Thanks. In this particular case, the passenger spends a few days in London before going to the Netherlands, so I expect that he will have to pay the customs duty and VAT with British customs.

This converts the goods from "non community goods" to "community goods." Then, when the passenger flies from LHR to AMS a few days later, the goods are already "community goods" so upon arrival in AMS the passenger should be able to take the Blue lane (EU) and proceed to the Netherlands without another customs inspection. This assumes that the bags between LHR and AMS will be tagged with a green destination label.

In short, if I understand correctly, the UK customs service will charge the customs duty and VAT on behalf of the EU, because the UK is the first point of entry. Dutch customs have no claim on the goods once they become "community goods" after being imported into the UK. Would you agree to this interpretation?

Thanks again.