For some goods a customs declaration isn't enough. They need a specific certificate or permit, and without it the goods are stopped at the border. The most common: FLEGT for timber, a phytosanitary certificate for plants, a veterinary or health certificate for animals, animal products and food, and CITES for protected species. Nexport Logistics arranges these permits and clears the goods for you in the Nexportal portal, as part of your Customs and documents.
FLEGT licence: timber and wood products
FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) is an EU scheme against illegal logging. A FLEGT licence lets covered timber, wood products, paper, pulp and certain wooden furniture enter the EU as proven-legal. It is currently required only for goods from countries with an operational partnership agreement: Indonesia and Ghana. The exporter applies for the licence with their government; on the EU side the data goes into the CLIENT system and the resulting code is given to customs. (Goods already covered by a CITES permit don't need a separate FLEGT licence; and from 30 December 2026 timber also falls under the EU deforestation regulation (EUDR, postponed again in December 2025).)
Phytosanitary certificate: plants and plant products
A phytosanitary certificate (Dutch fytosanitair certificaat) is an official statement that plants and plant products meet plant-health requirements. It's required for most plant imports into the EU/Netherlands, with a few exceptions (pineapple, banana, dates, durian and coconut). It is issued by the plant-protection authority in the country of origin. Some shipments also need a physical inspection and extra additional declarations (bijschrijvingen) on the certificate. A shipment missing a required declaration is refused, and the corrected document has to come from origin.
CITES permit: protected animals and plants
CITES is the international convention regulating trade in endangered species and products made from them — think reptile leather, ivory, coral, caviar and certain plants and timber species. Trading or moving a protected species across borders needs a CITES permit; some species can't be traded at all. In the Netherlands the RVO issues the permits and customs controls the import/export. If your goods could contain a protected species or material, check this before shipment, not after.
Veterinary and health certificates: animals, animal products and food
Animals and products of animal origin (meat, fish, dairy, eggs, animal feed, live animals) and products for human consumption more broadly can need a veterinary certificate or a health certificate (gezondheidscertificaat) stating the shipment's origin, composition and health status. For import into the EU, products of animal origin must enter via a Border Control Post (BCP) with a health certificate and a CHED (Common Health Entry Document), and are checked on arrival. For export from the Netherlands to non-EU countries the NVWA issues the certificate (within the EU the TRACES system is used instead); certificates are either binding (agreed with the destination country) or request certificates where none exists.
How Nexport Logistics handles it
Nexport Logistics is a freight forwarder under the FENEX conditions, with its own customs declarants. We flag when your goods need a FLEGT licence, a phytosanitary certificate or a CITES permit, line the document up with the import declaration and clear the goods. A missing permit gets caught before your cargo reaches the border, not at it. You track every document in the Nexportal portal. Importing timber, plants or anything CITES-sensitive? Email info@nexportlogistics.nl.
Official sources: NVWA — FLEGT licence · NVWA — phytosanitary certificates · NVWA — veterinary certificates · RVO — CITES. Related: Customs · Shipping Documents · Customs Value · Importing Into The Netherlands