Belgian importers are relatively small and tend to press for the most lenient credit terms possible, since they have fewer sources of inexpensive capital. Belgian importers are also accustomed to being offered flexible payment terms, particularly from neighboring trading partners such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, the U.K., Switzerland, and, to a lesser extent, Italy. Extended payment terms of 30, 60, 90 and even 120 days are not unusual, though the most common payment term is 30 days. Belgian businesses however, like many European ones, routinely delay payment beyond the agreed upon terms. In Belgium, 43 percent of all payments are not made by their anticipated due date, although 80 percent of these are paid within the 30 days following the original deadline. In short, 91 percent of all payments by Belgian businesses are made within 60 days. This is a better record than Italy’s or the U.K.’s, and on par with France and the Netherlands.

Read the complete commercial guide to Doing Business in Belgium