levertaken

Levertaken is a term used in Dutch-language business contexts to describe the moment at which goods or deliverables are handed over from a seller to a buyer and formally accepted. The concept is closely tied to the transfer of ownership and risk, and it is often specified in procurement, IT delivery, and project-management contracts. In practice, levertaken is defined by agreed acceptance criteria, a test protocol, and a formal acceptance document that absolves the seller from further performance obligations except for any warranties that remain in force.

Etymology and usage have made levertaken somewhat of a contract-specific term rather than a broadly standardized phrase. It is sometimes used interchangeably with terms such as delivery, transfer of title, or acceptance, though its emphasis is on the moment of formal acceptance by the buyer rather than merely the physical delivery of goods. In many contexts, especially in construction and engineering, the more common term for a similar concept is oplevering, which denotes project completion and handover; levertaken can be preferred when the focus is on the handover of discrete deliverables within a larger program.

Legal and practical implications of levertaken include the transfer of risk, the triggering of payment milestones, and the start of warranty or defect-liability periods as defined in the contract. Acceptance testing, inspection rights, and specified acceptance criteria are central to determining whether levertaken has occurred.

See also: delivery, acceptance testing, risk transfer, oplevering.