Your company in Europe, built from India

Why the Netherlands, seen from India

English is the working language of Dutch business, the legal system is strict but predictable, and the tax treaty between the Netherlands and India has been in force since 1988. For an Indian founder that translates into three concrete advantages: an entity inside the EU single market that clients in Germany, France and the Nordics treat as local; a corporate tax entry rate that beats most of Western Europe; and a treaty that caps Dutch dividend withholding toward India at 10%, next to the 15% domestic rate.

The paperwork is a solved problem: India joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2005, so passports and powers of attorney are legalised at home — MEA apostille, courier, done. The exact list per document is in documents for a Dutch BV from abroad.

The design with family in the Netherlands

Here is the chapter that makes the Indian route special. A BV’s tax home follows its effective management: where decisions are genuinely taken. A company owned and run entirely from India would, over time, be managed from India — and taxed accordingly. The design that solves this from day one, and that Indian families are uniquely positioned to use: shares held in India, direction in the Netherlands. A trusted family member living here — a son or daughter on a knowledge-migrant contract, a sibling with residence — acts as managing director.

That single choice does three jobs at once. It gives the BV real Dutch management and a real Dutch decision-maker, which settles the substance question. It gives banks and counterparties a local, verifiable face — which is what makes the account opening succeed. And it keeps ownership, and the dividends, exactly where the family wants them: in India, at the 10% treaty rate. We design the governance around it — director’s mandate, shareholder reserved matters, a clean management agreement — so both sides know precisely who decides what.

The route, in order

Structure first. Personal shareholding from India, an Indian company as parent, or a Dutch personal holding for a family member here — each has a different dividend and exit picture, and switching later costs notary fees and tax friction. We map it before anything is signed. Then the incorporation: apostilled documents, power of attorney, notary, KVK and tax numbers — one to three weeks, handled in English. Then banking: Dutch and EU banks run full KYC on the ownership chain; with a Netherlands-resident director and a clear file, the route is sequenced instead of improvised. The step-by-step version is in registering a Dutch company remotely.

What we do

Holdwise designs and builds Dutch structures for international founders: the incorporation itself, the governance between shareholders in India and a director here, the tax registrations, and a written route you can hand to your bank or your family. You correspond in English; the advice arrives on the 2026 figures, with the reasoning written out.

Start with the form below — tell us who owns, who directs, and what the company should do in Europe. Our team looks at your situation and replies personally.

Indian founders who set up here also find the Dutch-language route page useful when working with local banks and advisers: ondernemen vanuit India.