Belgium – Branch

Introduction to setting up a branch in Belgium

Belgium is a world leading export country, and establishing a branch here is a fairly popular choice for foreign investors. Expansion into Belgium offers advantages such as excellent infrastructure and government support services across all the regional areas of the country.

What are the accounting requirements for a Belgium Branch?

A Belgium bank account should be set up. The branch representative will need to meet with the Bank Officer for this, in order to comply with the KYC (Know Your Client) Banking rule.

The annual accounts of the branch must be prepared in accordance with the minimum standard chart of accounts for Belgium, but do not have to be filed with the National Bank of Belgium. The parent company is required to file its Annual Financial Statements with the National Bank.

The branch must obtain a VAT number for taxation purposes before trading commences, and VAT returns are required quarterly.

What are the formalities regarding Belgium branches?

– A copy of the parent company’s Certificate of Incorporation
– Memorandum & Articles of Association of the parent company
– A high school diploma or university degree of each director of the parent company
– A copy of the parent company’s Certificate of Good Standing
– A copy of the latest approved Financial Statements of the parent company, or interim Financial Statements that are less than a month old
– The minutes of the parent company Board of Directors’ decision to open the branch in Belgium
– The appointment of a local representative – not required to be a Belgian resident- and evidence of their minimum level of qualification to trade, i.e. a Diploma or a Degree recognised by the Belgian authorities

These documents must be submitted to the Commercial Court Registry in order to register the branch. The parent company must ensure that all documentation presented is notarised, apostilled and translated into Dutch or French by a certified translator.

What office facilities are available when registering a branch?

There are several types of office available in Belgium:
– A virtual office provides off-site communication services to the branch, such as telephone, fax and mail forwarding facilities, while maintaining the business professionalism of a physical office.
– A serviced office includes all essential building and business services and is ready for immediate occupation.
– A registered office is an address to which branch correspondence is sent.

We will handle every aspect of the branch formation for you. Using our expert knowledge we can offer a branch formation package in which we take care of branch registration, issue of the certificates of registration, local directors, local representative and place of business in Belgium, tax registration, VAT registration, and translation of documents into Dutch or French.

Our unique one stop solution for all European formation requirements also offers formation packages to set up multiple branches. The benefits for establishing multiple branches include further increased exposure and global presence, and we can organise everything for you.

A summary of Belgium Corporate Taxes is available here.