ESL Returns and IPC Declaration in the Netherlands
Due date and frequency of Dutch ESL returns
The frequency of filing depends on whether you make IC-supplies of goods or IC-supplies of services. Monthly ESL are due when the value of IC-supplies of goods exceeds €50,000 in the current or any of the previous quarters. If you are only supplying IC-services, you will file your ESL on a quarterly basis.
ESL returns may also be filed on an annual basis. In order to file ESL returns annually, companies must submit an application to the Dutch tax authorities and meet all relevant requirements. These requirements are available in the website of the Dutch tax authorities.
Frequency of filing rules
More information about the frequency of filing ESL returns is available in English at the tax authorities’ website. The acquisitions are not taken into account when calculating the thresholds for the frequency of filing Dutch ESL returns.
Dutch nil and corrective ESL returns
If there are no intra-Community transactions to be reported in a given period, a nil ESL is NOT due.
Corrective ESL returns in the Netherlands are prepared and submitted electronically by ticking the option 2 in the form. The corrective return is completed differently depending on the type of content corrected. If the value is being corrected, you only add the full details of the line initially reported and a + or a – in the value field to bring the amount to the correct value. If the VAT number or name needs to be corrected, you enter the full details initially reported and then a – in the value box to bring the amount down to 0. Then you add a new line with the correct VAT number and amount.
Penalties for late Dutch ESL returns
In case a company does not file an ESL return in the Netherlands, the penalty will depend on the number of times the return has been submitted late in the previous two years. The first time the return is filed late, a fixed penalty of €132 is charged. The second and third time that the ESL is filed late, €264 penalty applies, and the fourth and following times, a penalty of €1,320 will be assessed. The maximum penalty imposed may be up to EUR 5,278 in cases of absolute lack of submission or fraud.
