Safety, health, economy and the environment during import and export

Dutch Customs inspects whether importers and exporters observe legislation in the field of safety, health, economy and the environment (VGEM). With regard to the inspections, the customs work together with various supervisory organisations, such as the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Nederlandse Voedsel en Waren Autoriteit, NVWA) and the Health Care Inspectorate (Inspectie voor de Gezondheidszorg, IGZ). The import and export of certain goods to or from the Netherlands is prohibited or only permitted subject to certain terms and conditions. This applies, for example, to:

• Waste materials
• Endangered animals and plants
• Cultural objects (art and antiques)
• Animal feed
• Medicines
• Plants, flowers, vegetables and fruit
• Radioactive substances and nuclear material
• Strategic goods (military good and dual-use goods)
• Drugs and drug precursors
• Weapons and ammunition

Import permit and export permit

For these products, you often require an import permit or export permit or you must submit a notification. The procedure and the type of permit varies per product.

Sanctions

Sanctions apply to certain countries. This means that you are (temporarily) not allowed to import certain goods or services from or export them to these countries (or do so without a reason).