From now on, German companies can export paperless via Rotterdam. After submitting an export declaration to the German Customs, it is no longer necessary for the carrier to take any paper documents with them. The only thing an exporter still has to do is to provide prenotification to Portbase, the Port Community System of the Dutch ports. That has been agreed between the German and Dutch Customs.
Banning paper for exports from Germany dovetails perfectly with the opening, this autumn, of two new container terminals on Maasvlakte 2: Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) and APM Terminals Maasvlakte II (APM Terminals MVII). For both, it is compulsory to provide electronic prenotification for Customs documents, cargo and modes of transport via Portbase. Only then is it possible to deliver or collect containers. Neither RWG nor APM Terminals MVII will be setting up terminal desks any more. That means it is also physically impossible to submit export accompanying documents on paper.
This is excerpted from a 5 September 2014 article by Logistik Express and is available in its entirety at:
http://www.logistik-express.com/german-industry-can-export-paperless-via-rotterdam/