Oil products trading through Rotterdam and the ARA region

The Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area (ARA) is Europe's largest market for oil products. It has the storage tanks, the blending facilities and the demand for ship fuel (bunkering). The physical prices for the region are set here. Traders in the area can reach every buyer in Europe.

In bonded storage, duty and import VAT are suspended while the product is stored, blended or resold. You pay tax only when and where you import the product into the EU market. For traders, this suspension is the main commercial advantage of the port. The company with the storage position gets this advantage. In this setup, that company is a Dutch BV. We set up the BV and help you with VAT, excise duty and customs, and with getting profit back to your group at a low tax cost.

How bonded storage works

You store the product in ARA tanks under customs warehousing. Duty and import VAT are suspended while the product is stored, blended to specification or sold on. If you sell it to a buyer outside the EU, it is free of duty and import VAT. If you import it into the EU, the BV declares the import VAT in its periodic VAT return under its Article 23 licence. You can read the details in customs warehousing in the Netherlands. The company with the stock position gets these benefits.

Who uses this structure

Refiners from the Gulf and Asia use this structure to store product in Europe before they sell it. African producers use it to sell directly to European buyers. Trading houses use it to give a physical trading desk its own balance sheet. In each case, the Dutch BV has the tank leases, the EORI number and the sales contracts. A Dutch holding above it owns the shares and receives the dividends under the participation exemption.

Setting up in the Netherlands

A Dutch BV is incorporated by notarial deed and registered with the Chamber of Commerce (KvK). You can do this from abroad with a power of attorney, and the parent company owns the shares. After registration, the BV gets its VAT and EORI numbers and the licences it needs for its activities. We set up the company and the group structure. Specialised lawyers handle sector permits and admissions to regulated markets, and we coordinate this work in writing. You can read more about the wider process on EU market entry.

Frequently asked questions

What is the commercial benefit of bonded storage?

Duty and import VAT are suspended while the product is stored, blended or resold in the customs warehouse. You pay tax only when you import the product into the EU. Re-exports are free of both duty and import VAT.

Why Rotterdam for oil products?

The Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area (ARA) is Europe's largest market for oil products. Storage, blending facilities, demand for ship fuel (bunkering) and many buyers are close together there. Rotterdam is the centre of the area.

What licences does the trading BV hold?

The trading BV has a VAT registration and its own EORI number. It also has the Article 23 import VAT deferment for product imported into the EU. For stock under suspension, it has customs warehouse arrangements.

What does Holdwise do in the process?

We set up the company and the structure: the BV, the holding, the ownership chain and the substance. Specialised parties handle the customs authorisations and tank agreements. We coordinate this work in writing.