Importing goods into the Netherlands as a company from outside the EU
Your company is based outside the EU and your goods are cleared in the Netherlands. Regular imports are declared through someone established in the EU, and the article 23 permit that defers import VAT is open only to businesses established in the Netherlands. A foreign importer reaches it through a general or a limited Dutch fiscal representative.
What a non-EU importer deals with in the Netherlands
The five rules you meet, who carries them and when they apply.
| Obligation | Rule | Who | When or how long | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EORI number | Requested from the customs authority of the member state where the first declaration is lodged; one number per operator | The importing company | Before the first declaration; no official processing time found | UCC art. 9(2) |
| Customs declaration | The declarant must be established in the EU; a regular importer from outside the EU uses a direct or indirect customs representative | A customs representative established in the EU | At each import | UCC art. 18 and 170 |
| Import VAT deferral | Article 23 permit, form OB 624: import VAT goes on the VAT return instead of being paid at import | A business established in the Netherlands, or the fiscal representative of a foreign one | Before deferral can apply; no official processing time found | Art. 23 Wet OB 1968, form OB 624 |
| General fiscal representative (AFV) | Acts for all the foreign client's transactions; the client stays registered; a separate article 23 permit for each client | A Dutch representative appointed by the foreign company | Rules in force on 1 January 2023 | Art. 33g Wet OB, decree of 19 December 2022 |
| Limited fiscal representative (BFV) | Covers the import and the supply that follows; the foreign client does not register itself | A Dutch representative appointed by the foreign company | Rules in force on 1 January 2023 | Art. 33g Wet OB, decree of 19 December 2022 |
The Dutch rows rest on the Belastingdienst application form and on the decree published in the Dutch official gazette. The customs rows are EU rules, shown as they apply when your goods are cleared in the Netherlands. The sections below take each line in turn.
EORI and customs representation at the Dutch border
EU rules decide who may lodge the declaration when your goods arrive in the Netherlands.
A company established outside the EU registers for an EORI number with the customs authority of the member state where it lodges its first declaration or asks for its first customs decision. If your first shipment is cleared in the Netherlands, you apply to Dutch customs. Each operator holds one EORI number (UCC art. 9(2), European Commission). The Belastingdienst lists an EORI application for companies headquartered outside the EU, but the page returned an error when we checked it, so we have not read it. Ask Dutch customs for the current form before you book the first shipment.
The EORI number does not let you clear goods yourself. The declarant must be established in the EU customs territory, with three exceptions: transit, temporary admission and an occasional declaration that customs accepts as justified. A company from outside the EU that imports regularly therefore needs a customs representative (UCC art. 170(2) and (3)).
In your name, for your account
The representative lodges the declaration in the name of your company and for its account (UCC art. 18(1)).
In its own name, for your account
The representative acts in its own name and for the account of your company (UCC art. 18(1)).
In both cases the representative must be established in the EU customs territory, and each member state sets the conditions for providing customs representation on its own territory (UCC art. 18(2) and (3)). We have not read the Dutch conditions. Ask your representative which ones it meets and which form of representation it offers.
The article 23 permit for deferring import VAT
The Dutch permit that moves import VAT from the border to the VAT return.
Under article 23 of the Dutch VAT Act (Wet OB 1968), a permit lets the importer report import VAT on its VAT return instead of paying it when the goods are imported (Belastingdienst, form OB 624). EU law leaves this option to each member state, which also decides who qualifies and on what terms (VAT Directive art. 211).
The application is made on form OB 624 and sent by post to the Belastingdienst, Postbus 2774, 6401 DG Heerlen. The form sets four conditions for the applicant (art. 23 Wet OB 1968):
- it is established in the Netherlands;
- it imports goods regularly from countries outside the EU;
- it keeps a separate administration;
- it files a monthly or quarterly VAT return.
The condition that stops a foreign importer
The first condition is establishment in the Netherlands. A company based outside the EU with no Dutch establishment cannot hold the permit in its own name. The Dutch rules give it a route through a fiscal representative, general or limited, and the representative needs a separate article 23 permit for each foreign client it acts for (form OB 624, decree of 19 December 2022). Find the representative before the first shipment, not after the goods are at the border.
General or limited fiscal representative
Two Dutch forms, set out in a decree of 19 December 2022 under article 33g of the VAT Act.
General fiscal representative (algemeen fiscaal vertegenwoordiger)
Acts for all the transactions of the foreign client, which stays registered for VAT itself. The representative holds a separate article 23 permit for each foreign client (art. 33g Wet OB).
Limited fiscal representative (beperkt fiscaal vertegenwoordiger)
Covers the import and the supply that follows it. The foreign client does not register in its own name (art. 33g Wet OB).
The two forms answer different trades. Goods imported and then sold on fit the scope of the limited form, which covers both steps without a Dutch registration of your company. If your company has other Dutch transactions, the general form covers all of them and your company keeps its own registration. The decree was in force on 1 January 2023 (decree of 19 December 2022). Check the fit with the representative before the first import.
Goods that go on to another member state
When the goods enter the EU in the Netherlands and are then supplied to a buyer in another member state, EU law exempts the import from VAT under three conditions: the VAT number of the importer, or of its fiscal representative, in the Netherlands; the buyer's VAT number in the other member state; and proof of transport (VAT Directive art. 143(1)(d) and 143(2), added by Directive 2009/69/EC). For a foreign client that does not register itself, the number on the file is the representative's. Keep the transport documents for each shipment.
The EU base under the Dutch rules
The customs part of this page is EU law and reads the same in every member state: one EORI number per operator, a declarant established in the EU, bonded warehouses where non-EU goods are stored under customs supervision, and excise on alcohol, tobacco and energy products that falls due at import unless the goods go straight under a suspension arrangement (Regulation (EU) 952/2013, Directive (EU) 2020/262). Import VAT deferral and fiscal representation are national options, which is why the Dutch answer differs from its neighbours' (VAT Directive art. 204 and 211). Our guide to importing into Europe compares the countries side by side.
From the first shipment to the VAT return
In the order a newcomer meets them. The sources we read set no fixed dates: each step is tied to a shipment or a return.
Get the EORI number
From the customs authority of the member state where the goods are first declared. For a first clearance in the Netherlands, that is Dutch customs.
Appoint a customs representative
Established in the EU, acting directly or indirectly. A regular importer from outside the EU cannot lodge its own declarations.
Choose a general or limited fiscal representative
General if your company has other Dutch transactions and keeps its own registration. Limited if the goods are imported and then supplied on, with no registration of your own.
Article 23 permit on form OB 624
The application goes by post to the Belastingdienst in Heerlen. The representative holds a separate permit for each foreign client.
Declaration and import VAT on the return
The customs representative lodges the declaration. Under the permit, the import VAT is reported on the VAT return.
File the VAT return
The permit requires a monthly or quarterly return and a separate administration.
Keep the onward-supply evidence
The Dutch VAT number of the importer or its representative, the buyer's VAT number and proof of transport.
What official sources do not settle yet
We could not read the Belastingdienst page on EORI numbers for companies headquartered outside the EU, and none of the official pages we read gives a processing time for an EORI number or for the article 23 permit. The conditions for appointing a Dutch fiscal representative, including any guarantee, are not covered by the sources we read, and neither is whether the Netherlands makes a representative compulsory for businesses from particular countries, an option EU law allows (VAT Directive art. 204(1)). This page does not cover Dutch bonded warehouses, the Dutch conditions for customs representatives, national excise rules or the planned EU changes to customs and to low-value consignments. Confirm each point with the Belastingdienst, Dutch customs or a licensed adviser in the Netherlands before the first shipment.
What Balt Partners coordinates
One contact in Riga for the paperwork around your Dutch imports.
Entry map for the Netherlands
EORI, customs representation, the fiscal representative and the article 23 permit, put in order against the date of your first shipment.
Dutch VAT filings by a licensed adviser
For the fiscal representation, the article 23 application and the VAT returns, we bring in a licensed adviser in the Netherlands, who handles the filing.
Customs checklist
The points to settle with your customs representative before the first declaration, and the evidence to keep when goods move on to another member state.
A Latvian SIA when an EU base fits
A Latvian company with its bank account and accounting set-up. A company established in the EU meets the customs condition for declarants (UCC art. 170(2)), but it is still not established in the Netherlands for the article 23 permit.
Importing into several EU countries? Our country-by-country comparison of import rules sets the Netherlands against the others. If a European entity makes sense, our page on opening a Latvian subsidiary of a foreign company explains the route.
Questions from non-EU importers about the Netherlands
The sources we read do not require one. A company from outside the EU works through a customs representative established in the EU for the declarations and, to defer import VAT, through a general or limited Dutch fiscal representative who holds an article 23 permit for it.
A permit under article 23 of the Dutch VAT Act that lets the importer report import VAT on its VAT return instead of paying it at import. It is requested on form OB 624. The applicant must be established in the Netherlands, import regularly from outside the EU, keep a separate administration and file monthly or quarterly returns.
Not without an establishment in the Netherlands, which is the first condition on the form. A foreign company goes through a general or limited fiscal representative, and the representative needs a separate article 23 permit for each foreign client.
A general representative acts for all the transactions of the foreign client, which stays registered itself. A limited representative covers the import and the supply that follows, and the foreign client does not register in its own name. Both are set out in a decree of 19 December 2022 under article 33g of the VAT Act.
From the customs authority of the member state where it lodges its first declaration, so from Dutch customs if the first shipment is cleared in the Netherlands. Each operator holds one EORI number. We could not read the Belastingdienst page for companies headquartered outside the EU, so confirm the form and the processing time with Dutch customs.
Only in limited cases. The declarant must be established in the EU, except for transit, temporary admission and an occasional declaration that customs accepts as justified. A company that imports regularly uses a customs representative established in the EU, acting directly or indirectly.