FURTHER EXPLANATION · 2 MIN READ
What transaction was submitted?
Advance decision VB 26060 was made on 10 August 2026 and published by the Flemish Tax Administration on 12 October 2026. A mother and her children intended to form a partnership. The mother then wanted to contribute shares in a company in full ownership without receiving additional partnership units in return. According to the application, value would thereby shift to the children and that shift was intended as an indirect gift.
VLABEL assessed only this specific structure, valuation and reasoning. The decision is not a general approval of every contribution to a partnership. The gift’s civil-law validity, the federal registration requirement and the evidential value of the documents also remain separate points of attention.
What does this mean for the estate?
If the indirect gift is validly completed, the donated shares no longer form part of the donor’s estate according to the decision. In this case, the transaction was not linked to death. VLABEL also accepted the stated non-tax motives and found no tax abuse within the facts described.
This does not eliminate every inheritance-tax risk. If an unregistered gift was made within the applicable five-year period before death, it may still be included for inheritance tax. The decision states that registering the evidence document before death can remove that risk. Which documents are suitable and which tax follows registration must be examined specifically in advance.
Why are the articles and accounts important?
The shift in value must reflect the actual ratio between the contribution and the partnership units. A valuation of the contributed shares, the partners’ identities, acceptance by the recipients and the absence of new partnership units should therefore be kept in the same file. Any later retention of profits must also comply with the articles and the partners’ rights.
VLABEL also stated that, in this case, profits retained within this full-ownership partnership did not fall under the specific position on split registrations. That finding is tied to the specific full-ownership structure and must not be extended without examination to a partnership involving usufruct or other rights.
Wat kan Notariaat Wellens doen?
Notariaat Wellens can align the articles, valuation, partnership units and gift documents in advance. The office can also record intention and acceptance, explain the effects of registration and make the five-year period visible in the estate plan.
Have the structure reviewed before the shares are contributed. This makes clear which value actually shifts, what evidence remains available and which tax consequences during life and at death still require follow-up.