Last updated: 07-09-2009

Doing business in The Netherlands - Frequent used forms of business in The Netherlands

LEGAL CHARACTERISTICS	B.V.	N.V.	Coop	Partnership	Foundation

Separate legal entity	yes	yes	Yes	no	yes

Formal incorporation	notary public	notary public	notary public	by agreement	notary public

Incorporation period	4-6 weeks	4-6 weeks	per direct	per direct	p.m.

Capital divided into shares	yes	yes	n.a. (members)	yes	no

Minimum capital	€ 18.000	€ 45.000	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.

Liability shareholders/partners	restricted to the amount of issued and paid up capital	restricted to the amount of issued and paid up capital	Members are either full / limited or totally excluded, depending on the form of the COOP	full liability at level general partners	n.a.

Governing bodies	General meeting of shareholders and a management board	General meeting of shareholders and a management board	General meeting of members and a management board	Depends on partnership agreement	management board

General meeting of shareholders	at least once per year	at least once per year	Depends on articles	n.a.	n.a.

Transferability of shares	restricted	no restrictions (bearer shares), entity used for public offerings	Depends on articles	Depends on partnership agreement	n.a.

Registration with chamber of commerce	yes	yes	Yes	yes	depends of the nature and volume of the activities

Preparation of financial statements	compulsory	compulsory	Yes	n.a.	depends of the nature and volume of the activities

Filing of financial statements with Chamber of Commerce	compulsory	compulsory	Yes	n.a.	depends of the nature and volume of the activities

Obligatory audit	Depending on volume of the business	Yes, if stock listed. Otherwise depending on volume of the business	Depending on the volume of the business	n.a.	n.a.