As of 1 July, companies and self-employed persons active in the construction and cleaning sectors (as referred to in Article 30bis, § 1, 1°, a), of the Act of 27 June 1969 revising the Legislative Decree of 28 December 1944 on social security for workers) are obliged to register their working partners and helpers, respectively, in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE) and to keep this information updated.
See Articles 65-78 Program Act of 22 December 2023 amending Royal Decree No. 38 of 27 July 1967 establishing the social status of the self-employed.
What is meant by the following?
- A working partner is “any holder of at least one share in a company who personally carries out a real activity within that company in Belgium without being declared for this activity in the payroll system at the time when this activity is carried out.”
It does not matter whether you already have a mandate (director, manager, etc.) in the company: if you perform operational tasks, you must also register as a working partner. - A helper is “any person who assists or replaces a self-employed person in Belgium in the exercise of their profession, without being bound to them by an employment contract.”
For helpers, there is an exception to the registration requirement for the following persons:
• unmarried helpers under 20 years of age,
• casual helpers,
• assisting spouses.
The information which must be recorded is as follows:
• National registration number or BIS number of the working partner or helper;
• Start date and, if applicable, end date of activity as working partner or helper.
Registration is via My Enterprise, the secure online application of the FPS Economy, which gives the entrepreneur access to their company data in the CBE. If you need assistance with registration, please consult the online manual or get in touch with your contact at PKF BOFIDI.
Note! This requirement is independent of the requirement of the working partner or helper to join a social insurance fund. Registration with the CBE must be done before the start of the activities as a working partner or helper. When the activity ceases, the data recorded with the CBE must be updated within the following fifteen days.
A transition period is planned for those working partners and helpers who were already active before the entry into force of this new requirement. In their case, registration with the CBE must take place before 31 December 2024.
The National Institute for the Social Security of the Self-employed (NISSE) is responsible for monitoring compliance with this new requirement. In the event of non-compliance with the registration requirement or in the event of incorrect registration, the company or the self-employed person risks an administrative fine of EUR 500 to 4,000 per established violation. No penalty will be applied before the beginning of 2025.
In addition
Our PKF Bofidi experts have requested the position of NISSE on the interpretation of this new legislation.
With regard to the division of shares into usufruct and bare ownership, they argue that both the bare owner and the usufructuary of the shares must be considered as ‘holders of shares’ within the meaning of Art. 23bis/1 of Royal Decree No. 38. Thus, if this person is active in the company, they will be subject to the new registration requirement.
Another common situation is where the sole shareholder in the operating company is a management (or holding) company and the latter appoints its (main) shareholder as a director in the operating company. If this person performs activities in the operating company, then he or she must still be registered as a working partner by the operating company, according to a position statement from NISSE which we able to receive. However, this is not the literal or even implicit reading of the law. So, to be continued, we think…
Finally: don’t forget that the liability of working partners and helpers is significantly expanded by the advent of the new Book 6 of the Civil Code. More information can be found here.
Our PKF BOFIDI Legal experts will be pleased to help you with more information
Do you have questions about the mandatory registration for working partners and helpers in the CBE? PKF BOFIDI Legal is ready to help you. Contact us for more information.
This article was written by Irene Tromp, she specializes in corporate law, mergers & acquisitions and business law.