BNP Paribas will be the new manager of the so-called ‘679 accounts’, into which the government deposits VAT and fines. Striking: the new contract will cost the government 6.9 million euros per year, the previous one – with Bpost – amounted to no less than 38 million euros per year.
Bpost has been the cashier of the federal government since 1970. The postal company manages the special accounts – which start with the numbers 679 – on which the government collects fines and VAT from companies. Government services such as social security also use those 679 accounts. The government pays Bpost an annual amount of 38 million euros for this. But from 2026, the postal company will lose that assignment. Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) has now appointed BNP Paribas as the new manager of the 679 accounts. They were able to present a much more competitive price.
In the past, the management of the 679 accounts was invariably awarded to Bpost via private contracts. Competitors were not given the opportunity to submit a quotation. In addition, the government also failed to inform the European Commission about the file. However, that is necessary. Europe must be able to check whether there is unauthorized state aid if no public tender took place. Moreover, there have been indications for some time that the profit margins charged by Bpost were out of proportion.
82 percent cheaper
After much delay, the Michel government finally decided in 2016 to launch a tender. But nothing came of that at the time. In 2021, Van Peteghem picked up the file again. The current Minister of Finance launched a tender to which three parties signed: Bpost itself, Belfius and BNP Paribas. The latter has now won the contract for an amount of 6.9 million euros per year. That is almost 82 percent cheaper than the price that Bpost charges the government today. Remarkably, Bpost itself also seems to realize that it was asking too high a sum for years. The postal company registered itself with a quote of 25.7 million euros. That is 12 million euros less than the current price.