The Federal Council of Ministers has given the green light to a series of tax reforms on the energy bill. This includes introducing a cliquet system, so that the reduction in VAT to 6% can be offset with higher excise duties once energy prices normalize.
The government announced months ago that VAT on gas and electricity will be reduced to 6 percent. A preliminary draft law by Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) putting this reform into practice received the green light from the Council of Ministers on Friday.
At the same time, excise duties are also reformed. For natural gas this is an increase in excise duties of 7.69 euros per megawatt hour, for electricity, 33.88 euros in excise duties per megawatt hour will be added. Using the cliquet system, the aim is to offset VAT losses through excise duties as soon as prices normalize. The increase in excise duties will therefore be phased in gradually.
A separate regime is envisaged for customers with a social tariff, as they are currently exempt from excise duties.
The bill now has to go to the State Council for an opinion.
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