Filing CBSO: Terms of Use

By using the application, you agree to the following terms of use.

Contents

The National Bank of Belgium (hereinafter ‘the NBB’) provides a web-based IT application (hereinafter ‘the Filing CBSO application’ or ‘the Application’) enabling users to prepare annual accounts and/or other documents to be filed under the Companies and Associations Code in the form of a structured data file, to import ZIP or XBRL files, to make a declaration based on a PDF form, to have it validated and to file it with the NBB.

The NBB thus allows a Filing CBSO user (hereinafter ‘the User’), after prior identification as defined below, to use this software on its website subject to compliance with these terms of use (hereinafter ‘the Terms of Use’).

The NBB reserves the right to modify these Terms of Use at any time to, inter alia, enhance the effectiveness of the preparation and validation of annual accounts with the Application. The public will be notified of any changes as soon as possible via this website.

1. Access to the Filing CBSO application

Access to the Filing CBSO application is provided on an ongoing basis. The NBB reserves the right, without prior notice, to block access to the Application in whole or in part, should it become necessary or unavoidable to do so.

The User should be aware that the sheer amount of annual accounts and/or other documents to be created, completed or filed with the Application may be so large during certain periods that access to the Application becomes restricted. This is especially true for the last working days of June, July, August and September.

2. Use of the Application

When using the Application, the User must comply with the Terms of Use as well as applicable laws and regulations. Inter alia, users are not allowed to:

  • use the Application for illegal or harmful purposes
  • hinder access to the Application, to disrupt, modify or otherwise downgrade the Application, or cause damage to the Application, the NBB or third parties
  • use the Application to transmit or disseminate computer viruses or harmful or illegal information
  • send unsolicited messages.

The NBB reserves the right to unilaterally suspend access to and use of the Application, without prior notice, for any User failing to comply with these Terms of Use.

3. Use of a valid digital key

User authentication and the associated access to the Application take place solely through CSAM, the gateway to the government’s online services. This requires the use of a valid digital key. Various digital keys can be used to sign in:

  • a Belgian electronic identity card (eID);
  • itsme or digital ID;
  • eIDAS;
  • a qualified certificate issued by Globalsign or QuoVadis or an Isabel certificate.

For more information on the possible digital keys, please consult the ‘New Filing Access Procedure | nbb.be'.

4. Protection of privacy

The NBB, with its registered office at Avenue de Berlaimont 14, 1000 Brussels, records the User’s personal data in order to allow it to grant the User access to the Application and to contact the User, for example, in the event of problems relating to the use of the Application or within the framework of processing the annual accounts filed, or in order to send the Notice of Filing or e-mails regarding payments.

The NBB bases this processing of personal data on Article 6.1, (b) and (e) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)[1].

This processing relates to the following personal data of the User: ID information, contact information, the digital key used to sign in.

The NBB is responsible for the processing of this personal data (the ‘data controller’ in GDPR terms). The data is accessible on a need-to-know basis by a limited number of NBB staff responsible for managing the Application. Personal data will not be disclosed to third parties unless the NBB is required to do so by law or if a legitimate interest is demonstrated to know such data. For instance, strictly necessary information may, if necessary, be sent to the (representatives of the) company for which the annual accounts have been filed, judicial officers in the performance of their duties, magistrates, the police if they are requested to do so by a magistrate, or to FPS Finance or FPS Social Security officials).

Storage duration: The personal data of the person filing the return is stored for 10 years.

To the extent that the conditions provided by applicable laws and regulations in this regard are met, you have the right to:

(1) access and possibly correct this data;

(2) object to its processing for reasons relating to your individual situation;

(3) have such data erased or its processing restricted;

(4) obtain such data in a structured, common and machine-readable form, and transfer it to another controller;

(5) file a complaint with the Privacy Commission if you believe that such processing violates applicable laws and regulations.

To exercise the rights listed under points (1) to (4), please send an e-mail to the NBB’s Data Protection Officer at dataprotection@nbb.be.

 

[1] Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC

5. Preparing annual accounts with the Application

The Application is a web application allowing users to prepare annual accounts in accordance with one of the account models for companies, associations or foundations in Dutch, French or German,

  • either by entering the data manually
  • or by uploading a valid file prepared using accounting software.

Optionally, it is also possible to make an additional filing in English. However, a filing solely in English does not meet the legal disclosure requirement.

The Application retrieves identification data from the Belgian Companies Register (hereinafter ‘the BCE’). The NBB is not responsible for the accuracy and completeness of this data as stored in the BCE (see also: 9. The data made available).

For certain sections of the accounts (specifically the shareholder structure, the auditors’ report and the annual report), the Application allows PDF files to be imported when so desired.

The Application also allows the data entered to be validated in accordance with the legal and technical requirements described in the Protocol for the electronic filing of annual accounts in the form of structured data files’ and ‘Protocol for the electronic filing of annual accounts in the form of structured data files’ and to be viewed for the purpose of verifying it or submitting it for approval by the General Assembly.

Users should store the prepared filing forms in their Personal Space, from where they can file them via the ‘Submit’ function.

The Application also allows for the import of files in ZIP or XBRL format (created using accounting software) for subsequent validation and filing via the ‘Submit’ function.

6. Provisions regarding the limited liability of the NBB

Except in the case of gross or intentional negligence on its part, the NBB is not liable for any direct or indirect damage (including loss of profit, additional costs or loss of opportunity) suffered by the User or the company as a result of using or being unable to use the Application, whatever the reason. Except in the case of gross or intentional negligence or misconduct on its part, the NBB shall not be liable in particular, but without limitation, for any direct or indirect damage caused by the transmission of a virus despite the protection measures in place or by interrupted or delayed access to or use of the Application due, for example, to the disruption of communication lines or connection problems, unauthorised access by the User or a third party to the NBB website, maintenance of or changes to the NBB infrastructure, strikes or any incidence of force majeure.

1. The NBB reserves the right to change the Application as well as its structure and access path at any time. The NBB will notify the User thereof via this website.

2. The NBB wishes to warn users about ‘phishing’ (aka ‘phising’). ‘Phishing’ is a form of Internet fraud in which confidential information (such as credit card numbers, passwords, etc.) is.) is gleaned from unsuspecting Internet users. Users receive an email asking them to confirm some personal information on a copy of an existing website. This fake website is very similar to the website the User thinks he is on. In its fight against phishing, the NBB will never invite the User by email to click through to the Application, nor notify him by email of a change in the access path to the Application. This will always be done via the NBB website. For payments, on the other hand, secure payment links are sent by the payment service provider (CCV) to an email address provided by the person filing the return in the application.

The User himself should always check the security certificate of the NBB. To do this, he must take the following steps (applicable for Microsoft Edge):

  • after entering the Internet address and arriving at the Application’s homepage, the User should click on the closed padlock at the top right and verify that ‘Connection is secure’ is displayed. He should then click on it.
  • In the window that then appears on the screen, he needs to click on the certificate icon in the top right and then on the ‘General’ tab; ‘issued to’ must be ‘*.cbso.nbb.be.
  • He should then click on the ‘Details’ tab and subsequently on the ‘Thumbprint’ field’ where the last four characters must be ‘9343’.

If this is not the case, the User must immediately disconnect from the NBB and notify the NBB Service Desk at 02 221 40 60.
Under no circumstances shall the NBB be held liable for any damage or loss incurred by the User through any application falsely purporting to be the Application.

3. The provision by the NBB of any technical assistance regarding the operation of the Application constitutes only a best-effort commitment, not a result commitment.

7. Intellectual Property Rights

The NBB is and remains the owner of the intellectual property rights and know-how associated with the Application. The User is granted a non-exclusive license to use the NBB’s Application. No rights are granted other than the use expressly stated in these Terms of Use.

8. Applicable law - competent courts

Any remarks regarding these Terms of Use should be sent to helpdesk.ba@nbb.be. Unless otherwise stipulated, Belgian law shall apply to these Terms of Use. In the event of any dispute, courts located in the judicial district of Brussels have sole competence.

9. The data made available

Using the FILING CBSO application, you can import filing forms in ZIP or XBRL format, file a return based on a PDF form or create a new filing form. The imported or newly created forms are to be found in the Personal Space, i.e. the working environment from where all kinds of functions such as paying or submitting can be performed.

In the Application, the ID data of the legal entities such as the name, address, legal form and legal status are provided by the National Bank as supplementary information. It is taken from the Belgian Companies Register (the BCE/KBO) managed by the FPS Economy. The National Bank limits itself to reproducing this information, which is considered authentic. However, it recommends that you check this information in general and the legal status in particular before using it and, in the event of errors, make any necessary adjustments to the forms.

You can directly access and check the data contained in the BCE/KBO through the ‘Public Search’ function on the BCE/KBO website.

If errors are found in the authentic data stored in the BCE/KBO (which can be consulted on the FPS Economy website via this hyperlink), in principle the legal entity concerned should inform the BCE/KBO, insofar as it has fulfilled all legal obligations relating to the publication of identification data. The rectification procedure is explained on the aforementioned BCE/KBO website.

The legal entities concerned are responsible for the content of the documents they have filed with the National Bank. These are made available by the National Bank in unchanged form, with the proviso that the NBB mentions certain data in the reserved area at the top of the first page of each document and that annual accounts filed as structured data files are converted by the NBB into PDF files.

When annual accounts to be prepared in accordance with one of the models made available by the NBB are filed electronically in the form of a structured data file, sections of the model without relevance are not included in the copy made available by the NBB. In addition, amounts expressed in euros with two decimal places in accordance with the regulations in force are rounded by the NBB as euros without decimal points.

If a legal entity notices that what it filed does not correspond to what should have been filed, it can submit an ‘Improved filing’, which will be made available as such by the NBB.

A register of all corporate deeds published as of 1983 in the Annexes to the Belgian Official Gazette can be consulted on the FPS Justice website. Recent company deeds can also be viewed online.