Dutch defence contracts for foreign suppliers: who may bid, and what your Dutch company does
The Netherlands will spend €28.9 billion on defence in 2027, and its investment fund for defence equipment, buildings and IT systems grows from €14.1 billion that year to €24.8 billion in 2031. Suppliers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Norway and Ukraine can bid for this work. A Dutch private limited company (BV) of your own signs the contracts, employs your security-screened staff in the Netherlands and does the share of the work that the government wants placed with Dutch industry.
Ask about your situationCompanies from the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, South Korea, Japan, Canada, Norway and Ukraine can bid for contracts of the Dutch Ministry of Defence. All eight countries have signed the World Trade Organization’s treaty on government purchases, the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), which entitles their bidders to equal treatment in the contracts it covers. Military and sensitive purchases follow a separate Dutch law on defence and security purchases (Aanbestedingswet op defensie- en veiligheidsgebied, ADV), while purely military equipment can be bought under Article 346 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the exception for essential security interests. On orders worth more than about €5 million, the government also asks the supplier to place part of the work with Dutch industry, a requirement known as industrial participation.
Your own Dutch company signs the contract under Dutch law, registers on TenderNed, the tender website of the Dutch government, obtains the security certificate for classified work, employs your engineers and service staff in the Netherlands and does the work for Dutch industry that you agree with the government. The company, its address, its directors and its shares remain yours. We set up the company and arrange its registrations, bookkeeping, value added tax (VAT) and payroll, while specialists in security and export controls work as partners at their own price, which you see in advance.
Tell us what you make or sell, where your company is and what you plan in Europe. Our team looks at it and replies with the steps and the dates that apply to you.
Who does what
We set up and manage the Dutch company. Specialist partners do the licence and product work. We are your only contact, with one file for all the work.
Your company
- Own the product, the technology and the classification of your goods
- Decide the structure, for example a subsidiary, a joint venture with a Dutch partner, or both
- Talk to Defence, the prime contractors and the Commissariat for Military Production (CMP) about the orders and the industrial participation
- Sign the power of attorney for the formation and the applications
The Dutch company
- Set up the Dutch company (a BV), by power of attorney, with the notary
- Chamber of Commerce (KVK) number, tax number, VAT number, customs (EORI) number, TenderNed and the Dutch business login (eHerkenning)
- Bank account, bookkeeping, VAT returns, annual accounts and corporate tax
- Payroll, recognition as a sponsor at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) and the applications for the expat scheme
- One contact for the security partner, the export-control lawyer and the notary
Licences and product rules
- Security partner for the preparation for the check by the National Industrial Security Bureau (NBIV) under the government security requirements (ABRO), the security officer and the secured location
- Export-control lawyer for the classification of your goods and services and the licence applications at Dutch Customs
- Lawyer for the joint venture agreement with a Dutch manufacturer and for the industrial participation agreement
- Introduction to the Dutch industry association for defence and security companies (NIDV)
Step by step
From your first question to a Dutch company that signs with Defence.
- Your question. You tell us what you make, which Defence programme or prime contractor you aim at and whether your work is classified. You receive advice on a suitable structure.
- The Dutch company. The notary sets up the BV by power of attorney, with your parent company as shareholder. You receive the KVK number, the tax number, the VAT number and the EORI number. We prepare the bank application and the eHerkenning.
- TenderNed. Your Dutch company registers on TenderNed and sets alerts for the Defence tenders in your field. The Defence Projects Overview lists the planned projects worth more than €50 million.
- Security. For classified work, the security partner prepares your company for the ABRO check by the NBIV, which covers governance, screened staff, physical and cyber security and the security officer.
- The people. Your Dutch company applies for recognition as a sponsor at the IND and brings your engineers over as highly skilled migrants. The payroll and the expat scheme are arranged.
- The contract. Your Dutch company signs with Defence or with the prime contractor. On orders worth more than about €5 million you agree the industrial participation with the CMP, and your own work in the Netherlands counts as Dutch work.
- Operations. Your company does the assembly, maintenance, training or production in the Netherlands and sends its own invoices, while one contact person at Holdwise handles the bookkeeping, VAT and payroll.
How Defence buys, and where your company comes in
| Route | Law | Who may bid | What your Dutch company does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil purchases by Defence: IT, vehicles, services, construction | Dutch Public Procurement Act 2012 (Aanbestedingswet 2012), based on the EU rules for public purchases. Contracts above the EU thresholds are published on TenderNed and on the EU tender website, Tenders Electronic Daily (TED). | Bidders from the EU and from GPA countries, with equal treatment for the contracts the treaty covers. Bidders from other countries can be admitted; the contracting authority decides (Court of Justice, Kolin C-652/22 and CRRC Qingdao Sifang C-266/22). | Registers on TenderNed with the Dutch business login (eHerkenning), submits the bid as a Dutch company, signs under Dutch law, invoices in euros and employs the staff. |
| Military and sensitive purchases | Dutch law on defence and security purchases (ADV), in force since 1 February 2013, the Dutch version of EU Directive 2009/81/EC. Current contracts follow the Defence security requirements of 2019 (ABDO 2019), and new contracts follow the security requirements for all central government contracts (ABRO) in the course of 2026. | The companies Defence invites or admits under the ADV procedure. For classified work the National Industrial Security Bureau (NBIV) issues the security certificate, and the company appoints a screened security officer. | Has the ABRO certificate, appoints the security officer, keeps the classified work in a secured Dutch location and employs the screened staff. |
| Purely military equipment | Article 346 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the exception for essential security interests. Industrial participation under the Defence Strategy for Industry and Innovation 2025 to 2029. | The supplier Defence selects. Above about €5 million, the Commissariat for Military Production (CMP) signs an industrial participation agreement with the foreign supplier. | Does the work for Dutch industry that you agree with the CMP, such as assembly, testing, maintenance, spare parts and training. |
| Munitions production in the Netherlands (project Ballista) | Under the Defence Materiel Fund 2027, Defence explores co-production of heavy munitions and drone munitions in the Netherlands. The aim is a production line in the first quarter of 2029. | Producers with the technology, together with Dutch industry. | Is your production company or joint venture under Dutch law, with the licences and the Dutch payroll. |
| Defence real estate | Under the Defence Materiel Fund 2027, Defence, the market and the Central Government Real Estate Agency (Rijksvastgoedbedrijf) build and renovate faster through a joint real estate command post (Commandopost Vastgoed). The National Programme for Defence Space (NPRD) was adopted on 19 December 2025 and amended on 16 October 2026, and names barracks, storage sites and training areas. | Construction and engineering companies, through public tenders under the Aanbestedingswet 2012; ABRO for sites with national-security risks. | Is the contractor or the consortium partner, with its blocked bank account for payroll taxes (G-account) and its Dutch payroll. See joining a Dutch construction consortium. |
| EU-funded purchases: the EU loan programme for joint arms purchases (SAFE), the EU grant programme for defence production (EDIP) and the European Defence Fund | Regulation (EU) 2025/1106 (SAFE), the EDIP regulation adopted on 8 December 2025 and the European Defence Fund rules. | Contractors established in the EU, with origin rules for components. Eighteen member states have a SAFE loan; the Netherlands is outside that group. | Is the EU-established contractor or subcontractor. See SAFE, EDIP and the European Defence Fund. |
Defence publishes its equipment, IT and real estate projects above €50 million in the Defence Projects Overview (Defensie Projectenoverzicht, DPO). Confidential projects stay out of that list. The budget for 2027 names deliveries of Patriot air defence missiles (PAC-3), F-35 munitions and 30 mm ammunition, and on 26 October 2026 the State Secretary announced the purchase of extra infantry fighting vehicles (CV90), bridge-laying tanks and recovery vehicles.
Which bidders have a right to compete
The United States, Israel, Canada and Norway have been parties to the Agreement on Government Procurement since 6 April 2014, Japan since 16 April 2014, South Korea since 14 January 2016, Ukraine since 18 May 2016 and the United Kingdom, in its own right, since 1 January 2021. Their bidders are entitled to the same treatment as EU bidders in the contracts the agreement covers, as are bidders from other parties such as Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong.
Bidders from countries outside these agreements depend on the buyer. The Court of Justice of the EU ruled in Kolin (C-652/22) on 22 October 2024 that such a bidder lacks the right to equal treatment under the EU procurement directives, and added in CRRC Qingdao Sifang (C-266/22) on 13 March 2025 that the contracting authority itself decides whether to exclude or admit it (paragraphs 59 and 63) and may set out its approach in the tender documents (paragraph 66). Turkey, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China and Brazil are outside the agreement. See public tenders in the Netherlands for contractors from outside the agreement.
In military purchases under the ADV and Article 346, Defence decides which suppliers it invites and from which countries, and it agrees industrial participation on orders worth more than about €5 million with the foreign supplier, whatever its country. Suppliers from allied countries already take part, as the deliveries of PAC-3 missiles, F-35 munitions and 30 mm ammunition in the 2027 budget show.
Any company that handles classified information or works on a vital defence interest must meet security requirements, which for current contracts are the ABDO 2019. The Dutch central government introduced its General Security Requirements for Central Government Contracts, the ABRO, on 1 January 2026, and Defence switches to them for new contracts in the course of 2026. The company is checked by the National Industrial Security Bureau (NBIV), which employs experts from the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) and the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD), and every company with an ABRO certificate appoints a security officer, who is always screened. A company that falls short of the requirements can be refused the contract, and a current contract can be ended.
Tell us what you make or sell, where your company is and what you plan in Europe. Our team looks at it and replies with the steps and the dates that apply to you.
The role of your Dutch company
Defence and the Dutch prime contractors sign with a company under Dutch law, so your Dutch company becomes the contracting party. It issues the invoices, manages the service contracts and keeps the stock of spare parts in the Netherlands, and it registers on TenderNed with eHerkenning like every Dutch company, while a foreign company registers with a username and password.
Because the ABRO certificate is tied to the company that does the classified work, your Dutch company appoints the security officer, keeps the classified documents and systems in the Netherlands and employs the screened staff. A security partner from our network prepares the company for the NBIV check.
On orders worth more than about €5 million, the CMP agrees with you which work goes to Dutch industry. Assembly, testing, maintenance or training by your own Dutch company in the Netherlands counts as work in Dutch industry, and you discuss the content with the CMP yourself.
Your Dutch company can also employ your engineers. It applies to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) for recognition as a sponsor and brings engineers over as highly skilled migrants, under the Dutch residence permit for specialists, and from 2027 employees recruited from abroad who meet the salary norm can receive 27% of their salary tax-free. See hiring in the Netherlands and Dutch payroll.
The company pays corporate tax of 19% on the first €200,000 of profit and 25.8% on the rest, and dividends to a parent company in a country with a tax treaty are usually free of Dutch dividend tax. See setting up a subsidiary in Europe.
Your Dutch company (BV) costs from €2,950 excl. VAT, and a holding with an operating company from €4,950 excl. VAT. Partners charge their own prices, which you see in advance. See company formation in the Netherlands.
Sources
- Ministry of Finance, Defence budget 2027, chapter X (September 2026): €28.9 billion, 2.36% of GDP in 2027, 3.5% in 2035.
- Ministry of Finance, Defence Materiel Fund 2027, chapter K (September 2026): €14.1 billion to €24.8 billion, project Ballista, Commandopost Vastgoed.
- Ministry of Defence, National Programme for Defence Space (October 2026), with the decisions of 19 December 2025 and 16 October 2026.
- Ministry of Defence, investing in the defence industry (October 2026), on the Defence Projects Overview, TenderNed and TED.
- Government of the Netherlands, European procurement rules for Defence (2024), on civil contracts, the ADV and Article 346.
- PIANOo, Aanbestedingswet 2012 (2026), the ADV in force since 1 February 2013.
- Government of the Netherlands, industrial participation for defence materiel (updated 17 August 2026), on orders above €5 million and Article 346.
- World Trade Organization, parties and observers to the GPA (2026).
- Court of Justice of the EU, Kolin, C-652/22 (22 October 2024) and CRRC Qingdao Sifang, C-266/22 (13 March 2025), on EUR-Lex.
- Ministry of Defence, security checks of companies (2026), on ABDO 2019, ABRO, the NBIV and the security officer.
- Government of the Netherlands, ABRO security requirements (updated 13 October 2026), in force since 1 January 2026.
- TenderNed, registering a foreign business on TenderNed (2024).
Checked on 27 October 2026 against the official sources in the list of sources, as they apply in October 2026. Security and export-control work is done by specialised partners; we coordinate.
What we arrange beyond the company
Once your Dutch company is set up, we can help you with more. When you win a Dutch defence order, the government asks you to place part of the work with Dutch companies, and we find those companies for you. We prepare subsidy applications for your company, such as the Dutch subsidy for renewable energy and climate projects (SDE++) and the tax credit for research and development (WBSO). We help you buy a Dutch contractor or supplier, and we arrange export credit insurance and project finance with the banks.
We agree every fee with you first and link it to the result. For a project that deserves it, we join as co-founder and take a share of 5 to 10% in the project company.
Common questions
Ask about your own situation
Tell us what you make, which Defence programme or prime contractor you are aiming at and where your company is based, and our team will advise you on the structure that suits you.
Related guides
More guides about selling in Europe.