Altered payment terms in public procurement

On Monday, the Royal Decree of 12 August 2024 was published in the Belgian Official Gazette. This Royal Decree was adopted under the impetus of the Court of Justice.

In its judgment of 20 October 2022 (C-585/20), the Court had ruled that the Spanish payment scheme which provided for a period for approval and payment of the contract of up to 60 days was contrary to the Directive on combating late payment in commercial transactions. Belgium had a similar payment scheme. Until now.

• The Royal Decree of 12 August 2024 replaces the current verification and payment period, both of which can be up to 30 days (60 days in total), with a single processing period of maximum 30 days, within which both verification and payment will have to take place.
• Deviations are possible only if they are objectively justified by the special nature or characteristics of the contract, if they are not manifestly unfair to the contractor and if they are expressly stated in the contract documents. Only when these (cumulative) conditions are met can the processing period be extended to 60 days.
• Furthermore, the Royal Decree provides a specific payment regime for healthcare public procurement. In that sector, in principle, a processing period of 60 days remains in place.

These rules apply to all public contracts awarded as of 1 January 2025.

In case of questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Regulatory team!