Potential loss of fraud prevention and legal protection when establishing a private limited company without a notary

Eliminating the mandatory role of a notary in establishing a private limited company (BV) could result in a loss of fraud prevention, legal certainty, legal protection, and information. This is according to the report "Establishing without detours," which State Secretary Mona Keijzer of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) submitted to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The report presents several scenarios, with and without a notary, for simplifying the establishment of a private limited company (BV). The State Secretary intends to translate these into several policy options. Among other things, the report examines the role of the notary in establishing a BV. The report's authors, Vino Timmerman and Christiaan Stokkermans, write: "It seems plausible that founders with fraudulent intentions will avoid the notary if they don't play a mandatory role in establishing a BV."

Consultation
The impetus for this research is the announcement in the SME action plan (pdf) to investigate whether and how the incorporation of a private limited company (BV) can be simplified. According to the researchers, digitalization and fraud prevention are important game changers for the incorporation procedure. Keijzer plans to consult stakeholders on several policy options soon, including through an online consultation. She hopes to inform the House of Representatives of a policy position this fall.