Three new EU rules
- Product safety (GPSR): for consumer products, you need an EU responsible person. This person has a real address in the EU, keeps the documents on file and is named on the label. Marketplaces check this. See the GPSR marketplace pages.
- Carbon border rules (CBAM): an EU importer of carbon-intensive goods, such as steel, aluminium and related goods, has reporting and certificate duties. See the CBAM entity pages.
- VAT enforcement: the authorities act more and more against grey import structures. For legal imports, you use a registered EU trader. With an Article 23 licence, you declare the import VAT in your VAT return.
What the BV structure looks like
Selling from China to EU customers? Compare the ways for Chinese companies to sell in the EU, with a partner or with your own Dutch company.
The Chinese parent company owns a Dutch BV. The BV imports in its own name and takes on the responsible-person roles. It sells across the EU with one VAT number and signs contracts with marketplaces and distributors. You document the transfer prices between the parent and the BV at arm’s length, as between independent companies. You also build up substance in the Netherlands to match the activities.
Is your group setting up a Dutch entity? See setting up a Dutch subsidiary for what you need, how long it takes and what the parent company must sign.
Once the company is set up, you have the same four tasks every year. The full list with the dates is on running a Dutch BV in 2026.
Setting it up
You can set up the BV from China with legalised documents. See the document guide. For Chinese owners, banks do the strictest customer checks (KYC) of any market, and they ask for the most complete file. Prepare it with the onboarding article. Write down your business story before the bank asks for it.