Dutch government aims to improve access to WHOA scheme by reducing court fees

Quick read

The Dutch Minister of Justice has recently proposed a legislative bill that drastically reduces court fees in WHOA proceedings.

Background

The Wet Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord (WHOA) scheme is a restructuring tool that allows companies in financial distress to impose a restructuring plan on their creditors and shareholders. Although the involvement of the court is limited, the court may be asked to appoint a restructuring expert, to grant a cooling-off period and confirm the restructuring plan. At nearly EUR 6,000 per petition, court fees have proven to limit effective access to the WHOA scheme, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.

Key measures

This legislative bill aims to improve access to the WHOA scheme by reducing court fees to (roughly) EUR 700.
Court fees will no longer be due for each separate petition to the court, but only once for every WHOA proceeding.
Court fees for creditors who want to oppose the restructuring plan will no longer depend on the amount of the creditor's claim and are also reduced to a much lower amount of (roughly) EUR 700.

This is a positive development and there are high expectations for the bill to pass. Arguably, any money spent on court fees is better put toward reducing the debts of the company in distress.