Import into the EU through Belgium without paying 21% VAT at the border
Non-EU manufacturers, brands, traders and online sellers clearing goods at Antwerp, Zeebrugge or Liège need a Belgian VAT number and a Belgian responsible representative to import in their own name. With an ET 14000 licence, the import VAT moves from the port to your VAT return, where it is declared and deducted at once. We arrange the representative, the registration, the EORI link and the licence, and keep the returns running.
Free first consultation. Fixed quote within one business day.
Standard Belgian VAT rate, charged on imports; 12% and 6% reduced rates for some goods
For the decision on an ET 14000 licence once the written application is filed
EU customs duty per item on B2C parcels up to EUR 150, from 1 July 2026 to 1 July 2028
EU handling fee per item category on goods sold at a distance, from 1 November 2026
Four import models, four different set-ups
A business established abroad gets a Belgian VAT number when it makes taxable transactions in Belgium that give a right to deduct and it is liable for the tax there. Choose the model before the first container lands: it decides what you register for.
Businesses established in another EU country can register directly; a representative is optional for them. A foreign business whose Belgian permanent establishment takes part in its sales counts as established in Belgium, and different rules apply.
Non-EU businesses register through a Belgian representative
A business established outside the EU that must register for Belgian VAT has to appoint a responsible representative (représentant responsable / aansprakelijk vertegenwoordiger) established in Belgium. The rule sits in Article 55 of the VAT Code and Royal Decree no. 31 of 2 April 2002, and no 2025–2026 law changed it.
Individual representative
You get your own Belgian VAT number. The representative files the returns, pays the VAT and keeps the records on your behalf, and must be approved by the administration. This is the route for selling from Belgian stock, and it lets you hold an ET 14000 licence. Any security is capped at one quarter of the VAT you owe over 12 calendar months.
Global representative
A Belgian operator approved in advance, usually a customs agent or forwarder, files one consolidated return for all the clients it represents, so you need no registration of your own. It is built for goods imported and then supplied or transferred to another EU country, not for selling to Belgian customers from Belgian stock. With its own ET 14000 licence it accounts for your import VAT in its global return. Security is capped at 10% of the VAT due by all represented businesses.
What paying import VAT at the border costs you
Without a licence, import VAT is paid when the goods are released for free circulation and only comes back through a later VAT return. Enter one month of imports to see how much cash sits with the tax office and what it costs.
1. Your imports each month
2. Your money
Paid at the border
With ET 14000
An illustration under monthly returns, the default for a new registrant, not tax advice. It takes customs value plus duty as the VAT base, assumes imports spread evenly over the month and a full right of deduction, and leaves out the customs duty itself, which is still due at clearance unless deferred under a customs guarantee. Refund timing is the legal latest date and applies only if your returns for the previous six months were filed on time.
Import VAT moves from the port to your VAT return
The ET 14000 licence (autorisation ET 14000 / vergunning ET 14000) is the Belgian deferment of import VAT under Article 5 of Royal Decree no. 7. You do not pay the VAT to customs. You report it in your periodic return and deduct it there.
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Who can hold it
Any taxable person, established in Belgium or abroad, that imports goods from outside the EU and files periodic Belgian VAT returns. A business with only an OSS or IOSS registration, an exempt business without deduction rights or a small business under the franchise cannot hold it in its own name.
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Conditions
Imports already made or shown to be planned; all periodic returns for the four calendar quarters before the application filed and the VAT paid; no certain, due and payable VAT debt.
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New registrants
A company registered last month has no four quarters behind it, and no official text says how the condition then applies. We build the application around evidence of planned imports, such as the commercial invoice and the contract with your Belgian broker or warehouse.
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How to apply
In writing, now only through MyMinfin. An adviser applying for you needs an active VAT mandate in your name.
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Decision
The licence is granted, or refused with reasons, within one month.
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At clearance
The licence number and your Belgian VAT number go into the customs declaration. Your EORI number must be linked to the Belgian VAT number, or clearance under the licence fails.
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In the return
The import VAT is entered as due and, with a right of deduction, deducted in the same return. The net cash effect is zero.
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No going back case by case
Once you hold the licence, you cannot choose to pay import VAT at customs instead.
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Revocation
Possible if the licence was obtained on an incorrect statement or you stop meeting the filing and payment conditions. A new application is then possible only 12 months after the month in which the revocation was notified.
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Global licence
A global representative can hold an ET 14000 licence for representatives and account for its clients’ import VAT in its global return.
Other ways to handle import VAT
ET 14000 is the cleanest option for most regular importers. The alternatives fit specific flows, and procedure 42 carries the highest audit risk.
VAT is one set-up, customs is another
Customs representation and VAT representation are separate. A broker’s customs mandate does not register you for VAT, and a VAT representative does not clear goods. We coordinate both so the numbers match on the first declaration.
EORI number
Required for every customs declaration, in your own name. A non-EU company obtains it in the member state where it first lodges a declaration; if that is Belgium, the Belgian EORI unit issues it. Link it to the Belgian VAT number, or ET 14000 and procedure 42 do not work.
Indirect representation
A company not established in the EU can act as declarant only in limited cases, so clearance usually runs through a Belgian broker acting as indirect representative: in its own name, on your behalf, and liable with you for the customs debt (Union Customs Code, Arts. 18 and 77).
IDMS declarations
Belgian import declarations now go through IDMS, which replaced PLDA. Operators have had to file as many declarations as possible in IDMS since 30 September 2025; PLDA remains a fallback for listed exceptions.
Duty and guarantees
ET 14000 covers VAT only. Customs duty is due at clearance unless payment is deferred, which needs a customs guarantee, as do customs warehousing and transit. Reliable operators and AEOs can use a reduced comprehensive guarantee.
The new Union Customs Code changes who the importer is
Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 was published in the Official Journal on 19 September 2026 and entered into force on 20 September 2026. From 21 September 2027:
- The “declarant” is replaced by the importer or exporter.
- Importers must in principle be established in the EU. A non-established importer uses an indirect representative established in the EU, who is treated as the importer and takes on customs and non-fiscal compliance, such as product rules, CBAM and the deforestation regulation. Both are jointly and severally liable for the customs debt.
- A new “importer for distance sales” covers the seller or the platform. Non-EU operators in this category must use an indirect representative with AEO status.
What it means for you: choose a broker now that is able and willing to take on that role in 2027.
Low-value parcels: what is law and what is still pending
Online sellers shipping parcels to EU consumers face a run of EU changes between 2026 and 2028. Each one shows its legal status on 4 November 2026.
- 1 July 2026Adopted · in force
The EUR 150 customs duty relief has ended
Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 of 11 February 2026 removed the duty relief for consignments of up to EUR 150.
- 1 July 2026 – 1 July 2028Adopted · in force
Interim duty of EUR 3 per item
Charged on all B2C distance sales of imported goods with an intrinsic value up to EUR 150, whatever the VAT regime: IOSS, special arrangements or standard import VAT. An “item” is goods in a consignment sharing the same tariff classification, description and origin, charged per declaration line. It also covers goods previously excluded, such as alcohol, perfume and tobacco. Goods sold from a customs warehouse are not distance sales for this purpose. The period can be extended if the Customs Data Hub is late.
- 1 November 2026Adopted · applies now
EUR 2 Union handling fee and product identifiers
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2152 sets a fee of EUR 2 per item category on goods sold at a distance and released for free circulation. There is no value threshold, it is not refundable, also on returns, and it does not apply to private gifts. Product identifiers are mandatory in the declaration from the same date; the VAT procedure code (IOSS, special arrangements or standard import VAT) must also be declared.
- 21 September 2027Adopted
New Union Customs Code applies
Non-established importers act through an EU indirect representative; non-EU distance sellers need one with AEO status (see customs above).
- 1 July 2028Adopted
Normal duties and seller liability for import VAT
With the Customs Data Hub, normal tariff duties apply to all goods regardless of value. A Council directive adopted on 18 July 2025 makes the seller or the platform, not the consumer, liable for import VAT on distance sales of imported goods and repeals the postal and courier special arrangements. A non-EU seller not using IOSS must then appoint a tax representative unless established in a country listed in Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/942.
- Still openPending
What is not settled yet
Whether the EUR 150 IOSS ceiling remains after 1 July 2028 needs a clean reading of the final texts. A Belgian bill on the first ViDA changes to the OSS is not yet published as law. Belgian e-reporting of B2B invoice data, planned for 2028, is a draft law only.
IOSS (Import One-Stop Shop)
For B2C distance sales of goods imported in consignments with an intrinsic value up to EUR 150, excluding excise goods. You collect the VAT at checkout and the goods are released VAT-free. A non-EU seller with no EU establishment appoints an EU-established intermediary, unless established in a country listed in Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/942; a Belgian intermediary makes Belgium your member state of identification. Monthly returns, filed and paid by the end of the following month, through Intervat.
Union OSS
For B2C sales from Belgian stock to consumers in other EU countries. You declare that foreign VAT in one quarterly Belgian OSS return, due by the end of the month after the quarter. Belgian B2C sales stay in your Belgian periodic return. The non-Union OSS covers services, not goods. An OSS or IOSS registration on its own does not qualify for ET 14000.
What a registered importer files
The registration is the easy part. The licence and the refunds depend on filing every return on time, every month.
VAT return
Monthly is the default for a new registrant, with return and payment due by the 20th of the following month, through Intervat. Quarterly is an option up to EUR 2,500,000 turnover (EUR 250,000 for energy products, mobile phones, computers and motor vehicles), unless you must file monthly intra-EU listings.
VAT provision account
Payments and credits now run through the VAT provision account in MyMinfin, which replaced the VAT current account. A credit is refunded on express request at the latest by the end of the third month after the period, if all returns for the previous six months were filed on time. Monthly filers in their first 24 months can ask for a starter monthly refund.
EC Sales List and Intrastat
An intra-EU listing for every period with exempt supplies to other member states, and Intrastat returns to the National Bank once your arrivals or dispatches pass the statistical thresholds.
Peppol e-invoicing
Structured B2B e-invoicing is mandatory since 1 January 2026 for businesses established in Belgium. A foreign business registered directly or through a representative is excluded, confirmed by the law of 10 February 2026 and circular 2026/C/43. It comes into scope only with a Belgian fixed establishment that takes part in its sales. Belgian customers may still ask for Peppol invoices.
Proof of transport
For procedure 42 and every intra-EU supply, a file per shipment: the buyer’s valid VAT number and proof that the goods left Belgium.
Keeping the licence
Late returns or unpaid VAT put the ET 14000 licence at risk, with a 12-month wait before a new application, and delay refunds. We keep every date.
Belgian VAT representation suits some importers far better than others
A good fit if
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You import regularly through Antwerp, Zeebrugge or Liège
Each month of imports without a licence ties up VAT until the next return or refund.
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You sell from EU stock to businesses or consumers
One Belgian VAT number, with OSS for consumers elsewhere in the EU, covers the flows.
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You want to stay a non-EU company
No Belgian entity and no notary: a representative and a Belgian VAT number are enough.
Probably not for you if
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You only ship parcels up to EUR 150 direct to consumers
IOSS through an EU intermediary can be enough, with no Belgian stock and no Belgian VAT number.
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You will run staff, an office or a warehouse in Belgium
A fixed establishment changes your status. A Belgian company or branch is often cleaner; see company formation.
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You import once or twice
Pay at clearance and deduct, or use your broker’s global representation for onward EU supplies.
From first shipment plan to monthly returns
One team for the VAT side and the customs side, so the VAT number, the EORI and the licence line up before your goods arrive.
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Import model review
Which of the four models fits your flows, and whether Belgium is the right point of entry.
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Responsible representative
Individual or global, arranged with an approved Belgian representative; contract and security agreed before filing.
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VAT registration
Form 604A, the tax mandate and the document pack for the FPS Finance team for non-established businesses, which issues the enterprise number (BCE / KBO).
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EORI and broker set-up
EORI number linked to the VAT number, and an indirect representation mandate with a broker at your port.
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ET 14000 application
Filed in MyMinfin under a VAT mandate, with the evidence of planned imports.
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IOSS and OSS
Registration through Intervat and the monthly or quarterly returns.
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Monthly compliance
VAT returns, EC Sales Lists, refund requests and the provision account, on time every period.
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2027–2028 readiness
Your broker set-up and checkout pricing checked against the new Union Customs Code and the e-commerce rules.
Ready to import in four steps
Map your flows
Origin, port, buyers, B2B or B2C, monthly volumes. You get the model and a fixed quote.
Representative and documents
Representation contract and security, tax mandate, trade-register extract, home tax certificate, articles and the director’s ID.
VAT number and EORI
The 604A is filed before activity starts. Once the VAT number is issued, the EORI is linked to it.
ET 14000 and first shipment
The licence is applied for in MyMinfin and decided within one month. Your broker then clears without import VAT.
Do I need a Belgian company to import through Antwerp?+
No. A non-EU business can import in its own name with a Belgian VAT number obtained through a responsible representative. A Belgian company or branch makes sense only if you will have staff, an office or a warehouse you run in Belgium.
Can a non-EU business register for Belgian VAT without a representative?+
As a rule, no. Article 55 of the VAT Code requires a business established outside the EU to appoint a responsible representative established in Belgium. Businesses established in the United Kingdom or Norway are treated differently, and EU businesses can register directly.
What is the difference between an individual and a global representative?+
With an individual representative you have your own Belgian VAT number and can sell from Belgian stock and hold ET 14000. A global representative files one return for many clients under its own number, which suits goods imported and sent on to other EU countries, not local sales.
How long does VAT registration take?+
The 604A must be filed before the activity starts. For non-established businesses, a dedicated FPS Finance team in Brussels creates the enterprise number and handles the registration. Plan for several weeks from a complete file. The official 604A notice mentions no state fee.
Can a newly registered company get ET 14000 straight away?+
The conditions refer to returns filed and VAT paid for the four quarters before the application, which a new registrant cannot show, and no official text says how the condition then applies. We build the application around evidence of planned imports. The administration decides within one month.
What does the EUR 3 duty mean for my parcels?+
Since 1 July 2026 the EUR 150 duty relief is gone. Until 1 July 2028 every B2C distance sale up to EUR 150 pays EUR 3 per item, meaning per declaration line of goods with the same tariff classification, description and origin, whatever the VAT regime. From 1 November 2026 the EUR 2 handling fee per item category is added.
Do I have to send Peppol e-invoices?+
Not while you have no Belgian fixed establishment taking part in your sales. Since 1 January 2026 the mandate applies to businesses established in Belgium; foreign businesses registered directly or through a representative are excluded. Your Belgian customers may still ask for Peppol invoices.
Will I still need a customs broker after 2027?+
Yes, and its role grows. From 21 September 2027 a non-EU importer acts through an indirect representative established in the EU, who is treated as the importer and shares liability for the customs debt. For distance sales, that representative needs AEO status.
What happens if a VAT return is late?+
Fines apply, refunds can be held back, and late returns or unpaid VAT can cost you the ET 14000 licence, with a 12-month wait before a new application. Not filing a 604A at all costs EUR 500.
How much does it cost?+
It depends on the model, the type of representative and the monthly volume. We send a fixed quote after a short call. The security the representative asks for is separate and depends on the VAT you will owe.
Bring your goods in through Antwerp, Zeebrugge or Liège
Tell us what you import, where it goes and in what volumes. We send a fixed quote for the representative, the registration, ET 14000 and the monthly returns, and tell you plainly if IOSS alone, a Belgian company or another country fits better.
Keep reading
Law in English
The legal texts behind this page
Read the provisions themselves, translated into English article by article, with the original alongside.