The Limosa obligation concerns the obligation for a seconded self-employed person or a seconded employee (not tied to an employer established in Belgium by an employment contract) to make an advance notification before carrying out any work in Belgium. It affects all persons that normally work in another country but who will temporarily carry on an activity in Belgium (this includes EU nationals and even Belgians who are established in another country).
In its judgement of 19 December 2012, The European Court of Justice decided that the Belgian Limosa obligation for self-employed persons infringed the free movement of services (see our newsletter of 10 January 2013). As a result of this decision, the Belgian Limosa declaration for self-employed persons has since been suspended.
In response to the decision of the ECJ, the Belgian government has (sort of) adapted the Limosa legislation both for the salaried and self-employed workers by a Royal Decree of 19 March 2013, which limits the information that needs to be disclosed.
New LIMOSA
Seconded workers and self-employed persons
For seconded workers, the following particulars no longer need to be mentioned:
- National identity number in the country of origin;
- The kind of services provided under the secondment (no longer any obligation to give a description of the work to be carried out);
- Weekly working time.
For second self-employed persons, the following particulars no longer require to be disclosed:
- National identity number in the country of origin;
- The kind of services provided under the secondment (no longer any obligation to give a description of the work to be carried out);
- VAT number in the country or origin or enterprise registration number;
- Identity particulars concerning the representative making the notification (which may be a third party mandatory).
Simplified notification and one-off notification for 12 months
Given how the duty of notification has been simplified compared to what was required in the RD of 20 March 2007, there is no longer any need for a simplified notification in terms of the particulars to be disclosed.
For workers or self-employed persons that regularly carry out work in both Belgium and one or more other countries (simultaneous employment), the possibility to file a simplified notification for a maximum of 12 months (which can each time be extended by 12 months) remains. In view of its scope of application, situations involving simultaneous employment also fall within its ambit.
Cancellation
There is no longer a stipulated deadline for cancellation of an employment in Belgium.
Trainees
At the moment of printing this article, the RD in respect of cancelling the LIMOSA notification for trainees was not yet published in the Belgian Official Gazette. A draft RD has however been approved by the Council of Ministers.
Action
The above changes to the Limosa notifications are effective as of 1 July 2013. This means that already as from 1 July 2013, LIMOSA applications for both salaried workers and self-employed persons must be in accordance with the new provisions and that the Limosa notification duty for self-employed persons is no longer suspended.
The question however remains whether, given the limited nature of the adjustments by the legislator, the current modifications would pass the test of the European Court of Justice should a new case arise. To follow up ...
