FLORAHOLLAND (13 December 2010) - The cooperated auction is based on the principle that members market their entire production through the auction system, thus creating a strong marketplace by concentration of supply (and demand).
In certain cases the sales cannot be realized via the auction’s administration (for example – when the buyer is a foreigner that cannot get a buyer status at the auction, since he/she cannot provide the financial securities from a Dutch bank, etc.). In such cases the member is obliged to declare these ‘non auction’ sales (NAT) to the auction, and pay the basic commission on this turnover.
So far, members got every April a request from FloraHolland to declare their ‘non-auction turnover’ in the previous year. Since not every member sends this declaration immediately, it takes a lot of effort by the account managers to remind them to do so. Sometimes it took over a year.
Starting in 2012, growers will have to declare NAT sales of the previous within the first month of the following year. If they do not submit the information in time, they risk additional fee will be extra 0.4% on top of the normal 1.4% basic commission, with a ceiling of maximal € 2,500. In order to speed up the process, FloraHolland’s board decided to create a system, by which members can declare BVO at real time.
Besides, FloraHolland will intensify the checks done by the external auditor. Of about 40 members the declaration of NAT sales will be checked in depth. In case the auditor finds transactions that were not included in the declaration of the member, an extra fee will be charged. The new regulations will come in force at the beginning of 2011.