‘Breathing room for SMEs with new payment rules’ | To undertake

State Secretary Keijzer (Economic Affairs) has been working on a bill for more than a year to get that payment term from sixty to thirty days and will send that proposal to the House of Representatives on Tuesday. This specifically concerns the accounts of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs who supply large companies. In recent years it took longer and longer before they paid, the average payment term increased from 39 to 41 days.

Corona crisis

And the corona crisis has only made things worse, according to Keijzer. According to her, it has also happened more often since then that a large company extends the payment term on its own.

So there is now the law to set that term to a maximum of thirty days. If a company does not adhere to this, it will have to pay a statutory interest of 8%. SMEs can also report this to the Authority for Consumers & Markets. Keijzer is still examining whether a separate supervisor is needed.

Stuck

“Many entrepreneurs get into trouble if they have to wait a long time for their money,” says the State Secretary. “It is important that they are paid on time and do not agree to an unnecessarily long payment term. Let’s certainly help each other in these times where we can. ”

The payment term of thirty days will soon apply immediately for newly concluded agreements, while for existing deals there will be a transition period of one year.

Chance in crisis

According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, paying on time would help with the financing problems of SMEs. They generally have a smaller financial buffer, which has only shrunk during the corona crisis. Keijzer: “Shortening the payment term gives SMEs more financial breathing space, a better view of the company cash and thus a greater chance of getting through the current economic crisis.”

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