Resources

The 1000-point rule (ADR)

Stay under 1000 points and a road shipment of packaged dangerous goods is partially exempt from the heavy ADR requirements. The transport-category table, the calculation, worked examples and the obligations that always remain.

Anti-dumping & countervailing duties

The EU imposes anti-dumping duties on products sold into the EU below their normal market price, often from China. The duty comes on top of the regular import duty and can run to tens of percent. Which products are affected, how to check it yourself on tarief.douane.nl, and why what counts is the origin of the goods — not the country they ship from.

CBAM

The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is in its definitive phase since 1 January 2026. Importers of iron & steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen and electricity now face real obligations: authorisation, an annual declaration and certificates. Nexport Logistics can file the CBAM declaration as indirect customs representative.

Digitalisation & automation

Freight forwarding and customs are going digital fast: eCMR, eFTI, e-AWB, the electronic Bill of Lading, DMS 4.0, ICS2, ViDA e-invoicing. What each system is, when it lands, and how Nexport Logistics already works through them in the Nexportal platform.

Dual-use goods

Dual-use items are goods, software and technology with both civilian and military uses. Exporting them outside the EU usually needs a licence, even for some items that aren't on any list, when you know they're headed for a weapons or military end-use. Here's what that means and where the licence comes from in the Netherlands.

E-invoicing

An e-invoice is not a PDF but a structured, machine-readable invoice (XML) that another system can process automatically. The European EN 16931 standard, the UBL and CII formats, and how e-invoicing connects to the ViDA mandate and the Peppol network.

eCMR

The eCMR is the digital version of the CMR consignment note, the contract and proof of receipt for international road carriage. Backed by the 2008 e-CMR Protocol (in force since 2011, the Netherlands a party), an electronic note has the same legal force as paper. How it works, and how it differs from the eFTI Regulation.

eFTI Regulation

The eFTI Regulation (EU 2020/1056) obliges every EU authority to accept freight transport information in electronic form from 9 July 2027, via certified eFTI platforms. It covers road, rail, inland waterway and air; maritime is out of scope. The obligations, the timeline, and the difference with the eCMR.

Waste shipments (EVOA) & Annex VII

Cross-border waste shipments fall under the EU Waste Shipment Regulation (EVOA). Green-list waste for recovery moves on an Annex VII document, not the full notification procedure. From 21 May 2026 Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 applies, with DIWASS digitalisation, but the mandatory digital handling of Annex VII is deferred through 31 December 2026. On top of the rules, shipping lines refuse certain waste HS codes (3915, 4707, 7204) as a policy choice. The ILT is the competent authority in the Netherlands.

EX-A / EU-A / CO-A (export types)

An export declaration comes in three types, depending on destination: EX-A for third countries, EU-A for EFTA, the UK and Turkey, and CO-A for the EU's special fiscal territories (which travels with a T2LF). Picking the right code keeps the declaration from being rejected.

Peppol explained: the network behind European e-invoicing

Peppol is the open network that lets businesses exchange e-invoices and other procurement documents across borders, using a four-corner model and certified Access Points. This guide explains how it works, Peppol BIS Billing, and the Dutch Peppol Authority (NPa).

Preferential origin & EUR.1

Under an EU trade agreement your goods can cross the border at a reduced or zero duty rate, if you can prove preferential origin. Three routes: a EUR.1 certificate per shipment, an invoice declaration up to €6,000, or an approved exporter licence with your authorisation number in a prescribed statement on the invoice. The same thresholds apply in mirror image to your supplier when you import.

REACH

REACH (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006) governs chemicals on the EU market. An EU importer who brings in a substance or mixture at one tonne or more per year carries the registration duty, unless the non-EU manufacturer appoints an only representative. This page covers registration, SVHC and the candidate list, authorisation, restrictions, the safety data sheet, and where REACH stops and dangerous-goods transport rules begin.

T2L / T2LF (Union status)

T2L proves your goods are EU (Union) goods; T2LF covers the special fiscal territories. Without proof, Union goods moving by sea can be treated as non-Union and charged duty. Since 2024 the proof is filed digitally in the EU PoUS system, and a shipping line with authorised-issuer status can use status code C on its manifest instead of a separate T2L.

VAT on freight

The VAT on the freight service itself follows its own rules, separate from reverse charge and from the duty on the goods. Place of supply for transport, the 0% rate for import and export transport, the forwarder-vs-direct-client catch, and where that 0% stops along the chain.

ViDA (VAT in the Digital Age)

ViDA is the EU's VAT reform for the digital age, adopted on 11 March 2025. From 1 July 2030, cross-border B2B invoices must be structured e-invoices reported in near-real-time; the invoice data feeds the VAT reporting directly. The timeline and the practical impact for importers and exporters.

Air freight

How air freight really works — MAWB/HAWB, chargeable weight, ground handlers, aviation security screening and tight cut-offs — and why doing it yourself is a fast way into trouble. Nexport Logistics flies it for you, customs and dangerous goods included, via the Nexportal platform.

Bill of lading

The bill of lading (B/L, cognossement) is the transport contract, the receipt and, when negotiable, the title to the goods. Originals vs telex vs express release, the 'to order' rule, and why a B/L may never be antedated.

Container dimensions & CBM

Internal dimensions, door openings, CBM and payload for the common container types, from 20' standard to 45' high cube, reefer, open top, flat rack and ISO tank. Including the loading maths: the door opening, not the ceiling, decides your maximum pallet height, and how many euro pallets fit on the floor.

Container shipping lines & alliances

Three alliances plus a standalone MSC carry nearly all east-west container capacity: Gemini Cooperation (Maersk + Hapag-Lloyd), Ocean Alliance (CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen) and Premier Alliance (ONE, HMM, Yang Ming). Who the carriers are, which network they sail and what vessel sharing means for your booking and your B/L.

Customs value, duty & VAT

Import duty is calculated over the customs value: the goods value plus transport and insurance to the EU border. Import VAT is then calculated over the customs value plus the duty plus onward transport into the EU. A worked example shows how the two bases differ.

Dangerous goods

A practical guide to shipping dangerous goods (DG): the 9 UN classes, the rules per transport mode (ADR, RID, ADN, IMDG, IATA-DGR), who is responsible, and exemptions like Limited Quantities. Nexport Logistics handles the classification, paperwork and compliant transport.

Demurrage & detention

Demurrage is the container sitting too long at the terminal; detention is the carrier's box out in your possession too long. Together they're called demdet. Why a customs inspection still costs you demurrage, when a roll-over is the carrier's bill and when it's yours, and why these costs make the choice of forwarder matter.

Electronic Bill of Lading (eBL)

The Bill of Lading is the one shipping document that is also title to the goods, which is why it still travels the world as a couriered paper original. The eBL changes that: carriers have pledged 100% electronic Bills of Lading by 2030, backed by the MLETR legal framework.

FOB vs CIF (book FOB)

A practical rule that saves importers money: on LCL shipments, book at least FOB, or go all the way to DDP. Buying CFR/CIF 'delivered to Rotterdam' looks clean but routes the local charges through the supplier's origin agent, who recovers his margin at destination. On FCL the trap barely plays.

Incoterms 2020

Incoterms decide where cost and risk pass from seller to buyer, and who arranges transport and customs. A plain-language run through all eleven rules, when to use which, and the freight-terms trap that catches buyers on arrival.

ISPM 15 (wood packaging standard)

ISPM 15 is the international phytosanitary standard for solid-wood packaging used in trade: pallets, crates, boxes, dunnage. The wood must be heat-treated or fumigated and carry the IPPC mark, otherwise it can be held, treated, destroyed or sent back at the border.

Letter of credit (L/C)

A letter of credit is a bank's promise to pay the seller once the right documents are presented in good order. It removes the trust gap in cross-border trade, runs under the ICC's UCP 600 rules, and a single document discrepancy is enough for the bank to refuse payment.

Loading metres (LDM)

Part-load road freight is priced on loading metres, not on weight or cubic metres alone. A Euro pallet is 0.4 LDM, a trailer 13.6 LDM, and whether your pallets are stackable changes the sum. With a worked example and the LCL counterpart at the consolidator.

Road transport

National and European road freight — FTL, LTL and groupage, the CMR consignment note, dangerous goods by road, and the new Dutch truck toll. How Nexport Logistics moves it for you.

Sea freight

How ocean freight works for importers and exporters — FCL vs LCL, the bill of lading, the arrival notice and Rotterdam terminal handling — and how Nexport Logistics ships it for you, customs and all, via the Nexportal platform.

Shipping documents

The same document goes by many names: cognossement is a bill of lading, an HS code is a TARIC / commodity / tariff code, a CvO is a certificate of origin. A plain glossary of the core shipping documents, their aliases, and what each must contain.

Switch B/L

A switch B/L is a second set of bills of lading that replaces the first, so the end buyer never sees who really shipped the goods. How the swap works on the house B/L, why the freight line flips from collect to prepaid, the rules that keep it legal, and what a switch can never change.

Verified Gross Mass (VGM)

Since 1 July 2016, SOLAS requires a Verified Gross Mass for every packed container before it can be loaded onto a ship. The shipper is responsible, there are two permitted weighing methods, and without a VGM the box does not sail and rolls to the next sailing.

Air cargo platforms (WebCargo, cargo.one, CargoAi)

Instant air freight rates and online booking used to be impossible; air cargo ran on phone calls and email. Digital marketplaces changed that. WebCargo (Freightos), cargo.one and CargoAi let forwarders see live capacity, get instant rates and eBook with airlines.

Cargonaut

Cargonaut is the Port Community System for air cargo at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: the platform that exchanges data between handlers, airlines, forwarders and customs. Owned by Royal Schiphol Group since 2020, it is the air-side counterpart to Portbase. Covers what it does and how it is modernising.

Container reuse & Avantida (street-turns)

An import container normally goes back to the depot empty, while an export booking needs an empty fetched from the depot: two empty trips. A street-turn reuses the import container directly for the export, and Avantida is the platform where the carrier approves it.

Customs IT systems

Customs declarations are national but run entirely on EU systems and EU rules. This guide explains the Dutch DMS 4.0 (which replaced AGS), export via AES, transit via NCTS Phase 5, pre-arrival safety via ICS2, and the centralised EU Customs Data Hub still to come.

IATA, e-AWB & ONE Record

IATA is the airlines' global trade association, and in air cargo it sets the standards everyone runs on: the Air Waybill, the e-AWB, dangerous-goods rules, agent accreditation and settlement. Its modern data standard, ONE Record, became the preferred standard from 1 January 2026.

Inttra & ocean e-booking

Inttra is the neutral multi-carrier platform for booking ocean container shipments, sending shipping instructions and tracking; it handles the digital paperwork for roughly one in four ocean containers. Now part of E2open, and since 2025 under WiseTech Global (CargoWise). Covers how ocean e-booking works and which carriers run their own platforms.

Port community systems (EU)

Every major port runs its own Port Community System, and its own container-release regime on top: Portbase with the Secure Chain in Rotterdam, Certified Pick up in Antwerp-Bruges (with SCR as a common release tool), S)ONE on the Seine axis and Ci5 in Marseille-Fos. Same container, different port, different system.

Portbase

Portbase is the neutral data platform of the Dutch seaports: shippers, forwarders, terminals, shipping lines and customs enter data once and share it across the chain. Covers Cargo Controller, the Secure Chain release process (mandatory since February 2025) and what it means for clearing containers in Rotterdam.