The essence of the change is that VAT refund remains possible only for the part of an unpaid claim that has not been indemnified by the credit insurer. Once a credit insurer pays (part of) a compensation, the Belgian tax authorities consider this to be a payment by a third party. As a result, the compensated amount is no longer eligible for a VAT reduction. Something fundamental is also changing for credit insurers. From now on, they can no longer reclaim VAT on reimbursed amounts, even if they have stepped into the rights of the insured via subrogation. The new rules will apply to all VAT refund requests submitted to the Belgian tax authorities from 1 January 2025.
Mitigating consequences
To limit the impact of this change in the law, Belgian insureds, and Dutch principal insureds with Belgian cover, can choose to extend their credit insurance with VAT-inclusive cover. In that case, turnover will henceforth be declared inclusive of VAT and the VAT amount will also be insured. For Belgian companies, this can be arranged directly through their own policy. Additional changes to the policy are not necessary in that case.
Would you like to change your credit insurance or do you have any questions about this change? If so, please contact your account manager at Xolv.
