Belgium has amended its VAT Code to introduce a fifteen‑year adjustment period for durable renovation works that exhibit characteristics comparable to immovable property, replacing the previous five‑year period for such works. The change, approved on 21 January 2026, will take effect on the day the law is published in the Official Gazette and applies retroactively to works whose adjustment period is still running. The amendment aims to align Belgium’s rules with EU law after the Court of Justice’s Drebers ruling.
Belgium now applies a 15‑year VAT adjustment period to durable renovation works that exhibit characteristics comparable to immovable property, replacing the previous 5‑year period for such works.
The new period takes effect on the day the law is published in the Belgian Official Gazette, with retroactive effect from that date for works whose adjustment period is still running.
It applies retroactively only to works where the adjustment period is still running; it does not revive periods that have already fully expired under the current rules.
The amendment removes the distinction between renovation and reconstruction for the purpose of the adjustment period, focusing instead on an economic test of whether the works have a life comparable to a new building.
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