Importing into the Netherlands as a foreign company

EORI number

Every company that files a customs declaration in the EU needs an EORI number. A company from outside the EU applies for it in the EU country where it files its first declaration. Usually your customs broker files the declaration, but the EORI number is in your company's name.

How a company from outside the EU applies, and which documents Dutch Customs asks for, is on a Dutch EORI number. We prepare and send the application for € 59.

Import VAT

Import VAT is 21% for most goods and 9% for some. It is calculated over the customs value, including customs duties and the transport costs to the first destination in the Netherlands (Article 19 of the Dutch VAT Act). It is paid at import, usually through your customs broker.

With a Dutch VAT registration you deduct that VAT in your Dutch VAT return. You keep the customs documents as proof.

Article 23 licence

With an Article 23 licence, import VAT is not paid at the border but reported and deducted in your VAT return. A company established in the Netherlands can apply for it itself; a company established outside the Netherlands only through a fiscal representative. We refer you to a licensed partner if you need one.

In the return, the import VAT is reported under 4a and deducted as input VAT under 5b, so on balance you pay nothing. Both amounts must be filled in. Only the payment moves: all other import rules stay the same.

Applying for the Article 23 licence

The inspector grants the licence on a written request if:

• your company imports goods regularly; for a foreign business with a fiscal representative, occasional imports are enough
• your records show the import VAT in a simple and clear way

Once you have the licence, you keep a separate record of goods from outside the EU. With each import declaration, a copy of the invoice and the transport documents is handed to Customs, showing that the goods are for your company and fall under the licence, with your VAT number or that of your fiscal representative.

The inspector decides in principle within eight weeks, and the licence starts a day or a few days after the decision. At the border it only works once Dutch Customs has entered it in its system. It covers all goods you import or have imported through your supplier, carrier or customs broker, except passenger cars, vans and motorcycles; those need a separate request.

If the licence is misused, the inspector can withdraw it, and a customs broker that invokes a licence without right is the first to be charged the VAT that was not paid at import.

Since Brexit, goods from Great Britain are imports too, while Northern Ireland still follows the EU rules for goods; see UK companies.

Is your company established in the Netherlands, or does it have a fixed establishment here? We prepare the application for € 45, including a check whether you qualify (see all fees). How the licence works through a fiscal representative is explained on fiscal representative: do you need one?

Customs duties

Customs duties depend on the goods code (HS code) and the origin of the goods. Under trade agreements, for example with the United Kingdom, South Korea or Japan, goods of preferential origin can enter at a reduced rate or at 0%, with the right proof of origin. If the goods code is unclear, a binding tariff information decision gives certainty; we prepare the application for € 245.

Example

A UK company imports goods with a customs value of € 20,000 into the Netherlands. The customs duty is 0% under the trade agreement, and transport to the Dutch warehouse costs € 500.

• Import VAT: 21% of € 20,500 = € 4,305, paid through the customs broker
• Dutch VAT return: the € 4,305 is deducted
• If the company has little Dutch VAT to pay, the Dutch tax authorities refund the difference

This is a worked example, not a client case.

What we do

We apply for your EORI number (€ 59), register your company for Dutch VAT (€ 275, everything included) and file your quarterly returns with the import VAT deducted (€ 100 per month for all your Dutch VAT returns, € 150 with the OSS return).