Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today in its Datalab the figures on VAT-registered enterprises, with provisional results 30 days after the reference month for October. With this publication, Statbel wants to better map the impact of the COVID-19 on the economic life. The NACE, the classification of economic activities, is also included.
Furthermore, Statbel continues to publish the final results 60 days after the reference month.
Decrease in VAT registrations in October
The movements observed in the population of VAT-registered units in October result in an increase in the number of active enterprises compared to September 2020[1].
First registrations
In October 2020, first registrations for all sectors combined are down by 36.3 % compared to October 2019. That is 4,490 fewer births than last year in the same period.
From June to September, we observed the opposite: more first registrations than in 2019. While in September, a third of sectors showed a decrease in first registrations compared to the previous year, in October, this decrease affects almost all sectors.
The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the tendency to register for VAT for the first time is a little less marked in October (-36.3 % compared to October 2019) than in April (-38.6 % compared to April 2019).
Re-registrations
As for re-registrations, all Nace sections combined, we observe a 37.9 % decrease compared to last year. For several months now, re-registrations have been on the rise compared to last year. Just like for first registrations, the trend is reversing in October (607 fewer re-registrations than in October 2019).
De-registrations
In October 2020, the number of de-registrations decreased by 4,436 units compared to October 2019 (-64.8 %). This phenomenon can be observed in all sectors without exception. For several months, the figures for de-registrations have been lower than those of 2019 because of the significant number of de-registrations recorded last year. In October, this phenomenon continues, but in a more pronounced manner.
Evolution of the population of VAT-registered units from October 2019 to October 2020
Despite the disturbances related to the 8 months of crisis examined, results for October 2020 remain positive in terms of growth of the population of VAT-registered units over a year. We see a 3.8 % increase of the whole VAT-registered population, i.e. 38,463 more units than in October 2019.
[1] Note: this analysis is provisional and may be revised in a later publication when the population has stabilised.