Administrative obligations

Right to exemption from administrative obligations

You are entitled to an exemption from administrative obligations if you meet the following conditions:

• You have a sole proprietorship or the business is a partnership of natural persons, e.g. a partnership, general partnership or a husband-wife firm, and you are established in the Caribbean Netherlands; and
• Your turnover (excluding ABB) per calendar year is less than USD 10,000; and
• You only provide services and/or untaxed deliveries; and
• You keep the administrative records in a transparent manner.

To qualify for an exemption from administrative obligations, submit a written request (the exemption request can be downloaded here) to B/CN. After assessment, you receive a decision informing you whether or not you qualify for exemption from the ABB.

What requirements must the administration meet?

The entrepreneur must keep an administration in which:

• records are kept of the deliveries and services provided by and to it;
• records are kept of the import and export of goods undertaken by it;
• records are kept of other data relevant to the levy of the ABB;
• daily records are kept of the expenditure and income in respect of the deliveries and services provided to and by it;
• its accounts relating to turnover are kept in such a clear and transparent manner that it can be established that the tax is correctly levied and the ABB due for a given tax period can be determined;
• copies are kept of invoices issued by and to it.

Hence, an administration must be maintained regularly and records must be kept so that you are able to file the required returns in a timely manner and B/CN has sufficient opportunities to check the accuracy of the returns. If the administration does not meet the requirements, then it may result in B/CN having to estimate the amount of tax due.

Please note! You are required to retain your administration for seven years. All the data you record about your business belong to your administration. This includes (digital) diaries, correspondence, email traffic, agreements, etc. You must always retain the so-called basic data of your administration for seven years.

Is issuing an invoice mandatory?

For the purposes of the ABB, entrepreneurs are required to issue invoices to third parties for their deliveries of goods and/or the provision of services to the said third parties. You must then retain a copy of the issued invoice in your administration.

You must issue the invoice no later than 15 days after the month in which the delivery and/or the service was performed. If you agree with the purchasing entrepreneur that the fee is going to be paid in advance, or in instalments, then you must prepare and issue an invoice each time a (partial) payment is made.

What requirements must an invoice meet?

The invoice requirements depend on the amount charged on the invoice. If the invoice amount exceeds USD 5,000 in the event of a delivery of goods and/or exceeds USD 200 in the event of the provision of a service, more requirements are applicable to the invoice. If the invoice amount in the case of deliveries is less than USD 5,000 and/or in the case of the provision of a service is less than USD 200 then issuing  a simplified invoice is enough. Below are the requirements of the invoice and those of the simplified invoice.

The following information must be included on the invoice:

• the (company) name, the address details and the registration number (crib number) of the entrepreneur delivering the performance;
• the (company) name and the registration number (crib number) of the buyer of the performance;
• a clear description of the nature and the quantity of the goods delivered;
• a clear description of the activity or service provided;
• the date on which the delivery, the activity or the service is provided;
• a consecutive invoice number and a date;
• the fee and, if ABB is due on the performance, the ABB amount.

The following information must be included on the simplified invoice:

• the (company) name and the address details of the entrepreneur delivering the performance;
• a clear description of the nature and the quantity of the goods delivered;
• a clear description of the activity or service provided;
• the date on which the delivery, the activity or the service is provided;
• a consecutive invoice number and a date;
• the fee and, if ABB is due on the performance, the ABB amount.