VAT registration in the Netherlands for foreign companies

When a foreign company needs a Dutch VAT number

A company that is not established in the Netherlands registers for Dutch VAT when it makes supplies here on which it owes the VAT itself. Typical examples are sales to consumers from stock in the Netherlands, and imports into the Netherlands followed by sales here.

If you only supply services to Dutch businesses, the VAT is usually reverse-charged to your customer and you often do not need to register at all. We check this before anything is filed.

Under the rules, a company without a fixed establishment in the Netherlands registers here in these situations:

• It supplies goods or services in the Netherlands and owes the VAT itself, because the VAT is not reverse-charged to the customer
• It makes an intra-EU acquisition in the Netherlands, for example when it moves its own goods here from another EU country
• It ships goods from the Netherlands to business customers in other EU countries. Those intra-EU supplies go in a Dutch VAT return and an EC Sales List
• It imports goods in its own name and then sells them

Who pays the VAT depends on the customer. Say your goods are in a Dutch warehouse that is not a fixed establishment of your company, and you sell them here:

• To a consumer: your company owes the Dutch VAT itself
• To a business, foundation or other legal entity established in the Netherlands, or to a foreign business with a fixed establishment here: the VAT is reverse-charged to the customer
• To a foreign business without a fixed establishment in the Netherlands: your company owes the Dutch VAT itself

Not sure which of these applies to you? Read Do I need a Dutch VAT number?, or, if your stock is with a logistics provider, selling from a Dutch 3PL or fulfilment warehouse.

This also applies to a single project or a short period. When your activities in the Netherlands end, the VAT number is deregistered. We arrange that with the final return for € 195 one-off: see closing your activities in the Netherlands.

Which documents the Dutch tax authorities ask for

For the Registration form Foreign companies the Dutch tax authorities list these attachments:

• Documents that show which activities your company carries out in its own country
• Proof of registration with a chamber of commerce abroad, if your company is registered there
• For a company established outside the EU: a tax statement from the tax authority of its own country
• A copy of the deed of incorporation
• A copy of the authorisation, when an adviser files the form for you

Documents that are not in Dutch, German or English need a translation. We send the form, with a covering letter, by registered post to the Dutch tax authorities in Heerlen.

On the form itself, the Dutch tax authorities ask for these details:

• The name, address, place and country of establishment of your company
• The number under which your company is registered for VAT or other taxes in its own country
• The nature and the legal form of the business
• Who your customers are: consumers, businesses or other organisations
• Your estimated annual turnover in the Netherlands

The same form is used to register for the OSS, corporate income tax, payroll taxes, transfer tax and dividend tax. It is printed, signed and sent by post to Belastingdienst/Klantgegevens, Postbus 2892, 6401 DJ Heerlen, the Netherlands. We send it by registered post, with a covering letter. After that, the Department of International Issues of the Dutch tax authorities handle the VAT of your company.

Does your company have a branch in the Netherlands? All foreign companies with a branch here register in the Dutch business register of the KVK. For a company without an establishment here, the VAT registration is a separate step: the Registration form Foreign companies goes directly to the Dutch tax authorities. See starting a business in the Netherlands from abroad.

Fiscal representative and Article 23

In most situations your company can register directly, without a fiscal representative. Without one, a company established outside the Netherlands cannot use an Article 23 licence. The import VAT is then paid at import and reclaimed in your Dutch VAT return.

Do you need a fiscal representative? We refer you to a licensed partner.

A fiscal representative does not change who owes the VAT. If the VAT on your sales is reverse-charged to your customers, that stays the same. A representative files the returns, the EC Sales List and the payments on behalf of your company, and its own tax office then handles your VAT. When a representative is compulsory, and when one pays off on imports, is explained in Fiscal representative in the Netherlands: do you need one?

Your Dutch VAT number

After the registration your company has a Dutch VAT identification number: NL, nine digits, the letter B and two digits. It goes on your invoices, and your customers and suppliers in other EU countries can check it in VIES, the online service of the European Commission.

Do not confuse it with the VAT tax number (omzetbelastingnummer), which the Dutch tax authorities use for the return and other contact. For sole traders the two numbers have been different since 1 January 2020. More on the format and the check: the Dutch VAT number explained.

Example: an importer from outside the EU

A company established outside the EU imports goods into the Netherlands and stores them in a warehouse run by a logistics provider. That warehouse is not a fixed establishment of the company. It has no fiscal representative, files the import declaration in its own name and has a Dutch VAT number. In its first quarter:

• At import it pays € 4,200 import VAT: 21% of € 20,000
• It sells to consumers in the Netherlands through its own webshop for € 12,100 including VAT. It owes that VAT itself: 21/121 of € 12,100 is € 2,100
• It sells for € 10,000 to a Dutch BV (private limited company). The VAT is reverse-charged: the invoice shows no Dutch VAT, but the BV's VAT number and “VAT reverse charged”. The BV reports the € 2,100 itself
• It sells goods that stay in the Netherlands for € 5,000 to another foreign company without an establishment here. There is no reverse charge then: it owes € 1,050 Dutch VAT itself and charges it on the invoice

In its VAT return it reports € 2,100 + € 1,050 = € 3,150 VAT due and deducts the € 4,200 import VAT. Balance: € 1,050 to be refunded. The refund decision usually follows within a month of the return, but it can take longer if the Dutch tax authorities ask to see invoices. A company that regularly reclaims VAT can ask for monthly returns.

With an Article 23 licence, which for a company without an establishment in the Netherlands requires a fiscal representative, the import VAT is not paid at import but reported in the VAT return.

Our fees for this company: € 275 one-off for the registration and € 100 per month for every VAT return and the questions about it, excl. VAT. If it also sells to consumers in other EU countries, the OSS return is added and the package is € 150 per month. Your own figures: the Dutch VAT cost calculator.

This is a worked example with round amounts, not a client case.

After the registration

Once registered, your company files a Dutch VAT return every quarter, also when there was nothing to report. We take care of this in our package of € 150 per month, with OSS and your questions about the return included; the EC Sales List is € 25 per month extra.

Do you also sell to consumers in other EU countries? Then an OSS registration may be needed as well. That is a separate registration.

What follows once your company is registered:

• The Dutch tax authorities issue your Dutch VAT identification number and set your return period. As a rule this is every calendar quarter, whatever the amount. Monthly returns are possible on request, for example when you regularly reclaim VAT
• For periods that had already ended when your company was registered, the Dutch tax authorities send paper returns. If VAT is due for those periods, an additional assessment follows; if VAT is owed to you, a refund decision
• Your invoices show your Dutch VAT identification number and, when the VAT is reverse-charged, your customer's VAT number
• You keep your records for seven years as a rule

How the returns work, the deadlines and what our package covers: Dutch VAT returns for non-resident businesses. What it costs in your situation: our Dutch VAT cost calculator.

Are you an accountant or logistics provider arranging this for your clients? See how we work with accountants and 3PLs.

Logging in: eHerkenning

To log in to the online portal of the Dutch tax authorities yourself, a company needs eHerkenning, the Dutch business login, at level EH3 or higher. It is bought from an approved provider. When we file your returns, you usually do not need it yourself: you authorise us instead.