BELGIUM Law and Practice Contributed by: Robin Minjauw and Anouk Van der Mast, Tiberghien
Additionally, the tax administration co-operates with foreign authorities via EU directives (DAC), OECD con - ventions, and bilateral agreements. 6.2 Criminal Penalties Tax fraud and tax evasion can lead to a range of criminal penalties. For general fiscal fraud, the law provides for imprisonment ranging from eight days to two years, as well as criminal fines between EUR250 and EUR500,000 (EUR500 to EUR1 million for legal persons) before the application of surcharges. These sanctions apply only where the authorities can prove fraudulent intent or an intent to cause harm. When the fraud is considered “serious” (whether organised or not) – for example in cases involv - ing organised schemes, falsified documentation, or large‑scale evasion – the penalties become more severe and may include imprisonment of up to five years. In addition, fiscal forgery, such as the use of false accounting records or fraudulent documents, is a sep - arate offence punishable by one month to five years of imprisonment and substantial criminal fines, and it requires a demonstrated specific fraudulent intent. Finally, since 2024, any form of tax fraud, even non‑serious cases, may qualify as a predicate offence for money laundering, which can result in 15 days to five years of imprisonment, large financial penalties, and the mandatory confiscation of the proceeds of the offence. 6.3 Interaction Between Tax and Criminal Procedures Under the Belgian una via framework, serious tax fraud must in principle be reported by the tax administration to the Public Prosecutor. The system is designed to prevent prohibited double punishment while ensuring co-ordinated enforcement. Following such a report, structured consultation takes place between the tax administration, the Public Prosecutor, and investi - gative services. The prosecutor generally indicates within three months whether the case will proceed primarily through criminal prosecution or remain within the administrative framework.
If criminal proceedings are initiated, administrative penalty proceedings are normally suspended in order to avoid double sanctioning. However, the establish - ment and recovery of the tax debt may continue, since the tax due is not considered as a criminal sanction. In the criminal proceedings, the tax administration may introduce a self-standing civil claim ( action civile ) to recover the unpaid tax, surcharges, and interest, ena - bling the criminal court to rule on both the criminal liability and the civil tax claim. Although administrative and criminal tracks may, in certain circumstances, coexist, they must form a suf - ficiently co-ordinated and coherent overall response, in line with the non bis in idem principle. Any cumula - tive sanctions must pursue complementary aims, be closely connected in substance and time, and remain proportionate. Where both tracks are engaged, the criminal court must take prior administrative penalties into account to prevent excessive overall punishment. 7. Administrative Co-Operation 7.1 Legal Framework for Administrative Co- Operation EU law, multilateral instruments and bilateral (tax) trea - ties form the basis of administrative co-operation in tax matters in Belgium. Being an EU member state, Belgium has implement - ed the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC), which establishes a harmonised framework to ensure administrative co-operation between EU tax authorities. The scope of the DAC has already been expanded several times covering, among oth - ers, the exchange of information relating to potentially tax-harmful cross-border arrangements (DAC6) and crypto-assets (DAC8). Belgium has also implement - ed both the CRS (as provided under DAC2) and the FATCA regulations. Belgium is also a signatory to the Multilateral Con - vention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, which is considered the most comprehensive multilateral instrument for administrative co-operation, including in particular the exchange of information.
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