Who is subject to notification
Craft and industrial firms must notify their provision of services when working occasionally and temporarily in Luxembourg.
This obligation covers most construction trades, whose activities fall under craft or industry.
It comes on top of the posting obligations, which follow a distinct logic through a different channel.
Notification concerns access to the activity; posting concerns the employees. Confusing the two leads to completing only one.
| Situation | Notification | Other obligations |
|---|---|---|
| Regulated profession | Required | Still apply |
| Exempt situation | Not required | Still apply |
| Firm outside the European area | Separate regime | Still apply |
Who is exempt
A clear exemption, stated by the official sources. It covers exhaustively defined situations.
Firms of the European Economic Area or Switzerland in commercial or liberal professions subject to a business permit are exempt from any obligation to notify.
This category includes architects and engineers in particular, along with other regulated liberal professions.
The exemption is total as regards notification, which is uncommon in administrative law.
It does not follow from liberal status alone: it covers professions subject to a business permit, which means checking your category rather than assuming it.
What the exemption does not cover
This is the most important point in this article. An exemption from notification exempts from no other obligation.
Exemption from notification does not exempt you from the posting obligations. A firm exempt from notifying remains bound to declare every employee posted.
It does not exempt you from insurance obligations, covered in the article on a foreign policy.
It does not exempt you from tax obligations, notably as regards value added tax.
It does not exempt you from the rules applying to the site, technical and safety alike.
A firm that concludes from its exemption that it has no steps to take is badly mistaken, and that is precisely the risk a misunderstood exemption creates.
The case of firms outside the European area
A markedly stricter regime.
Firms established outside the European Economic Area or Switzerland must hold a business permit for any occasional and temporary activity on Luxembourg territory.
There is therefore no lighter temporary services regime for them.
This requirement changes the nature of the preparation: the permit involves a processing time and substantive conditions, covered in the corresponding branch.
It must be anticipated well before the intended start date.
How to determine your category
Three steps, in order of reliability.
Ask the authority competent for business permits, the only body that classifies an activity under Luxembourg law.
Check with the competent professional organisation, notably the professional body for liberal professions.
Do not transpose your national classification, activity nomenclatures not overlapping from one country to another.
The third precaution is the most neglected, an activity classed as craft in one country possibly falling into another category in Luxembourg.
What this means for a professional
Four rules.
Check your category rather than assume it, nomenclatures differing between countries.
Never conclude from an exemption from notification that there are no obligations, the four families being independent.
Handle access to the activity and posting separately, they fall to different authorities and channels.
Allow ample time for firms outside the European area, the permit being mandatory even for a one-off mission.
This article reflects the rules at the date of checking and serves professional orientation. It does not constitute legal advice.