Customs Import

Foreign importers are required to pay import duties and turnover tax (VAT) on imports of non-European goods through Dutch ports and airports. The Dutch Tax Department seeks to encourage foreign businesses to bring their shipments into Europe through Dutch ports of entry. It does so by facilitating declarations with Limited Fiscal Representation (BFV). This involves the turnover tax on imports being administratively handled (deferred) with the help of a reverse-charge mechanism. This gives foreign importers a significant liquidity benefit, because it means they do not need to pay turnover tax at the time of entry of the goods. If you use our facilities, accountability for the correct handling of turnover tax shifts to us.

To give the most common transaction as an example:

A German importer imports goods from outside the European Union through the port of Rotterdam. The importer wants to declare the goods for import. Neele-Vat takes care of the import declaration, making use of the BFV facility. As a result, the Tax Department only charges any import duties payable. The turnover tax is administratively transferred to the VAT number of Neele-Vat and therefore not paid. Neele-Vat does have an obligation to report the next onward shipment of the goods following import to the Tax Department and Statistics Netherlands (CBS). If the shipment is delivered to a company outside the Netherlands, this is known as an Intra-Community Delivery (ICL). If it is delivered to a company based in the Netherlands, we call this a domestic delivery. The result is that the importer gets the goods without the company’s liquidity being affected. If the same shipment had been declared for import in Germany, turnover tax (EUST: Einfuhr Umsatzsteuer) would have been payable immediately. Conclusion: there is a major liquidity benefit to importing via the Netherlands!