Before you start..

What do you need to state on your invoice?

You invoices must meet a number of legal requirements:

• invoice number

• invoice date

• your name and address

• your VAT identification number

• your Dutch Commercial register number

• VAT amount

• the name and address of your customer

• which goods or services were supplied

• when they were supplied

• the quantity of goods or services

Invoices must be numbered sequentially. You must rectify invoices that do not fulfil these requirements. This is particularly important for VAT purposes, because if your invoices do not satisfy the requirements, your buyer will not be entitled to a VAT deduction.

If you provide goods or services to another EU Member State, you must also indicate your customer’s VAT identification number.

Rules on sending invoices to private individuals

If you supply services or goods to private individuals (in Dutch), you do not need to provide an invoice, unless:

• You are a wholesaler in food, tobacco products, dental raw materials or equipment and at least 80% of your customers are entrepreneurs

• You sell a new or nearly new vehicle to a customer in a different EU country, stating the registration number.

• You are involved in distance selling.

Expiration date invoice

It may be that you send your invoice only after some time. If it is sent to another company and it is not more than 5 years old, they still have to pay the invoice. It expires 5 years after the end of the payment term, after which your customer no longer has to pay. If you sell products to consumers, your invoice expires after only 2 years. But if you sell services and travels to consumers, the time limit is 5 years. If you send your customer a reminder before the end of the time limit, it will start again. This is called 'interrupting'.

You must keep invoices relating to immovable property for 10 years and all other invoices for 7 years. You can issue, receive and store your receipts and invoices in electronic format, but they must contain the same information as the original paper invoices.

If you have a business in the Netherlands, you are legally obliged to keep records and to retain them for at least 7 years. You must keep data related to immovable property for at least 10 years. The obligation also applies when your business ceases trading within the specified period.

Obligation to keep records

The records form the basis for your tax returns. Some documents are mandatory, such as:

• stock records

• general accounts

• payroll accounts

• purchase and sales records

• credit and debit accounts

You can make an arrangement with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration about:

• keeping other records for shorter periods

• how you keep your records (on paper or digitally)

• how detailed your administration needs to be

How long to keep records

If you supply electronic services, broadcasting or telecommunications services and you have opted for the Mini One Stop Shop (MOSS) scheme, you must also keep the data for 10 years. The MOSS scheme enables companies that provide broadcasting or telecommunication services in several EU countries to declare VAT in only one country: the country where they are registered. The scheme applies to companies based both within and outside of the EU.

Please note that if you stop running your company, you are still required to keep your basic records for the set length of time. Arrangements made with the Tax and Customs Administration to keep records for a shorter period than 7 years, do not apply to other governemental institutions. If you want to digitise your records and use this as sufficient proof of your business activities, contact your local Tax Office (in Dutch).

Customer identification

You may ask your customers for identification, but you may not copy their personal data and keep it in your administration. you may only do so if it is compulsory, such as when you recruit personnel.

Business correspondence covers letters, emails, quotes, brochures, fax messages and your website. It also includes invoices, for which additional rules apply. Advertising is not part of your business correspondence. All relevant business correspondence should be kept in your records.

Requirements business stationery

You must always include your trading name and your Dutch Commercial Register number (Handelsregisternummer) on your company stationary. Your website should show your address details, Dutch Commercial Register number and VAT identification number. If you operate a cooperative, mutual insurance society, private company (besloten vennootschap, bv) or public company (naamloze vennootschap, nv) and your trading name differs from the registered name (the name in the deed of incorporation), you include both the full registered name and your trading name in your business correspondence. For a private or public company you must include the registered office address (place of business) of the corporate entity alongside the registered name.

Not compulsory, but useful

Including the following information is not compulsory, but it may be useful for your customers:

• Address of the premises and address for correspondence, including postcode and town

• your VAT identification number

• Email address, website, telephone and fax number

• Your IBAN number (bank or bank giro account number)

Extra rules for distance selling

If you trade online with consumers, by phone or by mail order, there are additional rules for your stationery. Your website must provide complete clarity about the identity of your business (address details, Dutch Commercial Register number and VAT identification number). You must also inform your customers about the price, characteristics of the product, method of payment and delivery.

If you run a business in the Netherlands or if you run a foreign company with a Dutch branch, you may have to pay turnover tax (VAT) in the Netherlands. This also applies if your company is established abroad, but does business in the Netherlands. In all cases, you need a VAT identification number (btw-id or btw-identificatie nummer).

Receiving a VAT number

If you set up a business in the Netherlands, you must have it registered in the Dutch Commercial Register of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (KVK). The KVK will then send on your details to the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. They will issue your VAT tax number and VAT-ID (if applicable) by post within 10 days. If you have registered without providing all relevant details, the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration will first assess if you are an entrepreneur for the purposes of VAT.

If your company is established abroad, but provides services in the Netherlands or supplies goods to Dutch-based companies, you need to register directly with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration.

VAT number format

All Dutch private individual businesses have a VAT identification number (btw-id) and a VAT tax number. The VAT identification number (btw-id) is composed like this: country code NL, 9 digits, the letter 'B' and 2 check digits. The 9 digits are not related to your citizen service number and the 2 check digits are random. The new VAT identification number will then look like this: NL000099998B57.

Your invoices must clearly display your VAT identification number. If you offer services or sell products via a website, you must also display your VAT identification number on the website (in Dutch). EU businesses are also required to state the VAT identification number of their Dutch clients on their invoices. EU businesses must also state the VAT identification number in the recapitulative statement for goods and services supplied from January 1, 2020.

The VAT tax number (turnover tax number) consists of either the Legal Entities and Partnerships Information Number (RSIN), or your Citizen Service Number (BSN), supplemented with a code comprising three characters between B01 and B99 (for example 123456789B01). This is the number you use in all correspondence with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration.

Checking validity of clients' VAT numbers

If you want to check the validity of your Dutch client's VAT identification number, or a client who has their registered office in another EU country, you can use the European Commission's VIES VAT number validation (VAT Information Exchange System). With VIES, you can also check name and address of clients from most Member States.

If you want to find out a company's VAT identification number, you should contact that company in order to receive this number directly from them.

Deregistering your VAT number

If you deregister your company with KVK, deregistration with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration database follows automatically. Your VAT number(s) will then be deregistered, of which you will receive a written confirmation.