One partner for your Dutch BV, VAT number, EORI number and Article 23 licence
A company from outside the EU can import through the Netherlands with its own Dutch private limited company (BV). Our team sets up the BV with the notary and applies for its VAT number and its EU customs number (EORI number). We also apply for its licence to report import VAT in the VAT return (the Article 23 licence, also called import VAT deferment). Your BV is the importer, and a customs broker clears each shipment in its name.
Ask about your situationFour things are needed before your first container, in a fixed order. They are the Dutch BV, its VAT number, its EORI number and its Article 23 licence.
Our team arranges all four with you. The notary signs the deed, the Dutch tax office (Belastingdienst) decides on the VAT number and the licence, and Dutch Customs (Douane) issues the EORI number.
Your own BV is the importer on every customs declaration. A customs broker files the declarations, and specialist firms take the product roles that the law gives to a representative.
With the Article 23 licence, your BV reports the import VAT in its VAT return and deducts it there when it has the right to deduct. The amount of VAT and the customs duty stay the same.
Tell us what you import, from which countries and how often. Our team looks at it and replies with the steps in order and a proposal with the price.
Who does what
Your BV is the importer. Our team sets up the BV and applies for its registrations. Specialist partners do the customs and product work under their own contract with your BV, and you see each price first.
Your company and your goods
- Own the BV and appoint its director, who is you or someone from your own company
- Arrange the business address of the BV yourself
- Buy the goods, sign the contracts and decide the countries of sale
- Give the product data for customs, such as the goods code, the value and the origin
- Answer as importer for the customs duty, the VAT and the product rules
The BV and its registrations
- Set up the Dutch BV with the notary, by power of attorney
- Send the VAT registration to the Belastingdienst
- File the EORI application with Dutch Customs
- Prepare the Article 23 application with your evidence of regular imports
- Check before the application where your company is managed
- Keep the books and file the VAT returns, when you ask for that
Customs clearance and product rules
- A customs broker, who files each import declaration in the name of your BV
- A fiscal representative with its own licence, when your company is managed from abroad
- An authorised representative or responsible person for regulated products
- A warehouse or fulfilment company for your stock
The steps, in order
From your first question to the first shipment that your own BV imports.
- Your plan. You tell us what you import, from which countries, how often and who manages the company. Our team replies with the order of the steps and a proposal with the price.
- The BV. The notary signs the deed by power of attorney once all documents are complete. The BV is then registered in the trade register of the Chamber of Commerce (KVK).
- The VAT number. Our team sends the registration to the Belastingdienst. The tax office decides and issues the VAT identification number of the BV.
- The EORI number. Our team files the application with the National Customs Helpdesk of Dutch Customs. Customs says within 5 working days whether the number is granted (Douane, 2026).
- The Article 23 licence. Our team prepares the form with your evidence of regular imports and sends it to the Belastingdienst in Heerlen. The Belastingdienst asks for the application well before the first import, and its inspector decides.
- The first shipment. Your customs broker files the import declaration in the name of your BV and states the licence. Your BV reports the import VAT in its VAT return for that period.
What each registration is and who decides
| Registration | What it is | Who decides | What you have ready |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Dutch BV | A private limited company under Dutch law. It is a legal person of its own, established in the EU, and it becomes your importer. | The notary signs the deed. The Chamber of Commerce (KVK) registers the company. | Identity documents of the owners and the director, a signed power of attorney and the facts about your business. |
| The VAT number | The number for invoices and VAT returns. The tax office uses it to follow the VAT that your BV charges and deducts. | The Belastingdienst. | A short description of what the BV buys and sells, with the expected turnover. |
| The EORI number | The EU customs number, the Economic Operators Registration and Identification number. Customs asks for it on every declaration, and one number is valid in the whole EU. | Dutch Customs (Douane), free of charge. Customs answers within 5 working days. | The tax number of the BV for legal entities (RSIN), its VAT number and a contact person. |
| The Article 23 licence | A Dutch licence for import VAT. Your BV reports the import VAT in its VAT return, where before it paid at the border. The amount stays the same. | The inspector of the Belastingdienst, in a written decision. | Order confirmations, purchase invoices or import documents that show regular imports from outside the EU. |
Each registration has a guide of its own. Read more about the EORI number in the Netherlands, the Article 23 licence, Dutch VAT registration and setting up a Dutch BV.
The Article 23 licence and the place where your company is managed
The application form of the Belastingdienst names four conditions. The applicant lives or is established in the Netherlands as a business. It imports goods regularly from outside the EU. It keeps separate records that show the import VAT. It files VAT returns per month or per quarter.
For VAT, the tax office looks at the place where a company is managed in practice. Its policy decree speaks of the place where the central management tasks are performed. The EU rule names the statutory seat, the place of the main decisions and the place where the directors meet (Implementing Regulation (EU) 282/2011, Article 10). A postal address alone is too little.
A BV that is managed from the Netherlands applies for the licence in its own name. For a BV whose only director works from abroad, the Belastingdienst judges on the facts whether the company is established here.
Our team checks this with you before the application. When the facts point abroad, a fiscal representative applies for the licence. That is a partner firm with its own licence from the Belastingdienst, as explained in fiscal representation in the Netherlands.
Tell us what you import, from which countries and how often. Our team looks at it and replies with the steps in order and a proposal with the price.
How your goods enter the EU, and what the customs broker does
A customs broker files the import declaration for each shipment, with the goods code, the customs value and the origin. The broker is a partner firm that you choose, with its own contract with your BV.
- Direct representation. The broker declares in the name of your BV. Your BV is the declarant and the debtor for the customs duty.
- Indirect representation. The broker declares in its own name. The broker is then the declarant, and your BV is debtor for the duty together with the broker.
The declarant must be established in the EU (Union Customs Code, Article 170). A company outside the EU therefore depends on indirect representation. Your Dutch BV is established in the EU, so its broker can act as direct representative (Dutch Customs handbook, 2026).
The broker states the Article 23 licence in the declaration. Your BV then reports the import VAT in box 4a of its VAT return and deducts it in box 5b, when it has the right to deduct. Customs duty is paid at import, where it applies.
Goods that wait for a buyer can stay in a customs warehouse first. The page on stock in the Netherlands explains the warehouse, the fulfilment partner and the customs warehouse.
What stays your own responsibility as importer
- The declaration. With direct representation your BV is the declarant. It is legally bound by the goods code, the value and the origin in the declaration, and it owes the customs duty.
- The VAT. Your BV files its VAT returns on time and keeps separate records of the import VAT. The inspector can withdraw the licence when a holder breaks the conditions (Dutch VAT implementing rules, Article 18).
- The product rules. As importer your BV checks that the product meets the EU rules. For most consumer products its name and address go on the product or the packaging.
- Product liability. New EU rules apply to products placed on the market after 9 December 2026. For a defective product made outside the EU, the importer is liable together with the manufacturer (Directive (EU) 2024/2853, Article 8).
The director decides for the BV and signs for it. Our team prepares the applications, keeps the books when you ask for that and tells you which dates are coming up.
Regulated products and food
Some products need more than the four registrations. The law then names a role that only a specialist firm or a qualified person can take. Your BV stays the importer, and the specialist firm is a partner with its own mandate.
- Medical devices and in vitro diagnostics, with an authorised representative and a registered importer.
- Cosmetic products, where the importer is the responsible person or mandates one.
- Chemicals, with the registration under the EU chemicals rules (REACH) and the only representative.
- Packaging, with a registration in each EU country of sale.
- Food and agricultural goods, with the official controls at the border and the registration with the Dutch food authority.
The table in EU representative requirements lists every role, the law behind it and the company that can take it.
Common questions
Want our team to have a look?
Tell us what you import, from which countries, how often and who manages your company. Our team replies with the steps for your situation and a proposal with the price.
Related guides
More guides about importing through the Netherlands.