Many of our forklifts go to traders, machinery dealers and forklift dealers, in the Netherlands and abroad. Buying the machine is the easy part. VAT, transport and paperwork are where the time goes. Below is the order in which we handle a sale to a foreign business, with what you can expect from us and what you arrange yourself.
Step 1: choose the machine and check it first
Start with the machine data: make, model, year of manufacture, operating hours and serial number. Ask for the dimensions and weight too, because they decide how it can be transported. We sell used machines as trade goods, in the condition they are in. What we know about maintenance and work carried out, we discuss for each machine.
You can view and test a machine by appointment in Beek. You are welcome to bring your own expert or an independent inspection company beforehand. If you would like an additional technical inspection, we can arrange one with an outside party by agreement.
If the machine will be used in another country, check for yourself that it meets the technical requirements there. Under article 7.7 of our general terms and conditions (Dutch text), we are not responsible for that.
Step 2: your company details and VAT number
We sell to businesses. For the quotation we need your full company details and a valid VAT identification number, which we check in VIES, the European Commission's validation system. For a first purchase, our terms (article 8.3) also ask for a recent extract from the trade register showing who may sign on behalf of your company. [CONTROLEREN met klant: welk document vraagt u van buitenlandse kopers als equivalent van het KvK-uittreksel]
Step 3: VAT
Within the EU
If you are a business registered for VAT in another EU country and the machine goes to another member state, the sale can be zero-rated as an intra-Community supply. That only applies when every legal condition is met. The main ones: your VAT number is valid, and it can be shown that the machine left the Netherlands for another member state.
So an invoice at 0% VAT with your VAT number on it is not enough. A stamp or signature on that invoice is not enough either. There has to be proof of transport, such as the carrier's transport documents. If we arrange transport, we hold those documents ourselves. If you collect the machine or send your own carrier, we agree beforehand which documents you will send us. [CONTROLEREN bij Belastingdienst: voorwaarden 0% intracommunautaire levering, vooral bewijs bij afhalen door de koper]
Outside the EU
For a destination outside the EU, we issue the sales invoice and coordinate the export documentation. Depending on the destination and what we agree, an export declaration can be arranged. For the zero rate, it must be shown that the machine left the EU, for example with the export declaration and the confirmation of exit.
Import duties, local taxes and permits in the country of destination are your responsibility. Agree on them in advance with your carrier or freight forwarder, who will know the rules at your border better than we do.
Step 4: transport
Delivery is ex works from our yard in Beek. From there you have two options. You arrange a carrier and collect the machine. Or we organise transport on request through an external, professional carrier.
The cost depends on the country, the distance, the type of machine, its weight and dimensions, and the loading and unloading facilities at your end. That is why there are no fixed rates per region. You receive a separate transport quotation for each request.
What buyers often underestimate is unloading. A 4-tonne forklift does not simply drive off a trailer. Check whether there is a loading dock, a ramp or a crane at the destination, and send us the dimensions of the access.
Risk passes on the day of delivery. From then on the machine is at the buyer's risk, also when we arrange transport, so transport insurance is a sensible idea.
Step 5: payment
Payment is by bank transfer. For international sales we prefer payment in advance. The full amount must have reached our account before the machine is collected or released for transport. Until then, the machine remains our property.
Step 6: collection and inspection
If you collect the machine, you inspect it on the day of delivery at our yard, as article 9 of our terms requires. If it is delivered to you, you have five days. Report visible defects in writing straight away.
Which documents come with the machine
That depends on the machine and on the documentation available. We tell you in advance what there is and what there is not. Possible documents are:
- the purchase invoice;
- a CE or EU declaration of conformity, if available;
- any inspection records that exist;
- the machine data with serial number;
- export and transport documents, where applicable.
Checklist for the buyer
- Machine data checked: model, year, operating hours, serial number.
- Dimensions and weight passed on to the carrier.
- Loading and unloading facilities at the destination known.
- Full company details and VAT number sent.
- Agreed who arranges transport and which transport documents we will receive.
- For exports outside the EU: import rules and duties checked with your forwarder.
- Payment sent in time, allowing for your bank's processing time.
- Collection date and time agreed with us.
Next steps
Browse the used machines in our stock or the overview of forklifts and industrial machines. We often have more than is shown online. Get in touch with the type you are looking for, the destination and how you would like it transported. Our general rules for collection, transport and VAT are also on the Delivery and export page.
