Incorporation of Dutch BV Company Simplified

The Dutch BV, or the Besloten Vennootschap, is the equivalent of a limited liability company in the US. The BV is the common type of company registered in Netherlands and from this year, it will be easier for an interested party to register a new BV company in the country. The newly introduced incorporation procedure also costs lesser.

The steps in incorporation of a new BV company in Netherlands can be broadly classified as:

1. Collection of necessary details and copies of documents such as passport
2. Carrying out the necessary public notary procedures
3. Registering at trade and tax regulation authorities

A BV in Netherlands needs to be registered with one or more founders who can be institutions or individuals. The only mandatory requirement for validity of a BV company in Netherlands is the registration of an address. In the registration procedure, that involves drafting of the deed of incorporation and articles of association, the following steps are involved:

• Blocking the company’s name through reservation
• Submission of the deed of incorporation and article of association
• Getting a registration number from the Commercial registrar
• Registering with tax and social security authorities

The documents to be submitted for registration of a BV company need to have certain information about the shareholders, the registered address, the management board, and the authorized share capital. A brief description of the scope of activities and operations of the registered company’s business also need to be included in the incorporation documents.

The simplified procedure of a BV company’s incorporation is highlighted by the following facts:

• An individual need not visit Netherlands to incorporate this form of a company.
• As Netherlands is open to foreign investment, its laws allow anyone from even a different company to become a shareholder in a Dutch company.
• Tax benefits, access to local market and transportation network of the country is available as soon as a foreign entity registers a company in the country.
• A company with foreign shareholders can operate a bank account in Netherlands with the same privileges as a local bank account holder.
  

Under the new company law, one of the shareholders can also be the newly registered company’s manager. One of the major advantages of registering this form of company is that there is no restriction of minimum share capital.