Employees or VAT number in Belgium?

To begin with, it is important to analyse whether your company has a "permanent establishment" in Belgium based on the definition in the double taxation agreement in effect. Do you have an office in Belgium, does the duration of the construction site exceed the threshold included in the double taxation agreement, are there representatives working in Belgium...? A thorough analysis is crucial.

Where there is a permanent establishment under the agreement, the profits related to the Belgian activities are taxable in Belgium. Additionally, the presence of a permanent establishment may also affect the taxation of your employees' wages.

A "Belgian establishment" under Belgian domestic law
Does your company not have a permanent establishment under the double taxation agreement? If this is the case, Belgium is not authorised to tax profits related to Belgian activities.

However,…

Since you have an active company number, you will still appear on the tax radar in Belgium and, based on our internal legislation, we need to determine whether there is a "Belgian establishment". Note that the definition in our domestic law is broader than that in our double taxation agreements. If you meet the internal definition, you are still required to file a tax return regarding taxation of non-resident companies. Indeed, only a zero-tax return, because Belgium has no right under the double taxation agreement to tax the profits.

The Belgian administration carries out targeted checks on this by sending out questionnaires. When a new registration is made in the business register, such a questionnaire automatically follows. As a foreign company with activities in Belgium, you would therefore do well to evaluate the existence of a Belgian permanent establishment.