10 steps to incorporation in Belgium in 2024

Incorporation of a company in Belgium is straightforward and does not require our Client to travel to the country, provided a Power of Attorney to Healy Consultants’ Belgium business incorporation agent. We will then be able to complete all registration procedures, secure tax numbers and open a corporate bank account in Belgium for the company. The typical procedures are as follows:

• Pre-Incorporation

  1. Consultation: Before proceeding with Belgium business incorporation, our Client i) completes and signs our engagement letter ii) settles the fees applicable to the engagement and iii) provide us with the KYC documents required for our due diligence checks. Read the list of the documents we request;
  2. Engagement planning: Healy Consultants then confirms with our Client the name and corporate structure of the Belgium company soon to be incorporated. Thereafter, the dedicated Client Engagement manager emails our Client a detailed project plan, summarizing all tasks to be accomplished and estimated dates for provision of deliverables by our Firm.

• Incorporation Steps

  1. Provisional bank account: The minimum share capital amount of €18,550 needs to be paid up into a provisional Belgium corporate bank before commencing company registration process. Our team liaises with partner banks to secure such account and obtain a certificate of deposit;
  2. Registered office lease of agreement: A lease agreement for office premises in Belgium must be signed before the company registration documents are drafted. If required, Healy Consultants will provide our Client with virtual offices services in Belgium;
  3. Draft incorporation forms: During provisional bank account opening procedures, our compliance team prepare all documents required for formation of a company in Belgium, including the company’s M&AA and a business plan including financial projections. These documents must be prepared in any of the 3 official languages, French, German or Dutch. If required, English translations will be provided at additional cost;
  4. Certificate of capital deposit: Upon receipt of the certificate of deposit of the paid-up capital, we submit the complete set of incorporation documents and the financial plan to a Notary Public, who on approval, will attest the deed of incorporation of the company;
  5. Document submission: to complete company registration, we then submit the notarized deed of incorporation with the Belgium Register of Companies and request publication of the incorporation notice in a local newspaper or the Official Gazette;
  6. Tax registration: The final step is to obtain a tax identification number and register for VAT at the General Administration for Taxes.

• Post-Incorporation

  1. Permanent bank account: Healy Consultants’ Banking Team completes the conversion of the provisional account into a fully functional corporate bank account. The account includes multi-currency Internet banking facilities. Our Client is usually not required to visit bank to complete this task as the PoA issued to Healy Consultants will enable us complete the appointment of the bank signatory;
  2. Engagement completion: Following Belgium company incorporation, Healy Consultants provides our Client with a complete company kit including i) original Certificate of Incorporation ii) a bound copy of Belgium government approved Articles of Association iii) original share certificates iv) an original Belgium government receipt as evidence of payment of annual Belgium company incorporation and license fees and an Engagement Feedback Survey for our Client to assess the quality of our Belgium company formation services.

• Important documents required to complete Belgium company incorporation

  • A Power of Attorney to the incorporation agent, attested by a Public Notary and legalized by the Belgian embassy;
  • Certificate of capital deposit issued by a Belgian bank;
  • A signed lease of office premises indicating the location of the company in Belgium;
  • Shareholder, director and bank signatory KYC documents such as copies of passports and address proofs, notarized and attested by a Belgian embassy;
  • For corporate shareholders, company documents including certificate of incorporation, bylaws or M&AA notarized and attested by a Belgian embassy;
  • A detailed business plan including the initial investment plan, allocation of share capital and resources and financial projections.