A UK business in the Netherlands: the Dutch BV in 2026 and 2027
UK companies pay the new EU parcel charges, claim 0% duty only with proof of origin and wait for a health agreement that leaves customs in place. UK owners meet a cap on business property relief from April 2026. A Dutch BV answers three questions at once: your EU importer, your own relocation, and the holding above your Ltd.
Ask about your situationA UK brand that ships parcels to EU consumers pays €3 duty per item type since 1 July 2026 and a €2 handling fee per item type from 1 November 2026, plus VAT. The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement gives 0% duty on goods of UK origin, claimed by the importer with a statement on origin or importer’s knowledge. Under the import one stop shop (IOSS) the €3 duty applies whatever the origin. Your own Dutch company imports in bulk, claims the preference on UK-origin goods and sells from EU stock.
The UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement is in negotiation. The UK government intends it to take effect in mid-2027. It removes export health certificates and routine border checks for most agrifood goods. Customs controls remain, so the customs declaration, the origin proof and the import VAT stay as they are.
For UK owners: since 6 April 2026, business property relief gives 100% relief on the first £1 million of business and agricultural property and 50% above it. The UK Budget 2026 is presented on 28 October 2026. From 1 January 2027 the Netherlands plans a step-up for a foreign owner whose company transfers its management to the Netherlands: only the growth after the transfer is taxed in the Netherlands. That rule is a bill. Your Dutch company (BV) costs from €2,950 excl. VAT.
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 your Dutch company, and you have one contact person for all of it. Partners for customs, storage and immigration are chosen per assignment, and you see each price first.
Your company
- Your UK company, your products and your EU customers
- The decision between parcels from the UK and stock in the EU
- Your UK tax position, with your UK adviser
The Dutch company
- Your Dutch company or holding, set up by power of attorney with the notary
- Customs number (EORI), VAT number, the Article 23 application and the OSS registration
- Bookkeeping, VAT returns, payroll and annual accounts
- The application for recognition as a sponsor, for your staff
Customs, warehouse, immigration
- Customs broker for the bulk declarations and the origin claim
- Warehouse and fulfilment in the Netherlands
- Immigration lawyer for the residence permit of the founder
Step by step
From a UK company with EU customers to a Dutch company that imports, employs and owns your shares.
- Your plan. You share your products, your EU volumes, your staff and your own plans to relocate. Our team replies in writing with the route that suits you and a quote.
- Your Dutch company. The notary sets up the BV or the holding by power of attorney once all documents are complete.
- The numbers. Customs number (EORI), VAT number, the Article 23 application and the OSS registration.
- The first import. The customs broker declares the shipment for your Dutch company, with the statement on origin from your UK company for the 0% rate.
- People. The residence permit for the founder with an immigration partner; recognition as a sponsor for staff.
- The structure. The holding above your UK Ltd, with the participation exemption, and the timing of your own relocation around 1 January 2027.
What applies to UK companies and founders in 2026 and 2027
| Date | Rule | What it means for you | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2026 | A flat €3 duty per item type on parcels worth €150 or less sold to EU consumers from outside the EU, whatever the VAT scheme | Applies to parcels from Great Britain. Goods of UK origin stay outside the €3 duty only with a standard customs declaration (H1) and VAT paid outside IOSS. | In force until 1 July 2028 (Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382) |
| 1 November 2026 | An EU handling fee of €2 per declaration line on every e-commerce parcel from outside the EU delivered directly to a consumer, at any value, plus VAT on the fee | Applies to every UK parcel to an EU consumer. The fee stays due on returns. | In force from 1 November 2026 (Dutch Customs, 22 October 2026) |
| In force | EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement: 0% duty on goods that meet the rules of origin | The importer claims it with a statement on origin from the exporter, or with importer’s knowledge. An EU-bound statement is valid for 12 months. Records are kept for 4 years. Goods of other origin that you re-export from the UK pay the duty of their own origin. | In force (GOV.UK guidance) |
| Mid-2027, intended | UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement | Export health certificates, phytosanitary certificates and routine border checks end for most agrifood goods. Customs controls remain; checks on live animals and germinal products remain. | In negotiation (GOV.UK, updated 30 July 2026) |
| 6 April 2026 | UK inheritance tax: business property relief and agricultural property relief capped | 100% relief on the first £1 million of combined business and agricultural property, 50% above it. Shares on AIM count as unlisted shares and get 50% in all cases. The allowance is personal and is kept per spouse. | In force (GOV.UK) |
| 28 October 2026 | UK Budget 2026 | Check the measures on business property relief, capital gains tax, the taxation of people who leave the UK, and corporation tax once HM Treasury publishes them. | Presented on 28 October 2026 (GOV.UK) |
| 1 January 2027 | Dutch step-up in box 2 for a foreign owner whose company transfers its place of management to the Netherlands | The acquisition price of your shares is set at market value on the day Dutch tax liability starts. Only the growth after the transfer is taxed in the Netherlands. | Bill (Other Tax Measures 2027); House of Representatives vote planned in November 2026 |
| 1 July 2028 | The seller or the platform is the importer for distance sales at EU customs | A UK webshop is the importer of each parcel, established in the EU or through an EU representative with Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status. | Adopted (Regulation (EU) 2026/2108) |
The parcel charges per item type are on EU parcel rules 2026. The customs code of 2028 is on EU importer for distance sales.
Route 1: your UK brand with its own EU importer
A UK brand that sells to EU consumers has two ways in. Parcel by parcel from Great Britain, with the €3 duty and the €2 fee on every item type, the VAT of the customer’s country through IOSS with an EU intermediary, and from 1 July 2028 the role of importer for every parcel. Or in bulk, through your own Dutch company.
Your Dutch company declares the shipment in its own name, with its own customs number (EORI). It claims the 0% rate on goods of UK origin with the statement on origin of your UK company. With the Article 23 licence, the import VAT goes into its VAT return, declared and deducted in the same return. The stock goes to a Dutch warehouse, and orders ship to consumers in all EU countries as EU sales, with one quarterly return through the one stop shop (OSS).
As importer, your Dutch company is also the responsible operator for product safety under the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), with its name and address on the product. For Great Britain the UK rules of 2005 apply; for EU buyers and for Northern Ireland the EU rules apply. See EU responsible person for UK sellers and importer of record in the EU.
Food and drink: once the SPS agreement applies, the health certificates and the routine checks end for most products. The customs declaration, the origin proof and the import VAT stay. Your Dutch company as importer therefore keeps its value after mid-2027.
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.
Route 2: you relocate with your company
A founder who relocates to the Netherlands and brings the management of the company along makes the company Dutch for tax. Dutch corporate tax is 19% on profit up to €200,000 and 25.8% above that (2026). The owner pays Dutch tax on dividends and gains in box 2. From 1 January 2027 the bill Other Tax Measures 2027 sets the acquisition price of your shares at their market value on the day your Dutch tax liability starts, so the growth you built in the UK stays outside Dutch tax. The House of Representatives plans its vote in November 2026 and the Senate decides in December 2026. See relocating your company to the Netherlands in 2027.
A founder who takes up employment with the company in the Netherlands can use the expat ruling: 27% of the salary tax-free from 1 January 2027, when the conditions are met.
Residence: the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty is for US nationals, and the Dutch-Japanese Trade Treaty for Japanese nationals. A UK national uses the general routes. The residence permit as a self-employed person uses a points system: the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) scores your experience, your business plan and the added value for the Dutch economy, with at least 30 points in each area, or 45 points for experience and for the plan. For staff you bring over, your Dutch company applies for recognition as a sponsor with the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) and then employs them as highly skilled migrants. See relocating to the Netherlands with your company.
Route 3: a Dutch holding above your UK Ltd
A Dutch holding company receives dividends and capital gains from qualifying subsidiaries free of Dutch corporate tax, under the participation exemption. A UK Ltd can be such a subsidiary. The holding is Dutch for tax when it is managed from the Netherlands, so the decisions are taken here. Since 6 April 2026 the UK caps business property relief at £1 million per person at 100%, with 50% above it, and AIM shares get 50% in all cases. Where your shares end up, and what UK inheritance tax follows, is a question for your UK adviser; the Dutch side of the structure is ours. See the Dutch holding structure.
A UK company can also keep its base in the UK and add a Dutch BV as an EU subsidiary, for contracts with EU customers, EU staff and EU licences. The BV then has its own VAT number, bank account and bookkeeping in the Netherlands. See setting up a Dutch BV from abroad.
One Dutch company, many roles
- Importer at EU customs with its own customs number (EORI), claiming the 0% rate on UK-origin goods.
- Article 23 licence holder: the import VAT goes into the VAT return. A business established in the Netherlands applies itself; a UK company gets the licence only through a fiscal representative.
- Responsible operator for product safety (GPSR), with its name and address on your products for the EU market.
- EU seller with a Dutch VAT number and the one stop shop (OSS) for consumers in all EU countries.
- Recognised sponsor for the staff you bring to the Netherlands, after recognition by the IND.
- Holding company above your UK Ltd and your other companies, with the participation exemption.
The company is yours, the address is yours and the directors are yours; Holdwise sets up and manages, and stays outside your company. Prices: your Dutch company (BV) from €2,950 excl. VAT, and a holding with an operating company from €4,950 excl. VAT. Customs, warehouse and immigration work by partners has its own price, which you see first.
Sources
- European Commission, guidance on the temporary €3 duty on low-value imports (8 June 2026, updated 20 July 2026): the duty applies whatever the VAT scheme; preferential goods stay outside it only with an H1 declaration and VAT outside IOSS.
- Dutch Customs, handling fee for e-commerce (updated 22 October 2026).
- GOV.UK, claiming preferential rates of duty between the UK and EU (updated 20 December 2022): statement on origin or importer’s knowledge, 12 months, 4 years of records.
- GOV.UK, SPS agreement: preparing your business (28 May 2026, updated 30 July 2026): negotiations ongoing, intended to take effect in mid-2027, customs controls remain.
- GOV.UK, summary of reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief (30 October 2024, page updated 2 September 2026): £1 million at 100%, 50% above, from 6 April 2026.
- GOV.UK, Budget 2026 (23 October 2026): presented on 28 October 2026.
- Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), residence permit for a self-employed person (13 October 2026) and highly skilled migrant (11 September 2026).
- Regulation (EU) 2026/2108 establishing the Union Customs Code, Article 5(14) and recital 120, EUR-Lex (Official Journal of 19 September 2026).
- Dutch Tax Administration, corporate tax rates (2026), participation exemption and Article 23 (2026).
- Bill Other Tax Measures 2027 (step-up in box 2), as described on relocating a company to the Netherlands in 2027, checked on 20 October 2026.
Last reviewed: 27 October 2026. Based on the official pages named under Sources, as they read on that date. Dutch tax figures from the 2026 rates; the step-up and the 2027 figures are from bills before the Dutch parliament.
Common questions
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Tell us what your UK company does, which EU countries you sell in and whether you plan to relocate yourself. Our team replies with advice on the route and the timing.
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