United Customs
Whenever goods are brought into the European Union they have to be placed under a customs procedure. If you want the goods to circulate freely on the EU market, they must be placed under the procedure ‘release for free circulation’. For this customs procedure you need to do an import declaration.
The date of acceptance of the import declaration (by the Dutch Customs) is important to determine the import duties and whether or not tariff quotas are applicable that day. The date of acceptance also counts as the date on which a customs debt arises.
Besides the importance of the date of acceptance, there are several types of import declarations: the normal declaration, the simplified declaration, and the declaration prior to the presentation of the goods. All with their own complexities.
Additionally, your cargo can be subjected to a physical inspection by customs.
All these aspects (and more) require a good understanding of the Union Customs Code and a delicate and sharp approach to avoid any problems with Dutch Customs.