Stock in the Netherlands · EU fulfillment

Stock in the Netherlands: warehouse, fulfillment and customs for non-EU brands

Brands from outside the European Union that keep stock in the Netherlands reach customers across the EU within a few working days, and that stock needs an importer, tax numbers, a customs broker and a warehouse. Your own Dutch company can act as the importer and register for VAT and customs in its own name. We set up that company and its registrations and plan with you how you import and store your goods. When you need a warehouse, fulfillment or a customs broker, we find the right partner with you.

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Home›Entering the EU market›Stock in the Netherlands

By Robert Jeffrey, Holdwise B.V., Hoofddorp. Checked against the official sources on 13 October 2026.

Short answer

To keep stock in the EU, a brand from abroad needs an importer, which can be its own Dutch company or its foreign company working with a fiscal representative, a licensed firm that handles VAT on its behalf. It also needs a VAT number in the country where the stock is, an EU customs number (EORI number), a licence to settle import VAT in the VAT return (the Article 23 licence), a customs broker and a warehouse. Your own Dutch private limited company (BV) can register for all of these in its own name. We set up the company and arrange its numbers and licence, partners chosen with you for each assignment provide the warehouse, the fulfillment and the customs broker, and you see every price first and keep one contact person on our team.

Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe and handled 428.4 million tonnes of cargo and 14.2 million containers, counted in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), in 2025. Bulk stock in the Netherlands also falls outside the EU parcel charges, because the €3 duty per item type and the €2 handling fee from 1 November 2026 apply to parcels sent to consumers from outside the EU.

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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.

Ask our team to have a look

What we arrange, and what partners do

We set up your Dutch company and its registrations, while partners handle the warehouse, the fulfillment and customs. When you ask for a partner, we choose one with you for that assignment, and you see every price first and keep one contact person on our team.

You

Your products and your choices

Own the goods, the suppliers and the sales channels
Provide the product data, such as product codes, origin, values and product files
Choose the countries, the stock levels and the delivery promise
See every partner price before the work starts

Your Dutch company and its numbers

Set up your Dutch company (a BV) with the notary, by power of attorney
Arrange the tax number, the VAT number and the EORI number
File the applications for the Article 23 licence and the EU VAT return for cross-border sales (OSS)
Prepare the file for your business bank account
Bookkeeping, VAT returns and annual accounts, when you ask for them
One contact person for the warehouse, the customs broker and the carriers

Partners, chosen with you

Warehouse, fulfillment and customs

Warehouse and fulfillment by a third-party logistics company (3PL), which stores, picks, packs and ships, priced per pallet and per order
A customs broker, who files the declarations in the name of your company, with product codes and origin
Customs warehouse, for goods that wait for a sale or for export
Fiscal representative, when your company abroad imports in its own name
Packaging representatives in other EU countries and product specialists

The steps to stock in the Netherlands

From your first question to your first orders shipped from Dutch stock.

We start with your question. You tell us what you sell, where it comes from, your volumes and where your customers are, and our team advises on the best option for your business.
The notary sets up your BV by power of attorney, and your company receives its Chamber of Commerce number (KVK number), tax number and VAT number, after which we apply for the EORI number.
Your company applies for the Article 23 licence in its own name, so the import VAT goes into its VAT return.
We find a warehouse and fulfillment partner with you. You compare the quotes and approve one, and your Dutch company signs the contract.
The customs broker declares the first shipment in the name of your company, and the goods go into stock in the Netherlands.
The fulfillment partner ships your orders to customers across the EU every day, our team files your VAT returns, and you keep one contact.

428.4m

tonnes of cargo through Rotterdam in 2025, the largest port in Europe

in the world for English skills, in the English Proficiency Index 2025 of Education First (EF)

4.1

out of 5 for logistics, joint third in the world (World Bank, 2023)

What stock in the EU requires

Requirement	What it means	Who arranges it
Your Dutch company, as importer	The importer is the company in whose name customs declares the goods. Your own Dutch company can be that importer. A company abroad can also import, through a customs broker acting as indirect customs representative, who is liable with you for the duty.	We set up your company; the customs broker is a partner
A fiscal representative	Needed when your company abroad imports into the Netherlands and wants the Article 23 licence. A general representative works with your own Dutch VAT number. A limited representative uses its own number, provides security and is liable with you (Dutch Ministry of Finance, 2022). Your own Dutch company applies for the licence itself.	A licensed partner, chosen with you
A VAT number where the stock is	Stock in a country means a VAT registration in that country. Amazon asks the same for stock in its fulfilment centres.	Our team
An EU customs number (EORI number)	Free of charge. Customs needs it on every import declaration.	Our team
The Article 23 licence	You declare the import VAT in your periodic VAT return and deduct it there, if your business may deduct VAT. The cash stays in your business.	Our team, for your Dutch company
A customs broker	Files the declaration for each shipment, with the product codes, the values and the origin.	A partner, chosen with you
A warehouse	A normal warehouse, a customs warehouse, or shared space at a fulfillment partner (3PL).	A partner, chosen with you

Our guides cover fiscal representation, the Article 23 licence, the EORI number and Dutch VAT registration, and importer of record in the EU explains how to find an importer for your goods.

Steel, aluminium, cement and fertilisers fall under the EU carbon border tax (CBAM). Once imports pass 50 tonnes a year, the importer must be an authorised CBAM declarant established in the EU and must have that status before the import, which your own Dutch company can apply for itself.

Check which EU rules apply to your products by answering a few questions, and you will see your EU roles, registrations and dates.

Why the Netherlands, in figures

Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe. In 2025 it handled 428.4 million tonnes of cargo and 14.2 million containers (TEU), ahead of Antwerp-Bruges with 13.6 million (Port of Rotterdam Authority; Port of Antwerp-Bruges, 2026).
Container imports from Asia into Rotterdam grew 9.3% in 2025 (Port of Rotterdam Authority, 2026).
The Netherlands ranks first in the world for English skills in the EF English Proficiency Index 2025.
The Netherlands scored 4.1 out of 5 in the World Bank Logistics Performance Index 2023, joint third in the world.
About 170 million consumers live within 500 kilometres of the Netherlands, according to the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA).
With the Article 23 licence, the import VAT goes into the VAT return, so the cash stays in your business.

PostNL, the Dutch postal company, lists these delivery times for parcels from the Netherlands (2025).

Destination	Working days
Belgium	1 to 2
Germany	2 to 3
France	2 to 4
Poland	3 to 4
Italy and Spain	3 to 5

Want our team to have a look at your situation?

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.

Ask our team to have a look

Choose the base that suits your customers

The Netherlands suits a seller who imports by sea and sells to customers in several EU countries from one stock point, while other businesses do better elsewhere.

A seller with most customers in Germany is often better served by a German base, close to most of its orders.
For labour-heavy work such as returns or kitting, the assembly of product sets, where low wage costs come first, Poland or Czechia deserve a look.
A seller that ships by sea to many EU countries gains the largest port in Europe, strong English and import VAT in the VAT return in the Netherlands.

Warehouse rents differ by country and by region. Shared space at a fulfillment partner keeps costs down because you pay per pallet stored and per order shipped. Compare the total cost per order, including rent, transport and delivery time, and choose the base that gives your business the best result.

Warehouse, customs warehouse or fulfillment center

In a normal warehouse you store goods after customs clearance, with the duty paid and the import VAT paid at the border or settled in the VAT return under the Article 23 licence.
In a customs warehouse your goods wait under customs supervision, and duty and import VAT become due when they leave for the EU market. A private customs warehouse needs a guarantee (Dutch Customs, 2025), as explained in customs warehouse in the Netherlands.
A fulfillment center operated by a third-party logistics company (3PL) stores your goods, picks and packs each order and hands it to the carrier. Shared space priced per use suits a brand that starts with modest volumes.

For freight forwarders and fulfillment companies

Each client of a forwarder or a fulfillment company can have its own Dutch company as importer. We set up that company for the client and arrange its VAT number, EORI number, Article 23 licence and bookkeeping. The forwarder then files the customs declarations in the name of that company, and our partner network explains how we work with forwarders.

The importer for distance sales from July 2028

From July 2028 the seller or the online platform becomes the importer for distance sales, the sales to consumers in other countries. It must be established in the EU or use as its representative an EU company that customs has certified as a reliable trader, an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) (European Parliament, March 2026). Your own Dutch company is established in the EU, so it can act as the importer.

The dates and the costs per parcel are in EU parcel rules 2026, and three ways to sell in the EU compares your options.

Company formation

Your company in the Netherlands

One package for the full setup. You sign a power of attorney in your own country. The notary in the Netherlands does the rest.

Swipe to see all four options →

Your Dutch BV

from €2,950

excl. VAT

The notary deed, signed for you with a power of attorney
Registration at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK)
The identity check the law requires
Registration of the owners in the register of ultimate owners (UBO register)
Your tax number and VAT number
The list of documents from your country, and how to legalise them (apostille)
Advice on the setup for low tax from the start: one company or a holding, your first financial year and your salary
Personal support during the setup and the start of your company

Holding and operating company

from €4,950

excl. VAT

Set up for growth of your company and your wealth.

Two companies, set up together, with everything from the BV package for both
You can pay profit to your holding tax-free (participation exemption)
In your holding, you keep your profit apart from the risks of daily business, and you can invest it
If you sell your operating company later, your holding receives the profit tax-free

What you can add

Made for your company. The price is in your proposal.

Business bank account: the complete file your bank asks for
eHerkenning: your login for the Dutch tax portal
EORI number: your number for import and export
Article 23 licence: you settle import VAT in your VAT return, so you keep that cash in your company
One VAT return for all your online sales in the EU (One Stop Shop, OSS)
Payroll tax number, so your company can pay you a salary
A lower director salary, prepared and submitted to the tax authority
The 30% ruling for you or your staff, when you relocate to the Netherlands
Bookkeeping, VAT returns and annual accounts
Licences and EU rules for your sector

Your first-year plan

Before you start trading, our team looks at everything you plan to do, prepares a plan for your first year and files the applications for you. See the first-year plan →

The registrations and licences your company needs
Your salary, dividend and loans from your company in year one
The tax schemes and deductions you are entitled to
Your numbers for the first year: tax, salary and what you keep in your company

Your proposal shows the exact amount before you decide. Owners from some countries need extra checks.

Want our team to have a look? →Ask our team on your next step

Guides to read next

The EU charges per parcel, and a comparison of shipping direct, an importer service and your own Dutch company.

EU parcel rules 2026The €3 duty per item type, the €2 handling fee from 1 November 2026 and the product codes for parcels up to €150.Three ways to sell in the EUShip direct, use an importer service or open your own Dutch company: costs per parcel, VAT, customs and the 2028 rules.

Common questions

Do I need a company in the EU to keep stock in the Netherlands? +

Your company abroad can keep stock in the Netherlands with a Dutch VAT number, although it then needs a fiscal representative, a licensed firm that handles its VAT, to obtain the Article 23 licence. Your own Dutch company registers for VAT and applies for the licence in its own name.

What does a 3PL in the Netherlands do? +

A third-party logistics company (3PL) stores your goods, picks and packs each order and hands it to the carrier. Shared space priced per pallet and per order keeps costs down for modest volumes, and we find a fulfillment partner with you and show you the price first.

Who is the importer of record when my stock is in the Netherlands? +

The importer of record is the company in whose name customs declares the goods. That can be your own Dutch company, or your company abroad working through a customs broker that acts as indirect customs representative and is liable with you for the duty.

Do I need a VAT number in every EU country where I sell? +

You need a VAT number in each country where you keep stock. Sales to consumers in other EU countries from Dutch stock go into one quarterly EU VAT return for cross-border sales, the One Stop Shop (OSS). Amazon asks for a VAT number in each country where it stores your goods, and with Pan-European Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) you choose at least two storage countries, and Amazon says you can start with two VAT numbers (Amazon, 2026).

What is the Article 23 licence? +

The Article 23 licence is a Dutch licence that lets you declare import VAT in your periodic VAT return and deduct it in the same return, provided your business may deduct VAT. A company established in the Netherlands applies itself, and a company from abroad uses a fiscal representative.

Is the Netherlands the cheapest country for an EU warehouse? +

Warehouse rents differ by country and by region, so compare the total cost per order, including rent, transport and delivery time. The Netherlands suits sellers who import by sea and serve several EU countries from one stock point, and shared space at a fulfillment partner keeps the cost per order down.

Do the EU parcel charges apply to my stock in the Netherlands? +

The €3 duty per item type and the €2 handling fee from 1 November 2026 apply to parcels sent to consumers from outside the EU. For a bulk import into Dutch stock, the importer pays the normal duty once, and orders from that stock go out as parcels inside the EU.

Can Holdwise arrange the warehouse and the customs broker? +

We arrange both through partners. When you ask for a warehouse, fulfillment or a customs broker, we choose the partner with you for that assignment, and you see every price first and keep one contact person on our team.

Our team