Extension of the period of validity of meal vouchers and other cheques
March 2021 – Our tax and social legislation provides a framework for a series of benefits that can be considered as remuneration, but for which this qualification is not desirable for social reasons. The various types of vouchers (such as meal vouchers and eco-vouchers) are among them. Due to the confinement, these vouchers could not always be spent. It was therefore necessary to postpone their expiry date.
Two initiatives
During the first confinement, the Wilmès government had taken the decision to extend the validity of meal vouchers, eco-cheques and sports and culture vouchers expiring in March, April, May or June 2020. The De Croo government had to take a similar measure for the second confinement, concerning vouchers expiring in November and December 2020 and in January, February or March 2021.
This extension was also regulated in fiscal terms by a law at the end of 2020. Consequently :
the period of validity of meal vouchers expiring within the above-mentioned period is extended by six months ;
the period of validity of eco-cheques expiring within the above-mentioned period is also extended by six months;
sports and culture vouchers that expired on 30 September 2020 remain valid until 30 September 2021.
The same law allows the government to extend by a further six months the validity of meal vouchers and eco-vouchers expiring in May or June 2020, which had already been extended by six months.
The government may also extend the six-month extension to a maximum of twelve months for all or part of the meal vouchers and eco-cheques, provided that this measure is confirmed by law.
Cheques whose validity has not been extended
The question does not arise for sports and culture vouchers, since these can only expire on 30 September and their validity has therefore been directly extended by one year.
But what about meal vouchers and eco-vouchers whose validity expired in 2020 but was not extended under the above rules? In other words, what about vouchers that expired in January and February and from July to October 2020?
An alternative solution has been provided for these cheques. They must be reissued by the issuing company for an amount equivalent to the amount of the cheques that expired in 2020. These cheques are again granted to the employee without any additional cost to the employee or employer.
The cheque must (again) be valid for 12 months (meal vouchers) or 24 months (eco-cheques) from the date on which it is made available to the worker in the case of a paper eco-cheque, or 24 months from the date on which the cheque is charged to the eco-cheque account.
It is a bit strange, but cheques whose validity has not expired during confinement actually benefit from a more favourable regime than those whose validity has expired during that period. Moreover, cheques expiring in January and February 2020 are also "saved", even though there was no question at that time of a coronavirus crisis (at least not in our country).
Consumer cheques
Since the end of July 2020, we also know the consumption cheque. This is a cheque (electronic or paper) granted by the employer to the worker and whose total amount cannot exceed 300 euros. Moreover, these cheques can only be spent in the hotel and catering sector or in the cultural or sports sectors.
This system was temporary: the cheques had to be issued no later than 31 December 2020 and were only valid until 7 June 2021.
However, an extension was decided at the end of 2020. The new expiry date for these cheques is 31 December 2021. In addition, they can still be issued until 30 June 2021.
