Almost immediately after IR Amsterdam 2019 where Wolfs Advocaten was one of the headline sponsors, it became clear once again why it is important to be able to rely on an extensive international network of fellow attorneys.
Wolfs Advocaten received an international case that had common ground with both Dutch law and Belgian law. The client had transported goods in good faith from the Netherlands to Belgium, without having certain required documents. However, the Belgian customs authorities stopped the transport and wrongfully accused the client of not having the documents. Fines were possibly due as well as vat. Moreover, the following day the goods were seized.
Since the goods were intended for a timely transit to a third country, it was of vital importance to quickly resolve this issue and to have the seizure lifted. An interrogation by the Belgian authorities was planned for the latter. To this end, Wolfs Advocaten reached out to the Belgian colleagues of Kegels and Co in Antwerp. Thereupon, Dirk Noels and his team acted decisively to resolve the matter. They attended the interrogation, which resulted in the release of the goods and furthermore avoiding fines.
Wolfs Advocaten notes that Kegels en Co took up this case on very short notice. Calling in the assistance of a Belgian attorney would in these urgent circumstances undoubtedly be more difficult without the IR Global contacts. By having such contacts, Wolfs Advocaten was able to offer a better, more comprehensive service to its client, while at the same time being assured of the quality of work that the Belgian colleagues would deliver. This is clearly the power of IR Global!
