Logging on to a Belgian government website as a foreign taxpayer
by Biene Ongenaert and Hannelore Durieu
In recent years, the Belgian administration has focused heavily on digitalisation. Nowadays, almost all tax services, from filing a tax return to receiving documents, are only available in digital form. However, it is not always easy for foreign taxpayers who do not have a Belgian identity card to access these online government websites. Here is a brief guide to the different ways of logging in.
Logging in via Electronic Identification and Trust Services or eIDAS
To facilitate cross-border digital transactions within the European Union, eIDAS has been created. This platform allows citizens of another European country to log in to Belgian government websites using their national ID card. However, in order to use this method, taxpayers must already have an identification number in Belgium ("BIS number").
Furthermore, this method is not yet available in Belgium for all European countries. This option is currently available to citizens of the following countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia and Slovakia.
Requesting a digital key
A second option is to request a digital key from a Belgian registration office. After an identity check, you will receive a personal activation code and a link to activate your digital key. This digital key can then be used to log in to the various government websites.
The Foreign Registration platform (ForReg)
For foreign taxpayers who cannot use eIDAS and who do not wish to physically move to Belgium, an alternative validation procedure, ForReg, has recently become available.
However, this procedure cannot yet be used for all government sites. At the moment, only the 'professional diesel' application is available. The BIZTAX and Intervat applications should soon be linked.
Giving power of attorney to a Belgian tax advisor or accountant
Foreign taxpayers can, of course, always give a power of attorney to their Belgian accountant or tax advisor to act as their representative on the various Belgian government websites.
At present, this power of attorney can be granted by means of a paper form. In the future, it should also be possible to grant this power of attorney digitally via the new ForReg platform.
Questions about these procedures? Do not hesitate to contact our experts using the form below.
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Biene Ongenaert
Senior Advisor International biene.ongenaert@vdl.be
Hannelore Durieu
Partner International Tax - Certified Tax Advisor hannelore.durieu@vdl.be
Disclaimer
In our opinions, we rely on current legislation, interpretations and legal doctrine. This does not prevent the administration from disputing them or from changing existing interpretations.
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