Author: Emre Celikcan
-
Is it possible to combine refusal to pay an invoice with a claim for damages in construction contracts? The Court of Cassation rules on the “double sanction” for contractual breach
I. What was the case about? A contractor was engaged to carry out a building project for an agreed contract price of almost €300,000. The developer later discovered defects, including a leaking roof and an inadequate concrete floor, and therefore refused to pay the outstanding balance of approximately €29,348.22. The court of first instance held…
-
VAT: Demolition/Reconstruction: Deal kept?
The reduced rate of 6% was to apply to everyone! As a result, current social conditions would be maintained, and the surface criterion would be tightened from 200m2 to 175m2 for delivery. The draft program law mentions the following different situations: This is good news for property developers, although the difference in surface area maybe…
-
Andersen expands its administrative and public law practice with a new partner
Karen De Braekeleer is an attorney and specializes in administrative and public law, more specifically in the field of public procurement, public-private partnerships and public infrastructure. She has more than 20 years of experience as a lawyer in the public sector (in the broad sense) and is known within this sector as a go-to legal…
-
LawTax makes the move to Andersen
LawTax is a Belgian law firm focused on tax advice and legal services, for both businesses and individuals. They offer customized solutions and strategies based on in-depth knowledge of tax laws and corporate structures. Through this acquisition Andersen now has an offer in Wavre allowing us to strengthen our expertise and services in the region.…
-
The expected re-entry of tax regularization
The previous tax regularization round ended on 31 December 2023, and since then there was no possibility anymore to confess and regularize tax sins. Only at the level of the Flemish Region did it remain possible to declare forgotten assets (mostly foreign bank accounts) by means of a new inheritance tax return. However, such regularization…
-
The Code Buysse IV: What’s new on the horizon?
1. What is the Code Buysse? Following several accounting scandals in the United States and Europe, a trend emerged in the early 2000s to regulate good corporate governance. This led to the introduction of a corporate governance law in Belgium in 2002, a corporate governance code for listed companies in 2004 (known as ‘Code Lippens’),…
-
The 10% tax increase in case of good faith and the corporate tax deduction ban
A ruling by the Constitutional Court on 21 November 2024 has caused quite a stir amongst tax professionals. According to numerous legal publications a taxpayer who committed a first offense in good faith in his/her tax return – pursuant to this ruling – cannot be automatically sanctioned with a 10% tax increase. Nevertheless, the automatic…
-
New “soft law” rules for alcohol advertising
1. The background and the new agreement Accordingly, an intersectoral agreement on the conduct and advertising of beverages containing alcohol was signed on 12 May 2005. On 25 January 2013, the initial agreement of 2005 was updated for the first time by signing an “Agreement on the advertising and marketing of beverages containing alcohol”. On…
-
A Preview for the Real Estate and Construction Sector Based on the Coalition Agreement
1. A More Favorable Tax Regime for Renovation Works The federal government intends to permanently apply the reduced VAT rate of 6% for demolition and reconstruction projects to property developers and construction promoters. This measure aims to prevent developers and promoters from reverting to the 21% VAT rate after the transitional arrangement expires on June…
-
Donor children – update following the federal coalition agreement for 2025-2029
In our article of 6 November 2024, we discussed the ruling of the Constitutional Court of 26 September 2024, and its consequences. This ruling states that the current legal provisions regarding professional secrecy and the anonymity of sperm donors should no longer result in a donor child being unable to obtain any identifying or non-identifying…