The Dutch Corporate law regulates the organisation and running of all types of companies in Netherlands. The article 2:175 from the Dutch Civil Code or BurgerlijkWetboek is the main source for the legislation of the Dutch companies. The Dutch Company Act is considered to be rather permissive, although it contains several mandatory rules in terms of the company incorporation. When an entrepreneur from abroad comes to Holland and decides to start a business, he must at first analyze the types of companies and choose the structure that best suits his desired activity and interest.
As far as the types of companies are regarded in the Netherlands, the Dutch company act mentions the limited liability company or BV, the joint stock corporation or NV, the general partnership or the limited partnership. Partnerships are not regarded as legal entities as opposed to the Dutch BV and NV. Each type of company has different requirements stipulated by the Dutch company law.
The Dutch Civil Code is in line with the European Community Directives. The Act on the Supervision of the Securities Trade and the Listed Companies Act 1996 regulate several aspects of the companies’ organisation in Netherlands. The Dutch company law mentions that an investigation procedure can be ordered by the Enterprise Chamber in order to verify the honesty of the corporation. A judicial control is not necessary in order for a company to be validated by the Dutch corporate law.
When it comes to the employment law in Holland, the rules of the Dutch labour law are also rather permissive. For instance, it is not mandatory for an employer to provide a written contract of employment and despite this easy hiring aspect, an employee cannot be so easily fired. The dismissal of employees usually takes time, effort and money. The Dutch labour law has many particularities and the system is quite flexible in terms of workforce.
Partner: Holland Company Registration
