New in 2019: company car certificate

When you grant a company car or pay a mobility allowance to your employees, the introduction of the mobility allowance in 2018 imposes a new obligation on you. Since 6 January 2019, you have to deliver a company car certificate to these employees at the end of their contract of employment.

CONTEXT: CASH FOR CAR

The mobility allowance offers your employees who have a company car the possibility to exchange this car for a certain amount, called a ‘mobility allowance’.

The purpose of this measure is to enable employees who change employers to continue to benefit from the mobility allowance but also to convert the company car they had with their previous employer into a mobility allowance with their new employer. This is what the company car certificate is intended for.

Various conditions must be met in order to be able to convert the company car into a mobility allowance. Please visit our Mobilitypage for more info.

DELIVERY OF A COMPANY CAR CERTIFICATE

When the contract of employment concluded between you and an employee benefiting from a company car or receiving a mobility allowance ends, you will have to provide this employee with a company car certificate.

This obligation also applies if you only grant company cars. You submit the document at the latest at the end of the contract of employment.

An employee who wants to obtain or continue to receive a mobility allowance from his/her new employer must provide this document to his/her new employer.

CONTENT OF THE DOCUMENT

The company car certificate holds the following information:

• Data relating to the company car to be taken into consideration when determining the mobility allowance:
  • the period during which the company car was made available;
  • the list price;
  • the value of the CO2 emissions;
  • the type of fuel;
• Where applicable, confirmation that the employer pays all or part of the fuel costs (e.g. by granting a fuel card);
• Where applicable, the personal contribution paid by the employee for the benefit of the company car during the last month preceding its return;
• Where applicable, the fact that the provision of the company car was linked to a salary conversion (e. g. provision of a company car in return for a reduction of the gross salary);
• When a mobility allowance was granted:
  • the amount of this allowance at the end date of the contract of employment;
  • all elements that determine the amount of the allowance;
  • the date on which the company car was returned in exchange for a mobility allowance.

PARTENA, AT YOUR SERVICE TO HELP YOU OUT

No need to create this document yourself: Partena will provide you with a template. Keep an eye on our Infoflashes next week!

SHORT-TERM MEASURE?

We would like to point out that the company car certificate may have a short life span. After all, a draft bill in the Chamber provides for changes in the mobility allowance regulation. If this draft bill is approved, the company car certificate will lose its usefulness.

Source: Royal Decree of 16 December 2018 laying down the arrangements to provide the information necessary for the employee to apply for a mobility allowance to his new employer, Belgian Official Gazette of 27 December 2018.