Belgium’s cloud strategy transforms tax compliance

This is a guest post from the Belgian Ministry of Finance, AWS customer

The Belgian Ministry of Finance has successfully deployed a cost-effective, real-time digital tax monitoring system using Amazon Web Services (AWS). The system helps fight fraud and is expected to bring an estimated €156 million additional annual value-added tax (VAT) returns.

The Belgian Ministry of Finance has implemented a digital system that tracks transactions in the hospitality sector, greatly improving tax compliance and fraud detection. In 2010, the Belgian government introduced mandatory point of sale (POS) systems connected to smart devices for restaurants and catering services, which digitally sign and secure transaction data. Its main objective was to prevent tampering with POS data and to make electronic sales suppression detectable. Thanks to this system, the declared sales turnover in the hospitality sector doubled within 9 years, demonstrating its remarkable effectiveness to reduce VAT fraud and safeguard data integrity.

Compliance the gentle way

In 2025, the government modernized the system with AWS. The Fiscal Data Module now sends in near real time full transactional data straight to the Ministry of Finance. Thanks to this smart solution, we can focus on data analysis and fraud prevention because we don’t have to worry about the challenges of maintaining a complex IT infrastructure.

Technological innovations include digital signatures, AWS Internet of Things (IoT) devices with sensors that capture and transmit transaction data in near real time, and sophisticated algorithms to detect potential fraudulent behaviors. The system monitors various aspects of transactions, such as table management and refund functionality, providing comprehensive oversight.

The system is set to expand to 13,000 businesses by the end of 2026, aiming for 36,000 establishments by 2028. The projected impact is significant, with an estimated €156 million additional annual VAT returns and more efficient tax audits. The ministry describes this approach as “compliance the gentle way,” that is, deterring fraud through continuous monitoring.

The future of government services

Our plans include expanding the system to other economic sectors such as bakeries, butchers, retail shops, and small supermarkets. The ministry keeps an open communications line with businesses to explain how the system can help them better manage their operations, rather than positioning it solely as an anti-fraud mechanism.

We had a lot of discussions with the Hospitality Federation explaining why we would be going into the cloud, and they are quite happy with it, especially since we see that more POS systems are completely cloud-based. That’s the future people want to use.

The collaboration was particularly efficient because the AWS sales and technical teams quickly understood the project’s unique requirements and provided architectural guidance. The serverless approach allows the ministry to scale efficiently, paying only for the resources used while maintaining high availability and performance.

This innovative approach positions Belgium at the forefront of digital tax monitoring, demonstrating how cloud technologies and IoT can transform government services and revenue collection. By taking advantage of advanced technology, the Belgian Ministry of Finance has created a more transparent, efficient, and effective tax monitoring system that can serve as a model for other governments worldwide.

To find out more about the Belgian tax transformation journey, watch the full story. To learn more about how AWS helps public sector organizations deploy AI-driven solutions, connect with the AWS Public Sector Team today.

About Belgian Ministry of Finance

The Belgian Ministry of Finance (known as Federale Overheidsdienst Financiën in Dutch and Service Public Fédéral Finances in French) is the finance department of the federal government of Belgium. It’s responsible for tax collection and recovery, ensuring balance between the state treasury and outstanding public debt within the framework of legal transactions involving goods. It also supervises flow of imported and exported goods and contributes to preventing and fighting fraud and crime within its areas of competence.

About the author

Jan De Loddere is the Head of the Geregistreerd Kassasysteem (GKS) division at the Belgian Ministry of Finance. With expertise in commercial and financial sciences, Jan transitioned from industrial construction to tax auditing and financial investigation. At the National Investigation Centre, he became a leading expert on electronic sales suppression, collaborating with EU and OECD working groups. He played a crucial role in multilateral fiscal audits, particularly targeting VAT avoidance schemes.