European Subsidiary for a Swiss Company: the Dutch BV, Costs and Steps

Goods and services under the bilateral agreements

Most industrial goods are duty-free in trade between Switzerland and the EU. Switzerland is outside the EU VAT system, and outside the single market for services. Every consignment counts as an import. An EU client who buys services from a Swiss company contracts with a supplier from outside the EU. Under EU product rules, you need an address inside the EU.

The BV as the entity inside the EU

• VAT presence: you use one Dutch VAT number for the whole EU. With an Article 23 licence, you declare the import VAT in your VAT return. For sales to consumers in other EU countries, you use the OSS return.
• Services and contracts: the BV signs contracts as an EU company. EU clients then treat you as an EU supplier in purchasing, data agreements and access to regulated sectors.
• Compliance: the BV takes on the responsible-person roles and the CE marking duties at its Dutch address. See the GPSR pages.

Does your company want its European entity in the Netherlands? See setting up a Dutch subsidiary for the steps, the costs and a comparison with other countries.

The structural match

For Swiss precision industries, a Dutch trading and holding structure is a good choice. The Dutch participation exemption is similar to the rules Swiss groups know at home. The tax treaty between Switzerland and the Netherlands applies to the taxation of profits. You can set up the BV from Switzerland, with the non-resident process. Build up the company's presence in the Netherlands (substance) in line with your plans, using the substance checklist.