The Near Real-Time E-Reporting Bill Is Filed in the Chamber as DOC 56 1846/001, and the Council of State Doubts Its Fit with Article 273 of the VAT Directive

KGT Country Update | 9 November 2026 | VAT, e-invoicing and SAF-T monitor

On 27 October 2026, the Belgian Government filed with the Chamber of Representatives a bill amending the VAT Code to introduce an electronic reporting obligation for invoice data and to abolish the annual listing of taxable customers for the businesses concerned (DOC 56 1846/001).

The filed document records that the Council of State, in opinion no. 79.900/3 of 30 September 2026, doubted the compatibility of the draft with the second paragraph of Article 273 of Directive 2006/112/EC, and that the Government did not follow that part of the opinion.

The Chamber received the final text for printing on 29 October 2026. This is a legislative step, not yet an enactment.

Background

Mandatory B2B e-invoicing through the Peppol network has applied in Belgium since 1 January 2026. The Council of Ministers of 18 July 2026 approved a preliminary draft law on electronic reporting of invoice data, which was then submitted for advice to the Data Protection Authority and to the Council of State.

KGT's update of 23 July 2026 covered that preliminary draft. What is new is the filed bill, which carries the two opinions and an explanatory memorandum that answers the Council of State.

The Legislative Change

The bill is a proposed amendment to the VAT Code, built around a new Article 53 quinquies. As described in the explanatory memorandum and summary of the filed document, it works as follows:

• Per-invoice reporting. Reporting is made per invoice, based on the data of the structured electronic invoice (or documents treated as equivalent for reporting purposes) as issued or received, before business validation and before any correction. Corrective documents are reported in the same way as the original invoice.
• Both sides report. Suppliers established and VAT-identified in Belgium report, including supplies to customers that are VAT-identified in Belgium without being established there, and including where the supplier is not obliged to issue an e-invoice. Customers established and VAT-identified in Belgium report inbound transactions from reporting Belgian suppliers and from farmers under the special scheme of Article 57.
• Non-established parties. Suppliers not established in Belgium are not obliged to report but may do so voluntarily, which allows non-established suppliers that are VAT-identified in Belgium to be relieved from the annual listing. Customers not established in Belgium have no reporting obligation.
• Replaces the annual client listing. For businesses within the reporting obligation, the annual listing of taxable customers disappears. The periodic VAT return remains necessary, because reporting does not cover all transactions, for example supplies to non-taxable persons and intra-Community transactions.
• Royal Decree. The King is empowered to fix the data to be reported. A future Royal Decree must replace Royal Decree no. 23 of 9 December 2009 on the annual listing.
• Safeguards. The memorandum states that no additional information right is created for the administration, that access is limited to officials for whom the data are relevant, and that every access is logged. Part of the Data Protection Authority opinion (no. 182/2026 of 17 August 2026) is reflected in the text or memorandum, and other points are left to the implementing rules and the technical architecture.

Scope

The bill concerns domestic B2B supplies where a structured electronic invoice, or an equivalent document, is issued or received. The Council of State records the 1 January 2028 start for the reporting obligation, including in situations in which there is no invoicing obligation. It accepts that the bill is not a transposition of the ViDA Directive but notes that it anticipates it. The ViDA amendment of Article 273 applies from 1 July 2030.

Timeline

Businesses Affected

Belgian-established and VAT-identified suppliers and customers in domestic B2B flows are affected, as are farmers under the special scheme as counterparties. Non-established suppliers VAT-identified in Belgium must decide whether to report voluntarily instead of filing the annual listing. Multinationals with Belgian entities are directly in scope, and groups with several Belgian VAT registrations should assess each registration separately.

Required Actions

• Confirm that each Belgian entity can already issue and receive structured invoices over Peppol, since reporting is built on the data of those invoices.
• Map the invoice data fields that will be reportable, and plan to report each invoice as issued or received, before business validation and before corrections.
• For non-established VAT-identified entities, decide between the voluntary reporting route and continued annual listing once the final law is known.
• Do not hard-wire a reporting deadline or channel into project plans yet. Both depend on the Royal Decree and on the final text.

Practical Implications

The Council of State's doubt is legally significant because it concerns the legal basis, under the VAT Directive, for imposing a reporting obligation before ViDA applies. The Government has explicitly rejected it, so for taxpayers the main risk is timing rather than substance. In SAP landscapes, reporting the invoice as issued, before correction, means the reporting data should be taken from the e-invoice itself rather than from posted accounting documents. According to the memorandum, deviations between supplier and customer reports are not errors in themselves.

Expected Next Steps

• Committee and plenary treatment of DOC 56 1846/001 in the Chamber, followed by publication in the Moniteur belge once enacted.
• A Royal Decree fixing the reportable data and the reporting deadline, replacing Royal Decree no. 23 of 9 December 2009. Secondary reports expect it in early 2027, but we have not confirmed this in an official source.
• Technical specifications from FPS Finance for the reporting flow.

How Can KGT Support You?

KGT provides SAP-integrated e-invoicing add-ons and SAP Document and Reporting Compliance (DRC) services for e-invoicing, e-reporting, and SAF-T. We can assess how your Belgian Peppol set-up supports invoice-level reporting from 2028, and prepare the SAP data extraction so that you can adopt the final specifications quickly. Contact your KGT representative to discuss.

This country update is provided for general information only and does not constitute tax, legal or professional advice.