Guarantees for the Netherlands and beyond

In the construction and capital goods sector, various types of guarantees are used for the execution of projects and the delivery of goods.

We offer:

• Letters of intent / bid bonds
• Tender guarantees / tender bonds
• Performance guarantees / performance bonds
• (5%) completion guarantees
• Down payment guarantees, including land purchase guarantees
• Advance payment guarantees / advance payment bonds
• Maintenance guarantees / maintenance or warranty bonds

Transport companies, freight forwarders, customs agents, companies with a duty-free warehouse, and those in the importing and exporting business often need to provide guarantees related to legislation from Dutch and European authorities or the European Union.

Customs guarantees

These are guarantees regarding the deferral of VAT and import duties upon import (monthly payments), preparation of community documents, exemption from duties, storage of goods in customs warehouses and excise warehouses and port fees.

Fiscal representative

Are you the fiscal representative of a foreign company? Then you must comply with the (local) tax obligations on behalf of this company. These may involve taxable supplies in the Netherlands, intra-community transactions, and imports from non-EU countries. As a fiscal representative, you will file VAT returns. You are also jointly liable for the amount of the security (the bank guarantee) for the VAT that the foreign company must pay to the tax authorities.

Liberty can support your company throughout all phases of a project, providing peace of mind.

Companies that produce capital goods, ranging from machinery in the food sector to metalworking, often require guarantees to perform their work. After signing an order, engineers get to work creating drawings. To finance this, a down payment is necessary, which is obtained after providing an advance payment guarantee. Additionally, the contractual obligation to eventually deliver (including various milestones) must be covered by a guarantee – the performance bond. After delivery and installation, there is usually a maintenance period during which minor defects must be resolved. To ensure this happens, a client requests a maintenance bond.

The European Union provides refunds for the export of agricultural products to countries outside the EU. In the Netherlands, this scheme is administered by various product boards. To receive refunds in advance, guarantees are required. This also occurs conversely for the import of agricultural products.

Businesses can choose how they want to cover their disability obligations (WGA risk). Every spring and autumn, companies make this choice, either through the public scheme or via a private insurer.

Thanks to Liberty Mutual Surety, there is a third option for managing WGA risk – fully self-insuring the risk.

Larger employers who no longer wish to insure their employees against disability through the public scheme or a private insurer can take on the responsibility for paying WGA benefits and reintegration costs themselves. Many companies prefer to cover these costs themselves rather than paying premiums to the UWV (Employee Insurance Agency) or an insurer.

Liberty Mutual Surety is a market leader in WGA guarantees and has been supporting Dutch companies that are WGA self-insurer for over 15 years. We work closely with specialized intermediaries and advisors in the field of employee benefits. Liberty serves the entire market in the Netherlands, from commercial companies to organizations in the healthcare sector and education.

To become a self-insurer, an employer must provide a guarantee to the Tax Authority from a financial institution that will take over the benefit obligations when the company is no longer able to do so.

For companies that Liberty Mutual Surety finds financially strong enough, we are willing to provide such a guarantee, allowing you to truly become a self-insurer.

You can opt to become a self-insurer twice a year (on July 1 and January 1). However, you must submit your application to the Tax Authority at least 13 weeks in advance (therefore, by April 1 and October 1). With your application, you must be able to provide a WGA guarantee.

The only requirement is that your company has a payroll of at least €10 million, so that we can make a proper assessment of the potential future WGA influx.

Liberty Mutual Surety also provides other guarantees, such as:

• Guarantees for cross-border waste transport within Europe (so-called EVOA guarantee)
• Various payment guarantees, for example, towards fixed suppliers of goods such as raw materials, energy, or for the purchase of land for the development of housing
• Replacement of a Standby Letter of Credit (SBLC), for example, for a captive (deductible guarantee) or clearing house (traders)
• Rental guarantees
• Process guarantees (tax) litigation bonds – these guarantees are issued pending a court ruling towards the beneficiary of the claim, for example, towards the European Commission or the Brazilian government
• ICE future guarantees, for example, for the storage of coffee and cocoa
• Decommissioning guarantees for obligations concerning the environment, such as in offshore and oil- and gas contracts
• Liability for underground storage