Payment terms in Belgian public procurement

The rule: thirty days to check and pay

The royal decree of 14 January 2013 laying down the general rules for the performance of public contracts defines the period in which buyers carry out checking and payment (article 2, 27°, inserted by the royal decree of 12 August 2024). That period is thirty days. Consolidated French text read on Wallex on 30 October 2026: Royal decree of 14 January 2013, consolidated French text (Wallex)

Payment requires the buyer to hold the properly drawn-up invoice and the other documents the contract asks for. For duly recognised buyers that provide health care, the period is sixty days, only for contracts linked to that activity.

The decree does not apply to contracts whose estimated amount is below 30,000 euros, except what the procurement documents make applicable (articles 5 and 6, § 5). For those contracts, the payment clause is in the order or the specification: Low-value contract

Starting point by type of contract

The table follows articles 95, 127 and 160 of the decree, read on Wallex on 30 October 2026. Each contract’s specification sets out the details.

When the period is suspended

For works, the period is suspended by the number of days the contractor goes beyond the five days it has to invoice, and by the time needed to get its answer on its social or tax debts under joint liability (article 95, § 4). Articles 127 and 160 also suspend it when the supplier or service provider goes beyond the period set for its invoice.

Where payment is opposed or a protective garnishment is made against the contractor, the period is suspended until the day the buyer learns the obstacle is lifted (article 68).

A longer term in the specification?

Article 9, § 2, forbids departing from the period in the procurement documents; a contrary clause is deemed unwritten. An exception exists only if all these conditions are met: the longer term is written expressly, it is objectively justified by the particular nature or features of the contract, it never exceeds sixty days, and it is not grossly unfair.

Article 9, § 3, deems unwritten any grossly unfair clause or practice on the payment date or term, the interest rate or the recovery costs. Excluding late-payment interest is regarded as grossly unfair; excluding compensation for recovery costs is presumed to be.

Article 66/1 asks buyers to fill in the fields on this period in an electronic form of the Federal Public Service Policy and Support (BOSA), and to say whether they apply the standard period or a derogation.

Late-payment interest and the €40 fee

Article 69 applies when the contractor has met its contractual and legal obligations and the period has passed without payment. It does not apply to payments of damages (article 69, § 4).

• Simple interest pro rata to the days of delay, by law and without formal notice.
• Rate: that of the European Central Bank for its most recent main refinancing operations, plus eight percent; the Minister of Finance publishes each half-year’s rate in the Belgian Official Gazette.
• A flat fee of forty euros for recovery costs, by law, plus reasonable compensation for other recovery costs.
• The properly drawn-up invoice or payment claim counts as the claim for the interest and costs, without changing when the interest starts.
• Interest is calculated on the invoice amount excluding VAT, unless the buyer is not a public-law body within the meaning of article 6 of the VAT Code: VAT is then included.

More than thirty days late: slow down or stop

Under article 70, when payment has not been made thirty days after the end of the period, through the buyer’s fault, the contractor may slow down or stop performance. It must give notice by registered post, or by an electronic sending that records the date equally, at least fifteen days in advance.

It is entitled to an extension equal to the days between the end of that thirty-day period and payment, if it asks in writing before the contractual deadlines expire, and to compensation if performance was really slowed or stopped, on a quantified claim within the periods of article 38/16.

Interim payments and advances

Article 66 says the price is paid either at once after full performance or in instalments as work progresses, as set in the procurement documents. The contractor submits a payment claim. If the buyer stops performance for at least thirty days, an instalment is paid for work already done.

Advances are possible only in the cases of article 67, for example when the contract needs considerable prior investment linked to its performance. The price may also change through a revision clause: Price revision

What an SME checks before replying

These points follow from the articles cited. They do not replace reading the specification of the contract concerned.

1. Read the payment clause of the specification: single payment or instalments, documents to attach to the invoice, term. What a specification contains: Tender specification
2. If the specification states more than thirty days, check that it gives reasons and stays within sixty days.
3. For works, invoice within five days of the record: each day late suspends the period.
4. Note the date of delivery, end of services or submission of the payment claim: that is when the thirty days start.
5. If payment is late, calculate interest with the half-year rate published in the Belgian Official Gazette and add the forty euros.
6. Keep the other amounts of performance in mind, such as the performance bond: Performance bond

What AOEX does and does not do

AOEX reads TED notices and public e-Procurement notices. When a published contract is open, the bid kit reads the published documents, including the payment clauses, and dictates the fields of the reply: Bid kit The term is also in the glossary: Glossary

AOEX does not invoice the buyer, claim interest, submit the tender or say who will be chosen. This page is not legal advice. The texts to follow remain the royal decree, the law of 17 June 2016 and the procurement documents: Guide to the law of 17 June 2016

Frequently asked questions

What is the payment term of a Belgian public contract?

Thirty days to check and pay, under the royal decree of 14 January 2013. They run from receipt of the payment claim and detailed statement for works (article 95), from delivery for supplies (article 127) and from the finding that the services are finished (article 160). French text read on Wallex on 30 October 2026.

May the specification set sixty days?

Only if four conditions are all met (article 9, § 2): the longer term is written expressly in the procurement documents, it is objectively justified by the nature of the contract, it never exceeds sixty days and it is not grossly unfair. Otherwise the clause is deemed unwritten. Recognised buyers providing health care have sixty days for that activity.

Is formal notice needed to get late-payment interest?

No. Article 69 says the interest is due by law and without formal notice when the term has passed while the contractor has met its obligations. The properly drawn-up invoice counts as the claim for that interest and for the recovery costs.

What is the late-payment interest rate?

The European Central Bank rate for its most recent main refinancing operations, plus eight percent, as simple interest pro rata to the days of delay. The Minister of Finance publishes each half-year’s rate in the Belgian Official Gazette. AOEX gives no figure: read that half-year’s publication.

Is the €40 recovery fee automatic?

Yes, as soon as late-payment interest is due: article 69, § 2, provides a flat fee of forty euros, by law and without formal notice. The contractor may also claim reasonable compensation for other recovery costs. A clause excluding late-payment interest is regarded as grossly unfair (article 9, § 3).

Does AOEX collect payments?

No. AOEX reads TED notices and public e-Procurement notices and helps read the published documents, including the payment clauses of the specification. AOEX does not invoice the buyer, claim interest, submit tenders or give legal advice.

Sources

Royal decree of 14 January 2013 laying down the general rules for the performance of public contracts, articles 2, 27°, 5, 6, § 5, 9, §§ 2, 3 and 3/1, 66, 66/1, 67, 68, 69, 70, 95, 127 and 160, consolidated French text read on Wallex on 30 October 2026 (period introduced by the royal decree of 12 August 2024): Royal decree of 14 January 2013, consolidated French text (Wallex) Justel, in French: Royal decree of 14 January 2013 (Justel, French)

The Payment period and late-payment interest entry of the AOEX glossary, read on Wallex on 28 October 2026, says the same: Glossary