When starting a business in the Netherlands, you should consider the annual publication requirements. In the Netherlands, it is mandatory to submit an annual (abbreviated) overview of your financial statements.
The financial reports or statements must be submitted to the Chamber of Commerce, where they will be made available to the public. The purpose of publishing these financial reports is to inform (potential) creditors, as discussed in our article about the accounting requirements.
A balance sheet and a profit summary will be included in the financial report that will be submitted.
The managing directors must produce and approve the financial statements no later than five months following the end of the fiscal year. Following this, the financial statements must be adopted by the shareholders within two months of the managing directors’ approval. In addition, the business must release its annual report within eight days following the shareholders’ approval or determination of the financial results. As a result, a copy of the financial statements must be submitted to the Chamber of Commerce’s Trade Register.
The shareholders’ meeting has the option to extend the time for financial statement preparation by a maximum of five months. In the Netherlands, the deadline for submitting the publication requirements and publishing will then be 12 months from the conclusion of the financial year.
Please take note that the financial statements approval date by the managing directors will automatically be the date on which the shareholders adopt them if the shareholders are also the entity’s managing directors. Therefore, the deadline for publishing will be five months (or 10 months if the extension period of five months is available) from the end of the financial year.
The requirements for publication differ depending on the size of the company. They can be summarized as follows:
| Document | Micro | Small | Medium | Large |
| Balance sheet and notes | Limited | Condensed | Condensed | Full disclosure |
| Profit and loss account and notes | Not required | Not required | Condensed | Full disclosure |
| Notes and principles of valuation | Not required | Full disclosure | Full disclosure | Full disclosure |
| Management report | Not required | Not required | Full disclosure | Full disclosure |
| Cash flow statements | Not required | Not required | Full disclosure | Full disclosure |
Overview of all filing dates for the publication requirements in the Netherlands
- The board must prepare the annual financial report five months after the end of the financial year.
- If there are special circumstances, the shareholders’ meeting may grant a maximum of six months. You are not required to notify the Chamber of Commerce of any delays.
- All directors sign the completed annual financial report.
- The company has two months to have the documents adopted by the shareholders’ meeting.
- The deadline for filing with the Chamber of Commerce is in 13 months.
- The board must file the annual statement with the Chamber of Commerce eight days after adoption.
