Brussels, 16 October 2026. Since October 2026, companies under a tax audit can submit their accounting data through MyMinfin in BE SAF-T, the Belgian implementation of the OECD SAF-T 2.0 standard. FPS Finance announced the new function on 23 September 2026. The format is voluntary, but the tax administration recommends it wherever the accounting software can produce the export. Belgium SAF-T is separate from the e-reporting that follows from 2028, yet it runs on the same accounting and invoice data.
What changes: BE SAF-T via MyMinfin
SAF-T (Standard Audit File for Tax) is an XML format the OECD developed in 2010 for exchanging accounting data with tax authorities in a standardised way. BE SAF-T follows the OECD 2.0 schema, with a header, master data, general ledger entries and source documents. In practice this covers the general ledger, the journals, invoice data and customer and supplier records. According to EY, the draft schema presented to the ITAA contains 300 to 400 XML fields.
Submission works on request. The company receives a request for BE SAF-T accounting data in MyMinfin. The company or its authorised representative generates the XML export, uploads it under its documents and submits it. A document with the validation status then becomes available. FPS Finance explicitly asks companies to upload a file only after receiving such a request.
There is no legal obligation. If the software cannot produce BE SAF-T, the company may supply the requested data in another readable format, by arrangement with the administration and not through the SAF-T function. BE SAF-T is not a periodic return either: there is no fixed filing deadline. A company that does submit a file remains responsible for its technical and substantive accuracy. FPS Finance publishes the technical documentation of the XML files for businesses, accountants and software developers.
Context: Belgium SAF-T alongside e-invoicing and e-reporting
Since 1 January 2026, structured B2B e-invoicing has been mandatory in Belgium, with Peppol as the default channel through the Peppol architecture (4-corner). On 18 July 2026, the Council of Ministers approved a preliminary draft law for dual, near real-time e-reporting from 2028: both supplier and buyer report invoice data, and the annual client listing lapses for those subject to the new duty. The draft still has to pass the Council of State and Parliament; the 5-corner set-up is an ambition for 2028. Read the details in our article on the Belgium e-reporting draft law.
This creates three layers around the same invoice: the e-invoice itself, the report to the tax authority from 2028 and, during an audit, the full accounting file in SAF-T. Basing all three on the same master data prevents discrepancies that raise questions in an audit. With BE SAF-T, Belgium joins a European pattern, with large differences in how binding it is:
| Country | Format | Status | When to submit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | XML Auditfile Financieel (XAF), Belastingdienst | No separate statutory format; supported by most accounting packages; older XAF versions are phased out as of 1 January 2027 | On request during an audit |
| Belgium | BE SAF-T (OECD SAF-T 2.0) | Voluntary since October 2026 | On request via MyMinfin |
| Luxembourg | FAIA (based on SAF-T 2.0), AED | Mandatory for VAT-registered businesses with computerised accounting (art. 70 VAT law) | On request during an audit |
| France | FEC (Fichier des Écritures Comptables), art. L47 A LPF | Mandatory since 1 January 2014; fine of EUR 5,000 or 10% of the additional tax (art. 1729 D CGI) | At the start of the audit |
| Germany | GoBD and data access (§ 147(6) AO) | No SAF-T; the tax office is entitled to direct or indirect access or to a data carrier with machine-readable data | During a tax audit (Außenprüfung) |
| Norway | SAF-T Financial | Export mandatory for accounting periods from 1 January 2020; exemption below NOK 5 million turnover unless the books are kept digitally | Only during an audit |
Belgium has therefore opted for an audit file on request, like Luxembourg and Norway, but without an obligation. EY points out that countries often move to a mandate after a voluntary phase. No Belgian mandate has been announced; until a law or formal guidance is published, it remains an expectation.
What it means and what to do now
This affects every company with a Belgian VAT number or a Belgian establishment that may face a tax audit, including when the books are kept in another country or in an international ERP system. Here is how to prepare:
- Ask your software or ERP vendor whether the package can produce a BE SAF-T export in line with the FPS Finance technical documentation, and from which version.
- Map the scope: which entities, VAT numbers and accounting systems are in scope, including Belgian establishments booked from abroad.
- Run a test export and have it checked for completeness: general ledger, journals, invoices, customers and suppliers, and reconciliation with your VAT returns.
- Assign roles: who generates the file, who reviews and approves it, who uploads it. If you work with an external accountant, agree this in advance and set up the mandate in MyMinfin.
- Upload only after a request in MyMinfin and keep the validation status document in your audit file.
- No export available? Agree another readable format with the auditor and do not use the SAF-T function for it.
- Align with e-invoicing and e-reporting: keep master data such as VAT numbers, Peppol IDs and VAT codes identical across invoices, reporting and accounting.
For software vendors
Accounting and ERP vendors with customers registered for VAT in Belgium build the BE SAF-T export on the FPS Finance XML documentation (OECD SAF-T 2.0). The same master data also feeds Peppol sending and receiving and, from 2028, e-reporting. Design export logic, Peppol connection and reporting flow from a single data model, and document the mapping of chart of accounts and VAT codes.
Sources
- FPS Finance, SAF-T possible via MyMinfin à partir d’octobre 2026 (news item, 23 September 2026, in French)
- FPS Finance, E-services: BE SAF-T
- FPS Finance, Uploading the accounting export file in MyMinfin
- FPS Finance, BE SAF-T: technical documentation of the XML files
- FPS BOSA and FPS Finance, einvoice.belgium.be: mandatory e-invoicing
- Belastingdienst, Auditfile verlicht administratieve lasten voor ondernemers and Auditfiles (ODB)
- Administration de l’enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA (AED), FAIA: recommandation
- Légifrance, Article L47 A, Livre des procédures fiscales; BOFiP, BOI-CF-IOR-60-40-10
- Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), GoBD, second amendment (14 July 2025)
- Skatteetaten, SAF-T Financial
- EY Belgium, SAF-T filing via MyMinfin possible as of October 2026 (25 September 2026)
Belgium SAF-T, mandatory e-invoicing and e-reporting from 2028 call for software that handles the same data consistently. Want to check which Peppol Service Provider or e-invoicing package fits? See the overview of Peppol suppliers on Peppol.now.
