Temporary assignments in Belgium New rules

W O R K I N G I N B E L G I U M

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Content

Introduction

1.Whomustbedeclared?

2.When?

3.How?

4. ThecertaintyoftheLimosa-1declaration

certificate

5.Doyouregularlyworkinvariouscountries?

6.EnjoythebenefitsofLimosa

7.Preventingsanctions

8.HowlongdoestheLimosadeclaration

remainvalid?

9.Whatisthecontentofthedeclaration?

10.Otherobligations

11.Wecanhelpyou

LIMOSA Mandatory declaration for

foreign employees, self-employed persons and apprentices in Belgium

As of 1st April 2007 employees, self employed persons and apprentices who come to work in Belgium temporarily or partially must be reported to the authorities in advance.

TargetsoftheBelgiangovernment:

to get a viewoftheimpactoftheseactivitieson

theBelgianeconomy

to create guarantees for the free movement

ofservices,payingspecificattentiontoeveryone’s

rightsandconditionsofemployment

to guarantee legal employmentinBelgium,while

respectingtheEuropeanrules

tolayastrongfoundationforadministrative

simplification

TheBelgiangovernmentmakesauser-friendly

electronic applicationavailablesothatthe

declarationcanbemadequicklyandefficiently.

Moreover,auniqueportalwillbedevelopedonthe

portalsiteofthesocialsecuritytocarryoutyour

administrativeobligations.

Youwillfindmoreinformationat

www.limosa.be.

Obligations

ALimosadeclarationmustbemadefor:

allemployees,self employedpersons,

and(self employed)apprentices

comingtoworkinBelgiumtemporarily

or partially

who, in principle, arenot subjecttotheBelgian

socialsecurity

ry declarationincertaincirc

activities,suchasthefollowin

personsresponsibleforthe

assemblyofgoods

personsresponsibleforurg

ormaintenanceworks

internationaldrivers

participantsinscientificco

inexclusivecompany

self employedbusinesspe

self employeddirectors

sportspeople

artists

diplomats

personsworkingforinterna

publicservants

Theseexemptionsar

conditions.Youwillfi

www.limosa.be

Thedeclarationmaybemad

employer,theself employed

anemployee,anapprentice

Belgianprincipal.

Youmayalsocooperatewith

serviceprovider.

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Exemption

Youmay be exemptedfrom the Limosa mandato­

umstancesorforcertain

g:

installationand

entrepair

ngressesormeetings

- ople

-

tionalorganisations

esubjecttostrict

ndmoreinformationat

ebythe

- person,

oreventhe

a

Who must be declared?

When?

YoumaketheLimosadeclarationbeforestarting

yourassignmentinBelgium.

How?

Electronically

Youcanmakeadeclarationviatheinternetat

www.limosa.be.Thedeclarationconsists

of7stepsatthemost.Itwilltakeabout5minutes

tomakethedeclarationforoneperson.Youprint

the“Limosa-1”declarationcertificateimmediately

afterhavingmadethedeclaration.Thisisproofthat

youhavemadeadeclaration.

On paper (form)

YouaskfortheformattheContactcenter(see

below).Fillitinandsenditback.Afewdayslater

youwillreceiveaLimosa-1bypostorfax.

Howeverthisproceduretakesupmoretime.

Theelectronicdeclarationispreferable.

Itrunsquicklyandefficiently,thechances

ofmistakesarelimitedandyouimmediately

receivetheLimosa-1declarationcertificate.

The certainty of the Limosa-1

declaration certificate

IfyoucannotpresenttheLimosa-1

document,yourBelgianprincipalwill

declarethistotheBelgianauthorities.

Ifnot,hecanbesanctioned,aswell

asyourself.

YourBelgianprincipalwillaskforthe

Limosa-1documentevenbeforeyoustart

working.Theemployee,theself-employed

personaswellastheapprenticemustbe

abletopresentthisproof.Itisthereforein

yourfullinteresttoalreadybeinpossession

oftheLimosa-1document.

Enjoy the benefits

of Limosa

Do you regularly work

in various countries?

Example:

AGermanindependantconsultantorasales

representativeworkingforaGermancompanyhas

theBeneluxashisfieldofwork.Heregularlyvisits

hiscustomerswhoarelocatedindifferentplaces,

amongstothersinBelgium.Willhehavetofillin

severalLimosadeclarations?

Whenyouregularlyworkinvariouscountries,a

simplifiedLimosadeclarationissufficient.Youonly

havetomakeonedeclarationthatcoversafull

periodof12months.Neitherthetimeschedulenor

theemploymentplacehastobedescribed.After12

monthsyoucanalwaysmakeanewLimosadecla­

ration,againforamaximumperiodof12months.

ThissimplifiedLimosadeclaration

cannotbeusedforactivitiesinthe

buildingsectororinthetemporary

employmentsector.

ThankstotheLimosadeclaration,wesimplify

someofyouradministrativeobligations.

AsanemployersendingemployeestoBelgium,

youareexemptedfromdrawingupcertainBelgian

documents.Areconcerned:

workregulations

personnelregister

controlprescriptionsforpart-timeemployees

Theseadvantagesapplytopeoplewhohave

madeaLimosadeclarationaswelasforthose

whoareexemptedfromtheLimosadeclaration.

NeitherdoyouhavetodrawupBelgiansalary

documentsforyouremployeesifyou

drawupsimilardocumentsinyourcountry

andkeepthemavailable.

Preventing sanctions

NotrespectingtheLimosalegislation

canleadtosanctions.Bysubmittingthe

Limosadeclarationyouwillavoidthese

sanctions,andsowilltheBelgianuser.

How long does the Limosa declaration

remain valid?

IntheLimosadeclarationyouwillindicate

howlongtheactivityinBelgiumwillprobablylast.

Ifitlastslongerthanexpected,youmust

makeanewdeclaration.Iftheassignment

eventuallydoesn’ttakeplace,Itwillbepossible

tocanceldeclarationsinafewmonths.*

ThesimplifiedLimosadeclaration

hasalimitedvalidityperiod.

(seepoint5)

*TheprecisedatewillbecommunicatedontheLimosa websitewww.limosa.be

What is the content of the

declaration?

1 For the declaration of employees For an employee we also want and self-employed persons: to know:

Who is coming

to work

the identification dataoftheem­

ployeeortheself-employedperson

When the dateonwhichtheassignment

inBelgiumstartsandends

What

types of servicesthatwillbe

renderedinBelgiumorthe

economicsector

Where the placeinBelgiumwherethe

serviceswillactuallyberendered

With whom the identification dataofthe

Belgiancustomerorprincipal

Who gives the identification dataof

the assignment theemployer

How long per week the weekly labour timeof

theemployee

When exactly theemployee’stime schedule

2 For the declaration of apprentices:

Other obligations

TheLimosadeclarationisan importantstep

tostartworkinginacorrectwayinBelgium,

whilerespectingtheBelgianandEuropeanrules.

Howeverasacompanyoraself-employed

person,youmustalsocomplywithother

obligations.Thesemayrelatetosocial,labour

orfiscalobligations.

Example:

Who is coming the identity of the apprentice,such

ashis/hernationalidentification

numberinhis/hercountryoforigin

Who is sending

him/her

the foreign institutionwherethe

apprenticeisdoinghis/herstudies

orvocationaltraining

Where does the

vocational training

take place

the Belgian institutionwherethe

vocationaltrainingtakesplace

How long the periodoftheworkplacement

inBelgium

TheEuropeanregulationno.1408/71provides

foraspecificformforcross-borderassignments,

whichindicateswhichsocialsecuritysystem

isapplicable(formE101).This form is still

required even after having filled out the

Limosa mandatory declaration.

Labour law obligations

Suchassalaryandworkingconditions,

socialdocuments,obligationof

registration(buildingindustry),nightwork,

Sundaysandholidays,childlabour,

maternityprotection,ARAB-RGPTlegislation,

securityprescriptions...

Fiscal and VAT obligations

Suchasincometaxes,employeetaxes,

VATdeclarations,impositions,formalities...

Administrative formalities

Suchasaccesstotheterritory,travel

documents,registrationintheofficialresidence,

declarationofsocialsecurity(E-101),

registrationofaheadoffice,residencepermits,

employmentauthorisations,professionalcards,

professionalskills...

More info:

www.limosa.be

Forsomeoftheseobligationsyoumustcomply

withadditionaladministrativeformalitiesand/or

payfinancialcontributions.Forothers,youhave

torespectcertainregulations(inthefieldofsafety

forinstance).

Ifyoudonotcomplywiththeseobligations,

youmaybeliabletosanctions.

We can help you

Internet

YouwillfindextensiveinformationandFAQs

ontheLimosamandatorydeclarationandother

obligationsregardingemploymentinBelgiumat

thewww.limosa.beportalsite.

Contact center

TheLimosaContactcentercanprovideinformation

andassistancewiththedeclaration.

Reachable via:

Mail:P.O.Box224,1050Brussels,Belgium

Telephone:+3227885157

Fax:+3227885158(asfromApril1st2007)

E-mail:limosa@eranova.fgov.be

Opening hours: MondaytoFriday

Non-stopfrom7a.m.to8p.m.

(CentralEuropeanTime)

Languages:

Dutch

French

German

English

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W O R K I N G I N B E L G I U M

www.limosa.be

+32 2 788 51 57

(Monday to Friday - 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.)

Production: SMALS Version: March 2007