Legal information
1. Legal disclosure
The basic legal information for amfori is as follows:
| Name | amfori |
| Legal form | International not-for-profit association under Belgian law, referred to – in Dutch as “ivzw”, which is short for “internationale vereniging zonder winstoogmerk” – in French as “aisbl”, which is short for “association internationale sans but lucratif” |
| Corporate seat | Tervurenlaan 270 Av. de Tervueren, 1150 Brussels (Belgium) |
| Registration as legal entity | KBO/BCE 0427.557.786 RPR/RPM Brussels |
| VAT number | BE0427.557.786 |
For your information we explain some of this information, as it may be unknown to you if you are not familiar with the Belgian legal system.
2. Explanation of the terms used
Legal form
amfori’s legal form is that of an international not-for-profit association under Belgian law. This legal form is regulated in the (2019) Belgian Code on Companies and Associations (“BCCA”), as amended from time to time (NL – FR).
Specific for an international not-for-profit association under Belgian law is that they only are recognised as a legal entity, which proper rights and obligations, when it is acknowledged in a Royal Decree (art. 2:6 §3 BCCA), that is a decision from the Belgian government. Changes to the goal of the association also need to be acknowledged by a Royal Decree.
amfori was granted the status of a legal entity through a Royal Decree of 29 July 1985, when it was still called “Foreign Trade Association”. As amfori’s name and goal was changed in 2017 those changes were acknowledged in a second Royal Decree of 3 September 2017.
KBO/BCE
KBO/BCE is short for “Kruispuntbank van Ondernemingen” (NL) and “Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises” (FR) respectively. It is a database managed by the Belgian (federal) government which contains all basic data on enterprises and their business units.
Each enterprise in Belgium must be registered in the KBO/BCE.
Each enterprise is registered in the KBO/BCE with a unique identifier which is used in all relations of that enterprise with the government. The KBO/BCE has a public search function, which allows for every interested party to search the database for basic information. It provides access to a.o.
– persons with a function within the enterprise’s organisation
– hyperlinks to the enterprise’s publication in (the annex to) the Belgian Official Journal
– hyperlinks to the enterprise’s annual accounts as deposited with the Belgian National Bank
amfori, even if an association and thus not-for-profit, is considered to be an enterprise under Belgian law (since May 2018).
RPR/RPM
RPR/RPM is short for “rechtspersonenregister” (NL) and “registre des personnes morales” (FR). It is a case file which is established per enterprise with the secretariat (“griffie”/”greffe”) of the Enterprise Court which has competence over the seat of the enterprise (art. 2:7-2:12 BCCA). The enterprise has an obligation to deposit a number of documents in the case file, which are relevant for third parties, such as its bylaws (and changes thereto), appointments of officers of the enterprise, etc.
amfori is a legal entity and thus has a case file with the RPR/RPM.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
Value Added Tax is a “use” or “consumption” tax on goods and services that is harmonized at the level of the European Union.
Enterprises that deliver goods or perform services with the scope of the VAT legislation have a number of duties, which include a.o. requesting and publicly using a VAT number, issuing invoices, filing VAT records, and filing customer listings. VAT numbers can be checked via the VIES database of the European Union.
Some of amfori’s activities are subject to VAT, and thus has a VAT number.