Excise duties on energy products – exemptions and refunds: 2023 follow-up of the recommendations

In its report to the Federal Parliament, the Belgian Court of Audit takes stock of the implementation of the sixteen recommendations made in its initial audit of March 2022, in which it examined the Federal State’s ability to manage the excise duty exemption schemes for energy products. On 30 September 2023, three 2022 recommendations had been met, seven were being implemented, five had not been followed and one had become obsolete. Progress has been made, particularly in the evaluation of the exemption schemes and the refund process applying to diesel for professional use (533 million euros in 2022). However, this mechanism conflicts with the regional kilometre tax and is barely monitored despite the risk of fraud.