bedrijfsunitnummers

A bedrijfsunitnummer is a unique identifier used in the Netherlands to distinguish individual operational units within a larger company structure for tax and regulatory purposes. The Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) assigns one bedrijfsunitnummer to each unit that has separate financial accounting or that operates in distinct business segments.

The number is usually formatted as the company’s registration number followed by a hyphen and a four‑digit unit code. For example, a legal entity registered with the number 123456789 might have the units 123456789-0001 and 123456789-0002. The first part identifies the parent company, while the suffix distinguishes the specific unit. A single bedrijfsunitnummer can be used for taxation, invoicing, and statutory reporting related to that unit alone.

Companies with multiple bedrijfsunitnummers must maintain separate bookkeeping for each unit and file distinct tax returns where applicable. The requirement to register a bedrijfsunitnummer arises when a company decides to segregate its operations for legal or tax reasons, such as when one part of the business is established as a new sub‑entity under the parent company or when different geographic branches are treated as independent units for tax purposes.

The assignment of a bedrijfsunitnummer is permanent; the code does not change unless the parent company itself dissolves or re‑registers. Businesses are advised to keep a clear mapping between their internal unit structure and the assigned nummers to avoid errors during audits and to comply with Dutch corporate and tax legislation.