On August 1, the Law on Open Government came into force (Open Government Act, Woo) dated 25.10.2021/XNUMX/XNUMX, which contains the rules for obtaining information of public interest. According to this law, a private or legal person in the Netherlands has the right to submit a Woo-request (Woo-verzoek) to the administrative body. Among the information that can be obtained upon such a request is information about a particular company.
What is a Woo Request?
The government accumulates large amounts of information. Some data published - they are in the public domain. For example, this is information about laws, regulations and decisions, various reports, recommendations of advisory boards and committees, contact details and work schedules, statistics and analytics.
Certain information from government agencies can be obtained through a request. Previously, the procedure was regulated by the law Wet openbaarheid van bestuur (Wob), now - Wet Open Overheid (Woo). Accordingly, earlier in the state. authorities could submit Wob-requests, now - Woo-requests.
For example, if you as an entrepreneur have ever applied for a grant, this information may be made public within Woo. Respectively, through a similar procedure, you can obtain information that has commercial value for your company and you don't want a competitor to get into their hands. This includes financial data, such as turnover and profit, as well as information about the marketing strategy and production processes.
How does a Woo request work?
Requests are accepted by the following administrative bodies:
- the national government (de Rijksoverheid), in particular the ministries;
- municipalities (gemeenten);
- provincial administrations;
- regional water authorities (waterschappen);
- Chamber of Commerce (KVK) and some other business associations.
Karien Lagrouw, lawyer at TeekensKarstens Lawyers in Leiden, specialist in Woo queries, notes: “The basic principle of the law is openness, but an administrative body may refuse to provide information on a Woo request. There are unconditional and relative grounds for refusal. For example, a request for information that could harm national security is an example of an unconditional ground for refusal. This information is never released."
What about company disclosures?
Company disclosure is a relative ground for refusal. This means that the administrative body determines at its discretion whether to disclose data or not. If a decision is made to disclose information about the company, it will receive a notification.
What is the likelihood that this will harm the business?
Frank Ponsioen, former accountant and co-owner of SME Advisors Klankboard BV, is not afraid of this. “It's true that the balance sheet, income statement gives you an idea of your turnover, gross margin and cost structure. But as an entrepreneur, you must know your market and your competitors. This is the only way you can stay afloat. The performance of your competitor should not be a mystery to you, just like yours to him. In addition, BV entrepreneurs must file their annual returns with the Chamber of Commerce anyway, so these numbers are already publicly available.”
Another thing is when it comes to your production process or technology. “These are company-specific issues that give you an edge over your competitor. And you shouldn't lose that advantage."
What can be done to reduce risks?
Karine Lagrou advises entrepreneurs put "confidential" on documentswhich are transferred to the administrative authorities. Such an inscription can be added at the beginning of the document or above individual paragraphs, even near a separate sentence. The latter guarantees that the administrative body will unequivocally interpret the information as confidential and, based on this, decide whether to publish it or not.
Have you already encountered the Woo request? Do you want to submit it? Or is someone asking for information about your company? Welcome to consultation at Nalog.nl – we will help you sort it all out.
Publication Date: 26.10.2022
