When using the application, users must comply with these Terms of Use as well as with any applicable laws and regulations. Amongst other things, users are not allowed to:

• use the application for illegal or harmful purposes;
• hinder access to the application, 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 or use of the application, without prior notice, should a user fail to comply with these Terms of Use.

The NBB, with its registered office at 14 Avenue de Berlaimont, 1000 Brussels, records the personal data of users in order to grant them access to the application and to contact them, for example in the event of problems relating to use of the application or in the framework of processing filed annual accounts or in order to send filing notices or payment confirmations by email.

The NBB processes personal data on the basis of Article 6.1(b) and (e) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).^[1]

The following personal data relating to users are processed: identification details, contact information, and the digital key used to log in.

The NBB is the controller for purposes of the abovementioned processing of personal data. Data can be accessed 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 can be demonstrated. For instance, limited information may, if necessary, be provided to the (representatives of the) company whose annual accounts have been filed, officers of the court in the performance of their duties, magistrates, the police if requested to do so by a magistrate, or officials of the FPS Finance or FPS Social Security.

Retention period: Personal data are retained for a period of 10 years.

To the extent the conditions provided for by the applicable laws and regulations are met, data subjects have the right to:

(1) access and possibly correct or request the correction of their data;

(2) object to the processing of their data for reasons relating to their individual situation;

(3) have their data erased or the processing thereof restricted;

(4) obtain their data in a structured, common and machine-readable format and transfer them to another controller;

(5) file a complaint with the Privacy Commission if they believe that the  processing of their data violates the applicable laws and regulations.

To exercise the rights listed under points (1) to (4) above, please contact the NBB’s data protection officer at [email protected].

^{[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}

Except in the case of gross negligence or willful misconduct, the NBB shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damage (including loss of profit, additional costs or loss of opportunity) suffered by users or companies as a result of using or being unable to use the application, for whatsoever reason. Furthermore, except in the case of gross negligence or willful misconduct, the NBB shall not be held liable for, in particular but not limited to, any direct or indirect damage caused by the transmission of a virus despite the safeguards put in place or by an interruption or delay in access to or use of the application due, for example, to the disruption of communication lines or connectivity issues, unauthorised access by a user or a third party to the NBB’s website, maintenance of or changes to the NBB’s infrastructure, strikes or any event 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 shall notify users of any such changes via its website.
2. The NBB wishes to warn users about phishing. Phishing is a form of Internet fraud in which confidential information (such as credit card numbers, passwords, etc.) is gleaned from unsuspecting users. Users receive an email asking them to confirm personal information on a copy of an authentic website. The fake website appears very similar to the real one. The NBB will never send an email asking users to click through to the application or notifying a change in the access path to the application. This will always be done via the NBB’s 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 filer in the application.

Users should always check the NBB’s security certificate. To do so, they should follow the following steps (applicable for Microsoft Edge):

• After entering the Internet address and arriving at the application’s home page, users should click on the closed padlock in the top right and verify that the wording “Connection is secure” is displayed. They should then click on it.
• In the window that then opens, click on the certificate icon in the top right and then on the “General” tab. Under “Issued to”, *.cbso.nbb.be should appear.
• Click on the “Details” tab and then on “Thumbprint field” in which the last four characters should be 9343.

If the information displayed is incorrect, users should immediately disconnect from the website and call the NBB Service Desk at 02 221 40 60.

Under no circumstances may the NBB be held liable for any loss or damage incurred by users as the result of an application purporting to be the Filing application.

3. The NBB’s obligation to provide technical assistance for the application is a best efforts obligation rather than an obligation to obtain a specific result.

Any comments on these Terms of Use should be sent to [email protected]. Unless otherwise stipulated, these terms of use are governed by Belgian law. In the event of a dispute, the Brussels courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction.