Non-profit-making association - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

Legislation

Controlled originally by the Law of the June 27th 1921 on the non-profit-making associations (published in the Belgian Monitor of July 1st, 1921).

A reform was introduced by the law of the May 2nd 2002 relating to the non-profit-making associations (A.S.B.L.), to the non-profit-making international associations (A.I.S.B.L.) and to the foundations (published in the Belgian Moniteur of the December 11th 2002), amending the Law of 1921 without the Abroger.

Definitions

Definition given in the Law of 1921:

Association which “is not devoted to industrial or commercial operations, or which does not seek to get for its members a material profit”.

Definition given in the Law of 2002:

Association which “is not devoted to industrial or commercial operations, AND which does not seek to get for its members a material profit”.

This fundamental modification tends to encourage the development of the social entrepreneuriat while making it possible associations to devote itself to marketing activities in so far as the generated profits are in all times reallocated with the realization of the social goal defined by the statutes of each association.

Actually, Belgium obtained a legislation likely to position the country as in true paradise of the social economy.

Besides the national Bank of Belgium publishes since 2001 a satellite account of associations, genuine measuring instrument of the associative production at the macroeconomic level .

Statutes

The statutes of the ASBL must describe:

the name, first name, Domicile, date and birthplace of the founders
the name of the ASBL, its Head office, and the indication of the legal district of which it depends
the goals of the ASBL
the number of members (3 at least)
the conditions and formalities of entry and exit of the members
the role and operation of the general meeting
the maximum amount of the contributions
the destination of the inheritance of association in the event of dissolution
and possibly the duration of association if it is temporary

These statutes are noted by Acte authenticates or under private signature in two originals.

The statutes can also define the rights and obligations of the members " adhérents" (to be distinguished from the members " all court"). The ASBL do not have the obligation to have adherent members.

Publication

To give the legal personality to association, it is necessary to deposit with the Clerc's Office bankruptcy court of the legal district where association has its head office:

the statutes described above
the acts relating to the nomination of the administrator S. These acts describe the extent of the capacities of the administrators and the manner of exerting them (individually, jointly or in college).

Extracts of these documents will in addition be published in the appendices of the Belgian Moniteur with the expenses of association.

The clerk's office must be informed evolution of the ASBL. It maintains a file for each association with the following elements:

the statutes
acts relating to the appointment of the administrators, the people delegated to management day laborer, the people representing association, and the police chiefs
a copy of the register of the members
decisions relating to the dissolution of the ASBL
the annual accounts

Any person can take note of this file near the clerk's office of the bankruptcy court, and ask for a copy of it. In addition, certain evolutions of this file must be published in the Belgian Moniteur, and are accessible on line in the database from 1/1/1981 to 5/30/2003 and as from the 6/1/2003

General meeting

The general meeting brings together the members to approve the decisions which fall into the following categories:

modifications of statutes
the nomination and the revocation of the administrators
the nomination and the revocation of the Police chief S
the approval of the Budget S and the Account S
the dissolution of association
the exclusion of a member
the transformation of the ASBL into business firm
all other specified cases in a particular way in the statutes

The points to be approved must be communicated to the members at the time of their convocation.

Board of directors

The board of directors consists of at least 3 administrators (or 2 if association has only 3 members). He has all the capacities except for those reserved for the general meeting (by the law or the statutes of association). It with the obligation to preserve the register of the members and to subject each year accounts to the approval of the general meeting.

Accounts Department

The small ASBL hold a simplified Comptabilité: count receipts and expenditure.

They are held with a Comptabilité supplements if they fill 2 of the 3 following conditions:

at least 5 workers equivalent time-full
more than 250.000 € with receipts net of tax (excluded exceptional receipts)
more than 1.000.000 € to the assessment

This accountancy must be controlled by at least a Commissaire when it occupies on average more than 100 workers, or that it fills 2 of the 3 following conditions:

at least 50 workers equivalent time-full
6.250.000 € with receipts net of tax (excluded exceptional receipts)
more than 3.125.000 € to the assessment

Additional details

Law of 1921: Text coordinated

Law of 2002 and its decrees of execution: Text

ASBL on Wikinations.be

Foreign equivalents

French-speaking names

In France: Association law of 1901.
With the Quebec: Non-profit making organization (OSBL).
In Swiss: Association without economic goal.

Foreign names

In English: Not-profit organization (NPO).

See too

Association with nonlucrative goal

External bonds

Law on the asbl
database of the Belgian Monitor of 1981 in June 2003 and as from July 2003

Sources

Article written by PCarbonnelle under license GNU FDL (the site does not exist any more)

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