Role of the NVWA and TRACES
In the Netherlands, veterinary-controlled consignments must be notified in advance to the NVWA/VWA, the competent authority responsible for official controls.
A Common Health Entry Document (CHED), including its variants such as CHED-D, CHED-P and CHED-PP (often also referred to as CHEDD), must be submitted in advance (pre-notification). The CHED must be validated by the competent authority and registered in TRACES (Trade Control and Expert System), the European Commission’s online platform for managing veterinary entry documentation. TRACES enables authorities to review and validate documentation before goods can be released. If documentation is incomplete, submitted too late, or not properly aligned with the logistics planning, shipments may be delayed. For perishable or time-sensitive goods, this can directly impact supply chain continuity and cost. In practice, the CHED is often referred to as a GGB, particularly in operational and logistics contexts.
