Luxembourg

Business Practices

General information

Kwintessential, Guide to business customs and practices

Opening hours and days

Businesses: from Monday to Friday from 8.30 AM to 12 AM and from 2 PM to 6 PM.

Banks: from Monday to Friday, from 8.30 AM to 4.30 PM and some of them are open on Saturday from 9 AM to 1 PM.

Accounting Rules

Tax year

The fiscal year begins on January 1st and ends on December 31 of the same year.

Accounting standards

Starting on January 1, 2005, the EU ruling CE 1606/2002 imposes on all listed companies publishing their consolidated accounts a duty to establish their financial statements in I.A.S./I.F.R.S.

Accounting regulation bodies

The Accounting Regulatory Committee under the European Commission
Luxembourg Accounting Norms Commission
International Accounting Standards Board

Accounting reports

The general principles of luxembourg accounting are:

-the principle of clarity and regularity

-the principle of fidelity

-the principle of continuity.

 

The annual accounts consist of:

-a balance sheet

-a profit and loss account

-an appendix

The balance sheet and the profit and loss account must be established following the scheme determined by the 4th EU directive as they have been transposed into the law. In principle, the duration of an accounting year cannot exceed one year. The closing date of the accounting year must in principle agree with that of the fiscal year, being December 31. Annual accounts must be established in one of the country's three administrative languages (French, English, Luxembourger).

Publication requirements

The publication obligations of a company vary according to its size.

 

 

Type	Total of balance sheet	Net amount of total sales	Members of employed staff
Small company	<3.650.000 EUR	<7,300,000 EUR	<50
Medium company	<14.600.000 EUR	<29,200,000 EUR	<250
Large company	>14.600.000 EUR	>29,200,000 EUR	>250

* The indicated amounts are those of the fourth directive (78/660/CEE) as modified by the directive 2003/38/CE.

Small companies can establish a balance sheet, a profit and loss account as well as an appendix in an abridged form. They are not obliged to present a management report, contrary to other companies. They can publish only the abridged balance sheet and an appendix.
Medium companies and large companies have to publish a balance sheet, a profit and loss account, an allocation of earnings proposal, the administrators and auditor's identity, an annual report and the report of the independent auditor. The management report must contain a faithful presentation of the evolution of the company's business and situation.

The deposit of documents which have to be published is made to the Clerk's Office of courts, for the publishing to the Special Collection of Companies and Associations. The deposit must intervene within the month of the annual accounts' approval by the shareholders or associates.

In addition to this, the EU directive of July 19, 2002 orders all listed European companies to establish, starting from the 2005 accounting year, their consolidated annual accounts based on the IAS norm. Concretely, the works councils of listed Spanish companies and of Luxembourg subsidiaries consolidated by listed Luxembourg companies or by listed companies originating in another member state's law are thus, staring with the accounting year beginning on January 1, 2005 or after this date, that is 2006, systematically confronted with consolidated accounts established in accordance with the IAS/IFRS normas and thus differing in form and in content from those that had been transmitted to them before this date.

Professional accountancy bodies

The Luxembourg Order of Chartered Accountants

Certification and auditing

The control of medium and big companies must be made by one or several independent auditors of companies, appointed by the general assembly among the members of the Institute of Independent Auditors of Companies.
The control of small companies must be made by an accountant appointed by the general assembly for definite duration.
The conclusion of the independent auditor's report can be:
- A certificate without reserve, that is to say an approval
- A certificate with reserves, that is to say that there is approval with reserves because of discords or doubts.
- A refusal to give a certificate.

 

The Institute of Auditors of Companies (IRE)

Accounting news

Website of the Chartered Accountants' Order

Tax Rates

Intellectual Property

National organizations

The body in charge of the protection of intellectual property in Luxembourg is the Service of the Intellectual property of the Ministry of the Economy.
You can obtain information on patents and trademarks with the center of public research Henri Tudor.
Concerning industrial property, Luxembourg signed the Paris Convention. Information on patents from the Center for Technological Monitoring.
Concerning trademarks, a single recording allows to protect these at the same time in Luxembourg, in Belgium and in the Netherlands.

Legal Framework

Independence of justice

The judiciary in Luxembourg is independent, however its judges are appointed by the Grand Duke.

Equal treatment of nationals and foreigners

Foreign nationals can expect an impartial trial from the country’s judicial system.

The language of justice

The judicial languages used in Luxembourg are French, German and Luxembourger.

Recourse to an interpreter

Luxembourg is a multilingual country accustomed to using German, French and English interpreters.

Sources of the law and legal similarities

The main source of the law is the constitution of 1868 (revised several times). The country’s legal system is based on civil law system. Luxembourg accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction. Being member of the European Union, the country’s national law needs to comply with the conditions of the Community legislation.

Checking national laws online

The Luxembourg judicial portal
Judicial information of the Ministry of Justice

Standards

National standards organizations

The Luxembourg Institute for Normalization, Accreditation, Product Safety and Quality, commonly called ILNAS depends on the Ministry of Economy and external trade.

Integration in the international standards network

The body of standardisation and certification in Luxembourg is the Service of the Energy of the State (SEE). Luxembourg is a member of the European Committee of Standardisation (CEN), the European Committee of Electronic Standardisation (CENELEC), the European Institute of Standardisation of Telecommunication (ETSI), the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnics Commission .
Certain products, whatever their origin is, should be submitted to the technical rules which give rise to a ratification meeting EC standards.

Online consultation of standards

A catalog of norms at the Luxembourger Standardisation Body.

Certification organizations

The Luxembourg Organization for Normalization, part of the SEE (State Energy Service).