Setting up in the Netherlands

Setting up a business in the Netherlands is necessary in order to conduct any form of commercial business in Europe. It is one of our key requirements for assisting your international company with business expansion into Europe.
We can advise you, free of charge, in identifying the right legal structure, as well as assisting you with setting up this Dutch business entity. In the Netherlands there are several business structures with different requirements. The most common Dutch structures are explained below.

Besloten Vennootschap (B.V. or LLC or Ltd.)
The Dutch B.V. is the most frequently used legal entity in the Netherlands for conducting international business activities.  A "BV" is a private company with limited liability.  Moreover it is still one of the most popular entities to be used as a holding, financing or royalty company in international structures. It is similar to a German “GmbH”, American “LLC” or the English “Ltd”.

Holding Company
A holding company is a company set-up in the Netherlands to hold the shares in domestic or foreign subsidiaries. On the basis of the Dutch participation exemption, income (i.e. dividend income and capital gains) derived from qualifying participations is corporate income tax exempt. This is one of the main reasons why international companies establish in the Netherlands.

Branche
As part of the parent company, a branche is not a separate legal entity. However, like other business entities, a branche of a foreign company must be registered in the trade register of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.
 

Contact us, free of charge, if you want to learn more about the different Dutch business structures through a fact finding mission or how we can assist you in setting up a Dutch business entity.

"For a multinational company like Berlitz, The Hague is a logical choice: a city with an extensive expat community that is continually facing linguistic and cultural challenges. Berlitz offers courses and programs in all languages. In The Netherlands, Dutch and English are the most frequently requested languages." Serge Langerock, Berlitz The Hague