This week I received a letter from BNP (Fortis). Not to warn me that they would close my bank accounts in Belgium. It was stated in detail that the bank is obliged by the Belgian legislator to disclose certain information about each account holder.
I contacted my office in Belgium to obtain some more information, which I obtained.
The following information must be provided:
- the name of the account holder
- the address (whether or not abroad)
- the jurisdiction in which the holder resides
- the tax identification number (TIN) of the holder
- the number of the account(s)
- the balance of the accounts as of December 31, 12
- the interests
- dividends the proceeds from any sales, redemptions or repayments of financial assets
other income generated by financial assets in the accounts
You do NOT need to respond to these letters. Not responding means that you tacitly agree to the bank releasing this information to the tax authorities. If you do respond and DO NOT agree, the bank has no choice but to close your account as they are legally obliged to do so on penalty of a hefty fine.
So this letter, if agreed, does not lead to closing your accounts in Belgium.
If, after deregistration, the bank is not aware of your new address, this may have consequences as the bank will not have the correct information and will not be able to meet the requirements of the Belgian tax authorities. As a precaution against incurring a fine, there is a good chance that they will close your account.