Rules of Play
- The temporary exemption only applies to transactions of members of Royal FloraHolland, who:
- deliver directly to a customer located outside the SEPA zone and
- whenever the transaction cannot be handled through Royal FloraHolland.
- The temporary exemption shall be valid for the period from 2021 up untill 31 December 2023; with the possibility of extension (after approval by the Members' Council).
- Only existing NAT flows, that have already been specified by the member to Royal FloraHolland are exempt.
- New NAT flows will only receive exemption based on verifiable production expansions.
- Members have to request exemption with Royal FloraHolland personally, and provide complete transparency with regards to their NAT flows (this applies to every member). The member still provides their complete NAT (with and without exemption), specified per buyer.
- Members, together with Royal FloraHolland, have an obligation to perform to the best of their ability to ensure buyers can make payments through Royal FloraHolland. This is reflected by the obligation of members to pass on the information of the buyer to Royal FloraHolland. Furthermore, Royal FloraHolland is obligated to, together with members, ensure that the transactions can be handled through Royal FloraHolland in the end.
- Members, who received exemption, annually deliver an accountants report with customer specifications. Small buyers (< € 10.000 annually for the relevant grower-buyer combination) can be balanced.
- For trade with buyers who do not conform to the customer acceptance policy of Royal FloraHolland, exemption will not be granted.
- The member will only receive exemption from payment of the NAT basic commission (including sliding sale discount) and BBH levy. There is no exemption from the capital contribution.
- Royal FloraHolland expressly reserves all rights, including the right to amend and/or cancel the policy and/or the terms and conditions for the temporary exemption at all times. If and to the extent that the aforementioned policy and/or the aforementioned terms and conditions are not met in specific cases, Royal FloraHolland reserves the right to act in the spirit of the policy and/or terms and conditions.
Which trade does and does not fall under this?
Below, you can find a few examples of trade that does or does not fall under the temporary exemption. Are you not sure if you are eligible? Please contact your account manager.
| Example | Buyer and SEPA zone | Exemption | Explanation or conditions |
| (Dutch) grower supplies through a German grower to a customer in Turkey. | Inside | No | German grower is located within the SEPA zone and can purchase through us. |
| Grower supplies, for example, a Russian, Australian or North American buyer directly. | Outside | Yes | On the condition that it already is a specified NAT. This will be checked through the NAT share. |
| Grower supplies a buyer in England directly. | Inside | No | England is part of the SEPA zone. |
| Israeli grower puts their product on the local Israeli market. | Outside | Yes | On the condition that it already is a specified NAT. This will be checked through the NAT share. |
| African grower starts to supply a Dutch exporter through Dubai (intermediary construction), starting from 2021. | Outside | No | To prevent shortcuts, this is checked through the NAT share. |
Which countries fall within and outside the SEPA zone?
SEPA stands for Single Euro Payments Area. SEPA is the standard payment service for transactions within Europe, with 36 participating countries. You can find an up to date overview here.
How long will the exemption apply?
This is a temporary exemption from 2021 up untill 31 December 2023 for non-supported trade routes outside the SEPA zone. As soon as Royal FloraHolland does offer services on a trade route in 2022 or 2023, such as settling, then the exemption for that trade route will be discontinued. The grower will then pay NAT. It therefore complies with the settlement obligation and has become a regular transaction. That is already the case for the route Kenia - Saudi Arabia.
How to obtain this exemption?
You have to request the exemption prior to the NAT transactions on the trade route per buyer with Royal FloraHolland through the request form. You can ask your account manager or the Customer Contact Center for this request form. If you request exemption, you have to provide the NAT of the preceding year. In the exemption request you fill out the following:
- Information of the grower and the buyer
- Reason for the request
- The expected volume and turnover
- Since when this NAT flow exists.
When should you request exemption?
You have to request the exemption prior to the NAT transactions. The year 2021 is viewed as a start-up period. You can still request the exemption retroactively until 1 January 2021. As of 1 July 2021, you always have to request the exemption in advance. As of 2022 exemption will not be granted retroactively from that moment. From 2022 onwards, you must also apply for an extension of the scheme if you have had an exemption for 2021. You will be informed about this by your account manager.
What happens after your request?
Royal FloraHolland will test if the buyer is located outside the SEPA zone, not able to settle through Royal FloraHolland and adheres to our customer acceptance policy. For trade with buyers who do not conform to our customer acceptance policy, exemption will not be granted.
Royal FloraHolland will also compare the NAT share (NAT with and without exemption) to previous years. In case of a strong increase of the NAT share or a strong decrease of the total company turnover of Royal FloraHolland, the exemption is discontinued, unless the grower can hand over acceptable and verifiable arguments (for example: replanting, expansion). Upon completion of the testing, you will be informed if your request has been approved or denied.