The Dutch article 23 permit lets an importer avoid paying import VAT at clearance and instead declare it in its own VAT return, deducting it as input tax on the same return. Where there is a full right of deduction, the cash effect is nil. This is not the same thing as procedure 42.
How it works step by step
In the default case the importer pays VAT at clearance alongside duty, then recovers it in the return as input tax. The money is tied up for the whole cycle of the return, which is noticeable on a machine worth several hundred thousand zloty. With an article 23 permit that step disappears: the Dutch authority states plainly that with such a permit no VAT has to be paid to customs, and that where there is a right of deduction the same tax can be deducted as input tax in the return, so on balance no VAT is paid on that import.
Conditions for the permit
- The entrepreneur lives in the Netherlands or is established there.
- They import goods from outside the EU regularly.
- They keep separate records from which the import VAT payable is readily apparent.
- The permit rules out annual returns: a business currently filing annually receives a letter moving it to quarterly returns.
- The application is made in writing to the tax office, and a decision follows within eight weeks.
What if I am not established in the Netherlands
This is the crux for a Polish buyer. The establishment condition rules out a company from Kielce or Legnica obtaining the permit in its own right. The Dutch authority does, however, provide two routes for businesses not established there. Where the business is represented by a general fiscal representative, that person can apply for an article 23 permit on its behalf. Where it is represented by a limited fiscal representative, the business may be able to use that representative's own article 23 permit. In the second case the authority notes that a business using a limited fiscal representative does not need to register itself, because the representative declares the VAT in the return for the period and deducts it as input tax on the same return.
How this differs from procedure 42
The two mechanisms are often confused, and they solve different problems. Under procedure 42 no tax arises in the country of importation at all, because the import is exempt under Article 143(1)(d) of Directive 2006/112/EC and the tax point moves to the country of destination, where the buyer reports an intra-Community acquisition. Under an article 23 permit Dutch VAT does arise, it simply is not collected at the border: it is settled in the Dutch return. The practical conclusion is straightforward. If the machine runs straight from the port to Poland, procedure 42 is usually the right path, as described in procedure 42 when importing a machine from the UK. If the machine stays in the Netherlands, for servicing or resale, article 23 comes into play.
What it does not solve
The permit concerns tax, not duty. Import duty is based on the Common Customs Tariff and falls due regardless of how VAT is settled. Nor does it change tariff classification, customs value or the origin of the machine. Whether the importer has any right to deduct import VAT is a separate question: in Case C-187/14 DSV Road the Court of Justice held that the rules do not preclude excluding deduction for a carrier that is neither the importer nor the owner of the goods, because the value of the goods carried does not form part of its own costs. Who counts as the importer in a given arrangement is unpacked in who is the importer when a machine is bought through an agent.
Rates and thresholds
This article deliberately gives no tax rates or monetary thresholds. Rates change, and categories of goods can be treated differently: the Dutch authority notes that for some goods listed in Annex A to the implementing decree on turnover tax, import VAT must always be declared in the VAT return. The rate applicable to a particular machine, and the current state of the rules, must be confirmed with your own adviser or directly with the authority before clearance, not from an article on the internet. The same holds for the duty rate, which follows from the tariff code, as covered in the customs tariff code.
Our part in it
We organise and run clearance on both sides as part of the job, working with our regular customs agencies, and it is the agency that sets the settlement route on the Dutch side together with the client. We do not register clients for VAT in the Netherlands, we do not act as anyone's fiscal representative, and we do not give tax advice. What we do say plainly is which route requires what, so the buyer has time to put the formalities in place before bidding. On auction machines the removal deadlines from the yard are often short, and it is usually those deadlines, not the rules, that decide which route is realistic.
Sources
- Belastingdienst: applying for an article 23 permit, conditions and timing (accessed 2026-08-20)
- Belastingdienst: the reverse charge on imports from outside the EU (accessed 2026-08-20)
- Court of Justice of the EU: judgment in Case C-187/14 DSV Road (accessed 2026-08-20)
Want to know which settlement route fits your purchase? Describe the machine, the country of clearance and the delivery address in the contact form and we will set out what has to be arranged before collection from the yard. This text is general information, not tax advice: confirm the specific treatment with your own adviser.
