It's possible to have a Dutch company without a VAT number, but your trading options are extremely limited. If market surveillance compliance is your only consideration, then it may be enough. However, the possibility to take full advantage of the Single Market, with cross-border VAT simplification, is one of the main advantages of having your own EU entity, so normally you’ll want to be VAT registered, and for most goods and services it’s an obligation. Dutch VAT rates are in line with the European Union's VAT Directive, namely that the standard VAT rate must be 15% or higher. In the Netherlands the standard rate is 21%. Two additional rates apply to the provision of specific goods and/or services namely the 9% rate and the 0% rate (zero rate).

Since Brexit, the first sign that your business is up and running in the EU is an EU domain name. It signals to potential clients that you’re open for business on the EU market, and that you have an established presence there. Eligibility for a .eu domain name is one of the advantages of having an EU company. For those wanting to renew or buy top-level dot EU (.eu) domain names, we've got it covered!

If your business is importing or exporting goods to or from the EU, the simple answer is yes, whether you establish an EU company or not. Both the sender and receiving parties must have an EORI number. Crucially, if you have an EU company in The Netherlands you will have a Dutch EORI number, and therefore a number of one the EU Member States, as opposed to a British one, which of course no longer is.

Of course! Although most of our clients prefer to continue trading with their current domain name and add an EU domain name unless they are specifically targeting the Dutch market.

The EORI number is the “Economic Operators Registration and Identification” number. As part of administrative simplification in the EU, there is now a single identification number for businesses across the EU. The EORI number consists of two parts: the country code of the issuing Member State followed by a code or number that is unique in the Member State. EORI numbers for England, Scotland and Wales start with “GB”, Northern Ireland EORI numbers start “XI”, and Dutch EORI numbers start with “NL”.