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Company Searches International provides Business Reports on all businesses registered in the Netherlands and Financial Reports on all companies required to file.
Full Company Name and Address are required to undertake a search, as companies file at one of the 32 local Chambers of Commerce.
Financial Information
- From an in-house library which we can check at the time of order. We have a number of quoted company annual reports in house which may be in English.
- We can apply to the Chamber of Commerce in The Netherlands for the full accounts. These are usually supplied in English but if supplied in Dutch we are able to provide a translation sheet of key accounting term
Business Reports
These are general company profiles based on the most up to date information available at local official registries and other sources. They are always available in English, on a three speed service.
Contents of a Business Report:
Identity, Legal Status & History
- Legal Form
- Date & Place of Foundation
- Registration Number
- Place of Registration
Ownership & Management
- Issued/Paid-Up Share Capital (But NOT Shareholders as this is not public information in the Netherlands)
- Unless the company is a 100% owned by an individual or entity eg. holding company would appear in this case.
- Directors
Activities & Operations
- Business Activities
- Number of Staff
- Real Estate (whether owned or mortgaged)
- Payments
- Branches
- Associated Companies
Financial & Public Record Information
- Turnover Figure for the last 3 years
- Extracts from lastest Assets & Liabilities
A Summary & Credit Opinion
- Credit in Dutch Guilders given as an actual figure, as per Company's credit capacity for the year, not for one particular creditor.
- Any Bankruptcies
- Bankers & Accountant's Name & Town
Principal Business Types
Naamloze Vennootschap (NV)
Corporation - Can be quoted. Required to have a minimum share capital of f1 100,000 fully paid up. Authorised to issue bearer shares.
Besloten Vennootschap met beperkte Aanspraklijkheid (BV)
Private limited Company. A minimum share capital of f1 40,000 fully subscribed is demanded by law. Can only issue registered shares. Most private companies are BV.
Commanditaire Vennootschap (CV)
Limited partnership with one or more general partners and one or more limited partners. Provided that the limited partners do not engage in the actual business of the CV, their liability amounts only to the extent of the nominal value of their participation, including any reserves, in the partnership.
Cooperatieve Vereniging
Cooperative society
Onderlinge Waarborgmaatschappijeh (OW)
Mutual Insurance Company
Vennootschap onder Firma (vof)
General Partnership. The partners are jointly and severally liable for the entire
obligations and debts of the partnership. The names and addresses of the partners, business address and nature of business must be registered with the Trade Register of the local Chamber of Commerce. There is no restriction of the nationality of the
partners.
Sole Trader
A sole trader has to register his name, address, business address and the nature of his business with the Trade Register of the local Chamber of Commerce. The sole trader is severally liable for all obligations arising from his business.
NOTES
Companies may form a joint venture in the form of one of the types of partnerships. If the role of a company in a joint venture is purely that of financier, then a CV will normally be chosen and the company will enter the partnership as a limited partner with the advantage of having its liability limited to its participation.
Company Accounts Filing Requirements
No central registry:
Every business must register with the local Chamber of Commerce
NVs must file their annual financial statements with the Chamber's registry to include:-
- directors' report
- balance sheet
- profit & loss account
- notes to accounts
- auditor's report
These records are open to public inspection.
Filing Exemptions
BVs are subject to different requirements. Small companies do not need to have their accounts audited (unless involved in banking or insurance) and are only obliged to file an abridged balance sheet and notes. They are classed as companies meeting at least two of the following criteria in two consecutive accounting years:-
- turnover of under fl 6 million
- balance sheet total not exceeding fl 3 million
- less than 50 employees on average during the accounting year
Medium-sized BVs must also file a profit & loss statement. Both profit & loss, and balance sheet must be audited. Medium-sized is defined as meeting at least two of the following criteria in two consecutive accounting years:-
- turnover less than fl 24 million
- balance sheet total of more than fl 50 million
- less than 250 employees on average during accounting year
BVs larger than this must file directors' and auditor's reports.
If a company (whether it is a BV or an NV) has a parent company, the parent can file a declaration of liability for its subsidiaries. This means the subsidiaries do not have to file accounts in their own right and can file their parents accounts if they wish.
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