After heated pizza debates, Belgium agrees on higher VAT for takeaway meals

After weeks of technical and political confusion, the Belgian federal government has reached an agreement on new VAT rules on takeaway meals. Questions about what exactly constitutes a takeaway meal and how long a supermarket pizza can be kept led to heated discussions at first.

Shelf life as a criterion

The government had already decided that VAT on takeaway meals would increase from 6% to 12%. However, it proved difficult to define precisely what constitutes a takeaway meal. Ultimately, the government opted for a practical definition: further preparation only applies if the customer has to do more than reheat, cut, or portion the meal. In that case, the VAT rate remains at 6%. Bakery products for breakfast also remain taxed at 6%.

Only meals with a shelf life of up to two days are subject to the new 12% rate. Fresh sushi, fresh pizza, or roast chicken in the supermarket will therefore become more expensive, while frozen pizza or pre-packaged meals with a longer shelf life will remain at 6% VAT. But first, a crucial question was whether a takeaway pizza in the supermarket had a shelf life of two or five days, in order to fall under a certain rate.

The hospitality industry has already responded critically to the chosen solution. “Unfortunately, we could have predicted this mess,” says Matthias De Caluwe of Horeca Vlaanderen. The sector organization advocates for a simpler system, namely “a uniform VAT rate of 9% on all food and beverages, except alcoholic beverages.” The coming months will show whether the new rules prove workable in practice.