21 February 2017

Would you like to position your business (further) on the international market, but you need fiscal or legal support to do so? With a knowledge voucher it is possible to obtain a compensation for hiring an international lawyer, tax specialist or tax advisor.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs helps businesses to improve their position on the international market with their knowledge vouchers policy. National Entrepreneurial Netherlands ('RVO' - Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland) is already executing the scheme.

It is possible to request a knowledge voucher for the following examples:

• assessment of existing contracts, or drawing up new contracts;
• use of general terms and conditions for export transactions;
• registration of a brand;
• advice regarding tax rates and double taxation;
• creating an international entity;
• other legal or fiscal knowledge about durable internationalisation.

The services that the voucher is for, do not meet a permanent or periodical need of the requester of the voucher. They are also not part of the usual service provision for the requester of the voucher, such as routine tax advice, usual legal advice or advertising.

For whom?

The knowledge voucher is for Dutch SME's with (any) international experience, which have oriented themselves on a specific international market before the request. One can see if their company is an SME by taking the SME test.

Value knowledge voucher and budget

With the voucher, a compensation of 50% of the costs can be obtained. Up to a maximum of € 2,500 excluding VAT. This is equal to about 40 hours of advice. Only 1 voucher is given per SME.

The budget for the knowledge vouchers in 2016 was € 0,5 million.

External expert

The external expert that is hired should meet the following demands:

• the expert works for a consulting agency with legal and/or fiscal knowledge, with at least 5 employees;
• the expert has more than 5 years of experience in the area of consultation regarding legal and/or fiscal issues in the area of international enterprises;
• the expert has at least HBO work experience and intellectual credentials.

Request a knowledge voucher

The knowledge voucher can be requested through mijn.rvo.nl. RVO.nl will process requests in the order that they are received. The date of receipt is the date on which the request was fully submitted. After receipt, RVO.nl will assess your request and will send a decision within 13 weeks.

Upon request of the knowledge voucher, you should indicate who the legal and/or fiscal expert is and which activities this expert will perform. There are no additional limitations for sectors and/or countries. You will submit a quotation and CV of the external expert. RVO.nl would like to see a specification of the services to be provided with the costs connected to these in the quotation. The quotation is no older than three months.

Validity

A voucher is valid for 6 months. The activities for which the voucher is given should take place within this period. The validity may be extended once upon request for a period of 6 months. A voucher cannot be tranferred.

After the activities

After submitting the end report, the voucher is given to the advisor as proof of the service provided. The advisor will cash the knowledge voucher at RVO.nl. You will pay 50% of the costs to the advisor, no more than € 2,500 excluding VAT.

Should you have further questions on the above or otherwise please contact us via e-mail or call us at our office in Amsterdam at number + 31 20 570 9440 or our office in Rotterdam at number + 31 10 201 0466.