Importing and distributing through the Netherlands: the entry point for Europe
Goods that enter the EU need an importer established in the EU, a customs number, a VAT registration and a place to keep stock. The Netherlands is where most companies from outside the EU put all four: the largest port in Europe, an import VAT deferment that no other country except Belgium offers, and 170 million consumers within a day. This page shows how the pieces fit.
Ask about your situationA company outside the EU imports into Europe in one of two ways: through a customs representative established in the EU that declares in its own name, or through its own EU company that is the importer of record. The importer of record holds an EU customs number (EORI), a VAT registration and, in the Netherlands, the Article 23 licence that defers import VAT to the VAT return. Stock is kept in a normal warehouse, or under customs supervision in a bonded warehouse until it is sold. Holdwise sets up the Dutch company that is your importer of record, arranges the registrations and the licence, and works with customs agents and logistics partners for the flow of goods.
On this page: the importer of record, customs and the customs reform of 2026, the VAT side, the warehouse options, and the steps to the first container.
The importer of record
Under the Union Customs Code the company that declares goods for import must be established in the EU, apart from a few cases such as transit. A company outside the EU imports either through an indirect customs representative in the EU, which declares in its own name and is liable for the duties, or through its own EU company. That company is the importer of record: it holds the EU customs number (EORI), signs the declarations through a customs agent, pays the duties and is the owner of the goods when they enter the EU.
Being your own importer of record matters beyond customs. The importer is the company named on consumer products under the product safety rules, the importer under the medical device rules, the food business operator on a food label, and the company that registers for packaging and producer responsibility. One Dutch company holds all those roles, so the name on the customs declaration, the label and the invoice is the same.
Customs after the reform of 1 July 2026
Until 1 July 2026 parcels worth €150 or less entered the EU free of customs duty. That exemption is gone. Low-value parcels now pay a flat duty per tariff heading until the EU Customs Data Hub starts around 2028; after that the normal tariff applies to everything. The rules reward one model: import in bulk with one declaration, keep stock in Europe, and ship every order as a normal EU parcel. Read the customs reform and what it rewards.
A bulk import is one customs declaration for a whole container. The duty depends on the tariff code and the origin of the goods; trade agreements, such as the one with the United Kingdom or Japan, can bring it to zero with a proof of origin. The customs agent files the declaration in the Dutch customs system; the goods are released within hours at Rotterdam or Schiphol. Companies with regular shipments apply for the status of authorised economic operator (AEO), which brings fewer checks and simpler procedures.
The VAT side: Article 23 and the One Stop Shop
Import VAT is 21% of the customs value plus the duty. In most EU countries it is paid at the border and refunded weeks or months later. The Netherlands and Belgium are the only two countries that let you skip that payment completely. With the Dutch Article 23 licence, the importer reports the import VAT in its VAT return and deducts it on the same form. On a €1 million shipment that keeps €210,000 in your business. A company outside the Netherlands gets the licence through a fiscal representative; your own Dutch company applies in its own name.
Sales to consumers in other EU countries are reported through the One Stop Shop (OSS): one quarterly VAT return in the Netherlands for the VAT of all EU countries. Sales to businesses go with the customer’s VAT number at 0% under the reverse charge. Stock that you move to a warehouse in another EU country needs a VAT registration in that country. Read fiscal representation and the Article 23 licence and use the EU VAT route finder.
Where the stock is: normal warehouse, bonded warehouse, fulfilment centre
A normal warehouse holds goods that have been imported and cleared. Duties are paid, or deferred through the VAT return. This is the usual choice for goods that sell within weeks.
A bonded warehouse, called a customs warehouse, holds goods under customs supervision. Duties and VAT are due only when goods leave the warehouse for the EU market; goods that leave for a country outside the EU pay nothing. Traders that serve Europe, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the Middle East from one stock use it. The warehouse operator holds the customs licence; your company stores.
A fulfilment centre picks, packs and ships single orders. Most companies contract one near Rotterdam, Venlo or Tilburg, where the large logistics parks are. Marketplaces with their own fulfilment can be part of the setup: your Dutch company imports and owns the stock, the marketplace stores and ships part of it.
The Netherlands also has the licensed warehouses that regulated goods need: pharmaceutical warehouses under good distribution practice, temperature-controlled and food-grade storage, and chemical terminals in the port. Read the sector pages under entering the EU market.
Based on Regulation (EU) 952/2013 (Union Customs Code), the EU customs reform in force since 1 July 2026, Article 23 of the Dutch VAT Act (Wet op de omzetbelasting 1968) and the One Stop Shop rules of Directive 2006/112/EC, as applied in September 2026. Customs and logistics are done by licensed partners; Holdwise coordinates.
Who does what
Holdwise sets up and runs the Dutch company and stays your single point of contact. Specialist partners do the licence and product work. You keep one contact, one file and one invoice.
Your company
- Own the goods, the suppliers and the sales channels
- Provide the product data: tariff codes, origin, values, product files
- Decide the countries, the stock levels and the delivery promise
- Sign the power of attorney; nobody travels
The Dutch base
- Sets up the Dutch company (a BV), by power of attorney, with the notary
- Registered office, KVK number, tax number, VAT number, EORI number
- Bank account, the Article 23 licence, the One Stop Shop registration
- Bookkeeping, VAT returns, annual accounts and corporate tax
- Single point of contact for the customs agent, the warehouse and the carriers
Licences and product rules
- Customs declarations, tariff classification, origin and duty optimisation
- AEO status, bonded warehouse and transit arrangements
- Warehousing and fulfilment: normal, bonded, food-grade, pharmaceutical, chemical
- Freight forwarding by sea, air and road; carrier contracts for EU parcels
- Product compliance per sector, via the sector partners
The route, step by step
What happens from your first question to the day your first product is on the European market.
- One question. You tell us what you ship, from where, the volumes, which countries you sell in and how orders are delivered today. We answer in writing with the structure that fits and one written proposal.
- The Dutch company. The notary sets up the BV by power of attorney with the parent as shareholder. You receive the KVK number, the tax number, the VAT number and the EORI number. The bank file starts on day one.
- The licence. The Dutch company applies for the Article 23 licence in its own name, and for the One Stop Shop where you sell to consumers.
- The warehouse. With the logistics partner you choose normal, bonded or fulfilment, and the location. The contract is signed by your Dutch company.
- The first container. The customs agent classifies the goods, files the declaration in the name of your company and releases the container to the warehouse. Import VAT goes in the VAT return.
- Operations. Orders ship from the Netherlands across the EU, VAT is filed once a quarter, bookkeeping is done. One monthly overview, one point of contact.
Related guides
The other parts of the route to Europe, on the same site.
Common questions
Ask about your own situation
Tell us what you make or sell, where your company is and which countries you want to sell in. You get a written answer. Where a Dutch company fits, we write down what it would look like and what it costs.
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