The three checks
Customs checks the declaration: classification, value, origin and licences. Under product law, you need CE marking where it applies, labelling, safety files and a named GPSR responsible person. Market surveillance authorities check products in the shops. They test products, and any problems are traced back to the importer of record.
Selling products in the EU? Check which EU representative your product needs.
Your own inspection on arrival
When the goods arrive in the Netherlands, you test samples against the specification, check the labels and compare the documents with the goods. You then find problems at a stage where a repair costs less than a recall. For components, you protect the production line of your customer. For consumer goods, you protect your marketplace listing and your brand.
The product file
For each product line, keep the technical documentation, declarations of conformity, test reports and supplier agreements. You must be able to show them within days when an authority asks. The BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company) keeps this file as importer, together with its EPR and packaging registrations. You then keep everything in one entity for all markets.
Is your company established outside the EU? Then a Dutch fiscal representative files the VAT returns and applies for the Article 23 licence for you. See fiscal representation in the Netherlands for non-EU companies for how it works and how the costs are built up.
Which return is due when, and what happens if you miss a date? See running a Dutch BV: taxes, filings and deadlines.
How it matches in
Your inspection completes the import file, together with Article 23 and the rules on export evidence. With these three parts, you manage the money, the paperwork and the product of your EU imports.