the event of a cessation, the administration deregisters the VAT number and informs you via eBox or by registered mail. Remembering this deregistration avoids remaining liable for declaration obligations on a stopped activity.

Launching your activity in Belgium?

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Going further

• VAT for the self-employed in Belgium: thresholds, exemption and obligations, for the detail of schemes, rates and returns once your number is activated.
• Setting up an SRL in Belgium: the essential steps, if you are setting up a company and want to chain CBE registration and VAT identification.
• The accounting obligations of an SRL in Belgium and the deductible expenses of an SRL, to frame the management that follows VAT activation.