Starting up your business in Belgian Limburg
When setting up a business in Belgian Limburg or expanding it throughout Belgium, there are a number of steps you have to take before you can start your business activities.
A deed of incorporation (oprichtingsakte) will have to be drawn up as soon as you know the type of company you will be operating, the business you will be carrying on and the location of the business. This deed of incorporation constitutes the basic text for the incorporation of a new company. It is a legal transaction which allows you to create new rights. Depending on the type of company to be incorporated, the deed must be drawn up either as an officially certified deed (notarial deed) or as a private deed.
Next, you must file the deed of incorporation with the clerk’s office of the commercial court which has jurisdiction over your company’s registered office. The clerk of the court will then enter the company’s identification information into the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (KBO) which will allocate a company registration number to the company. The clerk of the court will also arrange publication in the Belgian Official Journal [Belgisch Staatsblad].
For assistance, you can contact the following services:
- Flanders Investment & Trade
- Agentschap Ondernemen Limburg
These steps are the same for both Belgian and international businesses and each company can call upon the services of the competent government agencies.
By contrast with some other countries, membership of a Chamber of Commerce is not compulsory in Belgium. This also means that the role of the Belgian chambers is different, e.g. the commercial register is not managed by the chambers. However, voluntary membership incentivises chambers to offer services that provide their members with a clear added value:
- Activities relating to corporate social responsibility
- Encouraging innovation
- …
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