diff --git a/eva_submission/eload_utils.py b/eva_submission/eload_utils.py
index 7933bbd9..e8b2a0f3 100644
--- a/eva_submission/eload_utils.py
+++ b/eva_submission/eload_utils.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import glob
+import gzip
 import os
 import re
 import urllib
@@ -211,7 +212,53 @@ def detect_vcf_aggregation(vcf_file):
     in every line checked.
     Otherwise it returns None meaning that the aggregation type could not be determined.
     """
+
+    try:
+        samples, af_in_info, gt_in_format = _assess_vcf_aggregation_with_pysam(vcf_file)
+    except Exception:
+        logger.error(f"Pysam Failed to open and read {vcf_file}")
+        try:
+            samples, af_in_info, gt_in_format = _assess_vcf_aggregation_manual(vcf_file)
+        except Exception:
+            logger.error(f"Manual parsing Failed to open or read {vcf_file}")
+            return None
+    if len(samples) > 0 and gt_in_format:
+        return 'none'
+    elif len(samples) == 0 and af_in_info:
+        return 'basic'
+    else:
+        logger.error(f'Aggregation type could not be detected for {vcf_file}')
+        return None
+
+
+def _assess_vcf_aggregation_manual(vcf_file):
     try:
+        if vcf_file.endswith('.gz'):
+            open_file = gzip.open(vcf_file, 'rt')
+        else:
+            open_file = open(vcf_file, 'r')
+
+        nb_line_checked = 0
+        max_line_check = 10
+        gt_in_format = True
+        af_in_info = True
+        samples = []
+        for line in open_file:
+            sp_line = line.strip().split('\t')
+            if line.startswith('#CHROM'):
+                if len(sp_line) > 9:
+                    samples = sp_line[9:]
+            if not line.startswith('#'):
+                gt_in_format = gt_in_format and len(sp_line) > 8 and 'GT' in sp_line[8]
+                af_in_info = af_in_info and (sp_line[7].find('AF=') or (sp_line[7].find('AC=') and sp_line[7].find('AN=')))
+            if nb_line_checked >= max_line_check:
+                break
+        return samples, af_in_info, gt_in_format
+    finally:
+        open_file.close()
+
+
+def _assess_vcf_aggregation_with_pysam(vcf_file):
         with pysam.VariantFile(vcf_file, 'r') as vcf_in:
             samples = list(vcf_in.header.samples)
             # check that the first 10 lines have genotypes for all the samples present and if they have allele frequency
@@ -225,16 +272,7 @@ def detect_vcf_aggregation(vcf_file):
                 nb_line_checked += 1
                 if nb_line_checked >= max_line_check:
                     break
-    except Exception:
-        logger.error(f"Pysam Failed to open and read {vcf_file}")
-        return None
-    if len(samples) > 0 and gt_in_format:
-        return 'none'
-    elif len(samples) == 0 and af_in_info:
-        return 'basic'
-    else:
-        logger.error(f'Aggregation type could not be detected for {vcf_file}')
-        return None
+            return samples, af_in_info, gt_in_format
 
 
 def create_assembly_report_from_fasta(assembly_fasta_path):
diff --git a/eva_submission/samples_checker.py b/eva_submission/samples_checker.py
index d42affd6..10b270c3 100644
--- a/eva_submission/samples_checker.py
+++ b/eva_submission/samples_checker.py
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ def get_samples_from_vcf_manual(vcf_file):
     try:
         for line in open_file:
             if line.startswith('#CHROM'):
-                sp_line = line.split('\t')
+                sp_line = line.strip().split('\t')
                 if len(sp_line) > 9:
                     return sp_line[9:]
     finally:
diff --git a/tests/resources/vcf_files/file_basic_aggregation.vcf.gz b/tests/resources/vcf_files/file_basic_aggregation.vcf.gz
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1047ea59
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/resources/vcf_files/file_basic_aggregation.vcf.gz differ
diff --git a/tests/resources/vcf_files/file_no_aggregation.vcf.gz b/tests/resources/vcf_files/file_no_aggregation.vcf.gz
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..74ba40a8
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/resources/vcf_files/file_no_aggregation.vcf.gz differ
diff --git a/tests/test_eload_utils.py b/tests/test_eload_utils.py
index 58843ad3..ea38b800 100644
--- a/tests/test_eload_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_eload_utils.py
@@ -43,9 +43,15 @@ def test_detect_vcf_aggregation(self):
         assert detect_vcf_aggregation(
             os.path.join(self.resources_folder, 'vcf_files', 'file_basic_aggregation.vcf')
         ) == 'basic'
+        assert detect_vcf_aggregation(
+            os.path.join(self.resources_folder, 'vcf_files', 'file_basic_aggregation.vcf.gz')
+        ) == 'basic'
         assert detect_vcf_aggregation(
             os.path.join(self.resources_folder, 'vcf_files', 'file_no_aggregation.vcf')
         ) == 'none'
+        assert detect_vcf_aggregation(
+            os.path.join(self.resources_folder, 'vcf_files', 'file_no_aggregation.vcf.gz')
+        ) == 'none'
         assert detect_vcf_aggregation(
             os.path.join(self.resources_folder, 'vcf_files', 'file_undetermined_aggregation.vcf')
         ) is None
diff --git a/tests/test_vep_utils.py b/tests/test_vep_utils.py
index 2feba964..7e8153a1 100644
--- a/tests/test_vep_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_vep_utils.py
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ def test_get_species_and_assembly(self):
 
     def test_get_releases(self):
         with get_ftp_connection(ensembl_ftp_url) as ftp:
-            assert get_releases(ftp, 'pub', current_only=True) == {112: 'pub/release-112'}
+            assert get_releases(ftp, 'pub', current_only=True) == {113: 'pub/release-113'}
 
         with get_ftp_connection(ensembl_genome_ftp_url) as ftp:
             assert get_releases(ftp, ensembl_genome_dirs[0], current_only=True) == {59: 'ensemblgenomes/pub/plants/release-59'}