Which VAT rate applies to the supply of medical devices, medicines, etc.?

In particular, the VAT legislation provides for a reduced VAT rate of 6% with respect to a number of medical products. It is important to note that this list is exhaustive and cannot be extended by way of analogical reasoning. There has been an extensive number of case studies on this.

The 6% VAT rate applies in particular to the following goods:

• Medicines as referred to in the Act on medicines of 1964 and which are registered as medicines or for which a marketing authorisation has been obtained, as well as medicines prepared and sold by the pharmacist in his pharmacy.
• Medical devices, such as cotton wool, gauze, bandages and similar articles (plasters, etc.) that additionally contain a medicine or are packaged for retail sale and used for medical or surgical purposes; first aid kits; surgical drapes; cellulose wadding or paper to cover operating tables, examination tables and stretcher bars.
  
  Attention: this category should be interpreted in a restrictive manner. For example, the reduced VAT rate does not apply to wadding, gauze and similar articles intended solely for hygienic purposes, whether or not they are used in hospitals; aprons; trousers; hats; surgical masks; cell cloths; table and instrument sheets; tube holders; instrument trays; etc.

• Other equipment and accessories of a medical nature, such as orthopedic appliances, dentures, hearing devices, walking frames, wheelchairs and similar trolleys for disabled and sick people, aerosol dispensers and accessories, infusion pumps for pain relief, etc.
  
  Attention: here too a restrictive interpretation should be applied. For example, the VAT authorities recently ruled that a relax or resting chair equipped with 4 wheels, a push bar and a leg rest, but without a foot rest, cannot be regarded as a wheelchair or similar trolley for disabled and sick people.

Hence, it should be verified which products qualify under these categories. In view of the above, the sale of facemasks, disposable gloves and alcohol gel to doctors, hospitals, homes for the elderly, private individuals, etc., is in principle subject to 21% VAT.   

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Federal Council of Ministers has, however, decided that a temporary reduced VAT rate of 6 % will apply to the supply, intra-community acquisition and import of face masks and hydro-alcoholic gels.

This temporary expansion of the application of the reduced VAT rate has been applicable since May 4, 2020 and has, in the meantime, been extended to March 31, 2021

Further, as a result of Decision 2020/491 of the European Commission, a VAT exemption is provided for the import of goods that are used in the fight against COVID-19. This exemption only applies to importations made by government agencies or agencies that are recognized by the government. This regulation applies as from 30 January 2020 up to and including 31 October 2021.

Thus, beneficiaries of this regulation, such as importers of face masks and hydro-alcoholic gels can benefit from a VAT exemption.

Finally, following a legislative initiative of the European Commission, Belgium has implemented a temporary (starting from January 1, 2021 up to and including, December 31, 2022) 0% VAT-rate for the intraCommunity acquisition and import of COVID-19 vaccines and in vitro diagnostic devices used to monitor the virus, as well as services that are closely related to the before-mentioned vaccines and medical aids (providing these were not already VAT-exempt on the basis of, for example, the medical exemption).