Legislative proposal Civil Society Organizations (Transparancy) Act adopted by the House of Representatives
On 1 April 2025, the Dutch House of Representatives adopted the legislative proposal titled Civil Society Organizations (Transparancy) Act (the Act) (Wet transparantie en tegengaan ondermijning door maatschappelijke organisaties (Wtmo)). The aim of this legislative proposal is to make undesirable foreign influence through donations more transparent and, where necessary, to restrict it. In addition, the proposal seeks to reduce the risk of financial-economic abuse of societal organizations (including, according to the proposal, foundations, associations, religious institutions, and similar (legal) entities established abroad but conducting activities in the Netherlands), for example in cases of money laundering or terrorist financing.
The proposal consists of three components: 1. an information obligation that will apply to all societal organizations, 2. a filing obligation for foundations, and 3. a (legal) enforcement framework to take action against societal organizations engaging in activities aimed at (the threat of) undermining the democratic rule of law or public authority. Each of the three components is briefly explained below.
Information obligation
At the demand of certain government authorities, societal organizations are required to provide insight into the origin, purpose, and amount of any received donations. For example, a mayor may request such information in the context of maintaining public order, and the public prosecution service (Openbaar Ministerie) also has this authority in cases of serious doubt as to whether the law or the organization’s statutes are being complied with. Failure to comply with such a request constitutes an economic offense (and is therefore punishable by law) and may result in the imposition of an administrative penalty.
Under the proposal, the threshold for this information obligation is, in principle, set at donations of €15,000 or more. However, this is not a fixed limit. According to the proposal, this threshold can be lowered by means of a further general administrative measure for donations originating from third countries. It is clear that the government intends to align this threshold with the high-risk country list under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme (Wwft)).
Filing obligation
Currently, foundations are required to prepare a balance sheet and statement of income and expenses. However, only commercial foundations (commerciële stichtingen) are obligated to file these documents with the trade register (handelsregister) of the chamber of commerce (kamer van koophandel). Non-commercial foundations, such as an administrative office foundation (stichting administratiekantoor, also known as STAK) or public benefit organizations (algemeen nut beogende instellingen (ANBI’s)), are not currently required to file these documents with the trade register.
This will change as result of the Act. As part of efforts to combat abuse, the legislator has decided to also require non-commercial foundations to file their balance sheets and statements of income and expenses with the trade register. As a result, the Act introduces an additional burden for non-commercial foundations.
After filing, certain oversight and enforcement agencies of the government (including, for example, the Minister of Justice, the public prosecution service, the police, the tax authorities, the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Services, the General Intelligence and Security Service, the Dutch Central Bank, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets, and the Financial Supervision Office) will have access to the financial data of foundations in the trade register.
Enforcement mechanisms
In addition to the right to request information and the right to access the information filed with the trade register by foundations, the public prosecution service under the Act will also have the authority to take action against civil society organizations that are (threatening to) undermine the democratic rule of law or public authority. For example, the public prosecution service can request an injunction, which means the court can impose an order—lasting for up to two years—to cease, suspend, and maintain the suspension of certain activities.
To ensure compliance with this order, the court can, upon the public prosecution service’s request, impose additional measures. These could include periodic reporting requirements concerning all received funds, a ban on accepting certain donations, or the imposition of a penalty for non-compliance with the order.
Entry into Force
The Act still needs to be approved by the Senate and published in the Bulletin of Acts and Decrees (Staatsblad) before it can come into effect. The intended date of entry into force is 1 January 2026.
Contact
If you would like more information about the Act or any other topic, please feel free to contact the specialists at Meijburg Legal.
