Defer import VAT to your return, not at the border.
Article 23 is a Dutch licence that lets your BV defer import VAT to its periodic VAT return instead of paying it at the border when goods clear customs. It's a timing benefit, not an exemption: the VAT is still due, it's just declared and deducted on the same return rather than paid up front and reclaimed weeks later. It's a €995 ex VAT add-on to any of our packages, and includes help with your EORI application.
What changes at the border.
Without Article 23, VAT on an import is paid at customs and reclaimed later on your return. With it, you don't pay that VAT at the border. It's declared and deducted on the same return instead.
Illustrative, at the 21% standard VAT rate. It's a timing effect, not a saving; actuals depend on your VAT return cycle and how much input VAT you can otherwise reclaim. See the Article 23 calculator for your own import volumes.
How Article 23 works.
You import goods from outside the EU
Standard customs clearance when your shipment arrives in the EU. Customs assess the import VAT due, currently 21% on the customs value for most goods.
You pay VAT to customs in cash
You reclaim it on your next periodic VAT return. That VAT sits with customs for several weeks, depending on your VAT return cycle.
Customs collects nothing at import
The VAT is recorded on your next return as both input (reclaim) and output (liability), netting to zero where you can fully reclaim it.
If you can't fully reclaim input VAT
The portion you can't reclaim becomes payable on your next return. Article 23 doesn't change your total VAT cost, only the cashflow timing.
Who qualifies.
You can apply if
- Your BV is established in the Netherlands with a Dutch VAT number
- You import goods from outside the EU regularly
- You can evidence that with order confirmations, purchase invoices or import documents
- You keep separate records of import VAT and file monthly or quarterly VAT returns
It's not available if
- You use the small business scheme (KOR)
- You import only occasionally, as a one-off, rather than regularly
- You don't have a VAT number yet (apply once it's issued)
While your own licence is pending, many freight forwarders and customs agents act as limited fiscal representatives under their own Article 23 licence, so you can sometimes use theirs in the meantime. We don't arrange or recommend a specific provider; ask your forwarder whether they offer this.
We prepare it, you sign it.
- Prepare the application, which the Belastingdienst calls "Aanvraag Vergunning artikel 23" (form OB 624)
- Put together the evidence pack behind it: your order confirmations, purchase invoices or import documents
- Help with your EORI application, included in this add-on
- Handle reasonable follow-up questions from the Belastingdienst
You sign the application yourself, as the entrepreneur; we can't sign it on your behalf.
Price & timing
Applied for as soon as your VAT number and turnover-tax number are issued. The Belastingdienst decides within eight weeks. All timelines are estimates, not guarantees, and approval isn't guaranteed either.
The Netherlands as an import gateway.
Several EU countries offer some form of import VAT deferral, each with its own conditions and paperwork. Article 23 is well established in the Netherlands, and freight forwarders and customs agents who route non-EU imports through Dutch ports and airports, including Schiphol, are generally familiar with it. That familiarity is part of why non-EU e-commerce sellers and importers often choose the Netherlands as their EU entry point.
Article 23 support: €995 ex VAT, available with any package
Add Article 23 to any of our three packages. We prepare the application and evidence pack and help with your EORI application; you sign the application as the entrepreneur. See the full package prices, what's included, and the VAT note on pricing.
The questions importers ask.
No. Article 23 defers import VAT to your periodic VAT return instead of you paying it at the border. You still declare, and where you're entitled to, reclaim the same VAT; the licence only changes when it moves, not how much.
As soon as your VAT number and turnover-tax number have been issued, which normally follow BV registration. If you already have signed supplier orders, the Belastingdienst advises applying before your first import, so it's worth submitting early.
The Belastingdienst decides within eight weeks. Approval isn't guaranteed; it depends on your evidence of regular importing and your VAT filing position.
Your BV needs to be established in the Netherlands, import goods from outside the EU regularly, keep separate records of import VAT, and file monthly or quarterly VAT returns. Businesses using the small business scheme (KOR) aren't eligible.
Many freight forwarders and customs agents act as limited fiscal representatives under their own Article 23 licence, so you can sometimes use theirs while yours is pending. We don't arrange or recommend a specific provider; your forwarder can tell you if they offer this.
EORI application help is included in the Article 23 add-on. An EORI and an Article 23 licence are separate registrations: the EORI lets you clear goods through customs at all, and Article 23 changes when the VAT on those goods is paid.
Since Brexit, goods arriving from the UK are treated as imports from outside the EU, the same as goods from China or Turkey, so Article 23 applies to them in the same way.
Importing and need the customs side too? Read our EORI number guide, or see the full incorporation sequence in before you start.
Stop pre-financing VAT at the border.
€995 ex VAT, add-on to any package. Applied for as soon as your VAT number is issued; decided within eight weeks; not guaranteed.