Consignor

A consignment via the GLS network must meet certain conditions. For a parcel as well as a pallet maximum measurements and weight are applicable. View our general terms and conditions for a extensive description or take a look at the maximum measurements mentioned on the product pages.

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A shipped parcel can be tracked at any time with the parcel number and postal code of the destination. This is possible via the Track & Trace website or, if you have the login details, via MyGLS. In MyGLS it is, among others, possible to sort parcels by country, date and reference.

Track & Trace

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When a delivery address is closed during a first delivery attempt, the delivery driver will make a second attempt the following business day. If a second delivery attempt is not possible, the delivery driver will take the parcel back to the depot (distribution centre) where it will remain for five business days.

At a private address the delivery driver will ask a neighbour to accept the parcel. If that is not possible, the driver will leave a Notification Card (Niet Thuis Bericht). With this a new delivery attempt can be arranged on the Track & Trace website. If the addressee is not at home during a second delivery attempt he will receive a Notification Card (Niet Thuis Bericht) but only delivery to a GLS Parcel Shop remains possible.

Parcels with a national destination are generally delivered within 24 hours. Parcels to destinations within Europe have a transit time of 48 to 120 hours. GLS delivers parcels from Monday to Friday during business hours. When our SaturdayService is activated a delivery on a Saturday is also possible.

If the parcel is not handed over to GLS yet, you can provide the parcel with a new and correct shipping label. Did GLS already receive the parcel? Please contact as soon as possible our Customer Service. You will subsequently receive a RFI (Request For Information) to adjust the address.

Please contact our Customer Service if the parcel is already on transit to adjust the location or moment of delivery. In the case of an international shipment, adjustments can only be made in the country of destination.

Shipping a parcel via one of the 800 Parcel Shops is easy and does, besides packing it properly, not need any preparation. The simple pricing structure (size S, M or L) makes it easy to calculate the costs to ship a parcel via a GLS Parcel Shop.

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Shipping via a Parcel Shop

Wrong and / or unusually packed goods are generally not accepted by GLS for shipment. The following goods may not be sent per parcel:

• Goods that require particularly careful handling (e.g. fragile goods);
• Perishable goods or temperature-controlled goods;
• Living animals and/or plants;
• Very high value goods (e.g. gold, precious metals and gems, real jewelry and pearls, works of art, antiques);
• Firearms and essential weapon parts, as well as ammunition;
• All kinds of dangerous goods relevant to the ADR and IATA rules;
• Tobacco and spirits (for shipments abroad).

More information can be found in the shipping guidelines and the General Terms and Conditions.

Go to General Terms and Conditions.

Your invoice, among others, has to comply with international standards. GLS has a manual on this subject available. Please contact your appointed contact person at GLS to receive a manual by e-mail.

When your parcel will be delivered depends on the chosen delivery method. If the parcel is sent as Express, it will be delivered according to the chosen service. Otherwise a parcel with the status 'The parcel is expected to be delivered during the day' will be delivered between 8.30 am - 6.00 pm.

Contact our Customer Service if more details and information is needed.

GLS offers companies IT controlled shipping systems that are tailored to the demands and volumes of their parcel and/or freight shipments. These systems can be adjusted to the IT systems of the shippers.

More information

GLS offers its customers reliable parcel deliveries within the Netherlands, Europe and worldwide, national timed deliveries and freight shipments within the Benelux and Europe. More information can be found in the product descriptions.

More information

Parcels must comply with the standard dimensions as described in the table below. A parcel must not exceed the girth of 3 metres.

Calculation of the girth: 1 x length + 2 x width + 2 x height

The maximum weight is 32 kg. Contact your local GLS depot for more information.

Precisely how much it costs to send a parcel depends on your wishes and requirements. If you send parcels regularly, you can request an individual offer from GLS.

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Some parcels cannot be transported by the conveyor belts in our automatic sorting systems because of their size or outer packaging. GLS sorts and scans these “non-conveyable” consignments manually in the depots. This incurs a surcharge. This includes among others:

• Sacks, tyres, rolls, bales of cloth, canisters, plastic buckets, wooden crates;
• Parcels with protruding parts of any kind.

For large items, pallets or groupage, GLS Netherlands offers reliable freight services throughout Europe. Please contact our Customer Service or your GLS depot for more details and information.

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The applicable liability of GLS vis-à-vis the shipper for national consignments are laid down in the General Transport Conditions (AVC). To international consignments the CMR conditions apply. For parcels additional GLS terms and conditions apply. Please refer to the General Terms and Conditions GLS Netherlands.

General Terms and Conditions

As a leading European logistics provider, the GLS Group is fully aware of its responsibility to its employees, the environment and to society. GLS understands sustainability as a holistic concept – including ecological as well as social and economic aspects of social responsibility. These aspects come together in our ThinkResponsible program, divided into Climate Protect, ThinkSocial and ThinkQuality. Look for more information per element on our Sustainability page.

Please contact your contact person at GLS or submit your question via our contact form. Our Customer Service is ready to help you.

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Good preparation is half the work; these are the most important things to look out for when shipping to customs countries (not members of the European Customs Union):

• An EORI number for customs clearance;
• HS codes to classify your goods;
• Shipments should have a commercial pro forma invoice in duplicate (original+copy);
• The correct Incoterms for your shipment.

For a complete overview with the new requirements and other important issues for you as a shipper, contact your GLS contact.

Shipments to countries outside the EU must be classified. For this purpose Customs uses goods or customs tariff numbers, the so-called HS codes. HS stands for Harmonized System, each product has a 6-digit code. HS codes are almost always the same for each product worldwide. The code contains information on, for example, VAT and permits. View the complete list of HS codes via the button below.

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Consult the nomenclature on the website of the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration

Origin is where the product was originally made, provenance is the country of shipment.

A T document is a Customs document for the transport of Customs goods. If the goods are free in the EU and you want to send these to a non-EU country, an export declaration must be made, preferably by GLS, because we can process your shipment faster. You may also prepare an export declaration (or have it made) yourself if you have a permit and affiliation with Customs, or via a Customs agent.

After the export declaration, a T document is required for transport by road for Customs transport (this can be done by boat on a bill of lading and by air with an air way bill). This is a T-2 for goods that are not free in the EU, and a T-1 for goods that are not free in the EU

This means that the shipment is not based on a sales transaction or that, for example, sample products are involved. However, a value must be stated on the (pro-forma) invoice in the data of the customs portal. Our advice is to send these kinds of shipments under INCO10.

If goods are returned from a non-EU country, it must be possible to submit the original export declaration, because there is an obligation to Customs to prove that they are returning goods.

Goods that leave the EU are no longer subject to VAT after the export declaration has been released. When the goods return to the EU, they are again subject to VAT.

Import duties do not apply if it can be demonstrated (original export declaration) that those goods have previously been shipped from the EU.

No, unfortunately this is not possible with GLS

Consult article 9 of our General Terms and Conditions . For example, the legally required inspection stations for food products are not present in our network.

Switzerland, Norway, the United Kingdom and the Canary Islands.

On the day of creating the consignment.

Please contact our Helpdesk (088-5503053) for this.

This almost certainly means that it is an excluded good according to the GLS General Terms and Conditions. This means that this type of goods is not allowed in the GLS network and therefore unfortunately cannot be booked and shipped. In this case, please check whether you have used the correct HS code.

Incoterms describe the agreements made between shipper and consignee. Among other things, these agreements state who is responsible for what costs. Such as the costs surrounding transport, but also who bears the risk of any damage to or loss of goods. Depending on this, you choose from the following Incoterms:

This depends on the agreements with your customers. You can see in the following diagram what the GLS Incoterms entail, i.e. who is responsible for which costs.

If you would like to use incoterms 20/30/40 and would like information on the possibilities, please contact customsdoc@gls-netherlands.com.

The number of pieces.

The shipping method is the same as for a regular consignment to a non-EU destination. You pay the costs yourself.

A proforma invoice "value for customs only". We advise you to also use GLS Incoterm 10. Furthermore, the invoice can be the same as a regular invoice to a non-EU destination

If you want to ship to countries outside the EU, you need a so-called EORI number. EORI stands for Economic Operators' Registration and Identification. This identification number is required for customs clearance. When shipping to the UK, the following EORI numbers are required:

• From the commercial exporter in the EU;
• From the commercial importer in the UK.

For more information on how to apply for an EORI number, please visit the Tax and Customs Administration (Belastingdienst) website.

Go to Belastingdienst

You use the EORI number and the details of the account in whose name the shipment is sent. It is possible that you have multiple accounts with us. In that case you can choose in whose name GLS should send.

The original invoice should preferably be placed on package 1 and all packages should be clearly numbered.

For a quick handling in the country of destination we recommend the use of INCO10 and specifically for the UK also INCO18 (only if the value does not exceed € 150). It is also important that you upload the sales invoice in the GLS customs portal and also place a physical invoice on the shipment.

Ireland does not require customs documents. Northern Ireland has an exception: it's part of the United Kingdom, but it doesn't require customs documents either, as shipments go through Ireland. The advice for shipments to Northern Ireland is to place an invoice on the shipment, to avoid delays in the handling of the shipment.