How to use inland border facilities

Last updated: 20 September 2023

This guidance will help you to understand how to prepare to visit an inland border facility (IBF) and the process to follow when you arrive.

Before you go to an inland border facility

1. Check what services are offered at each of the IBFs, not all facilities carry out the same functions.
2. Check how busy an IBF is before leaving for your journey.
3. Book in to attend an IBF. Booking in will mean HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) should be able to deal with you more quickly.

You only need to attend an inland border facility if you’re travelling through the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel or Holyhead and you’re moving goods:

• under the Common Transit Convention (CTC) and are not using the services of an ACC to start or end your Transit movements
• into the country under the CTC and have been instructed to report to a site for those goods to be checked

When you may need to attend an inland border facility

You must follow instructions about whether you need to get your goods checked by customs on arrival or if you’re able to continue your journey.

You should use your goods movement reference number in the ‘check if you need to report for an inspection’ service to understand if your goods are held. If you’re arriving into the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel, you’ll need to attend an inland border facility to have these checks carried out.

In some cases you may also be stopped by Border Force officers within the port to have checks performed on your vehicle or load. If this happens, you must still attend an inland border facility to complete customs functions if you have received instructions to do so.

The goods must be taken to an inland border facility directly and must arrive in the same condition as the goods were at the time of importation.

You may be liable to a penalty of up to £2,500 if you fail to follow HMRC instructions.

When you do not need to come to an inland border facility

You do not need to come to an inland border facility if you:

• have a vehicle that is empty
• are travelling in and out of the United Kingdom by other ports
• are using the services of an ACC
• are using other (non-CTC) import or export procedures to move your goods in or out of the UK

Get ‘border ready’

Get ready before you reach Kent

You must be ‘border ready’ before you reach Kent ports or you’ll be turned back and could be fined.

If you’re crossing the Channel through the Eurotunnel or the Port of Dover, you must check a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) is ready to cross the border

For outbound movements leaving the UK through the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel

If you need to use an inland border facility and are coming to Kent from elsewhere, you should get ready before arriving in Kent. Do not wait until you’ve reached the port in Kent or you will be turned back.

To get ready you should attend the IBF at Sevington.

Holyhead

Get ready before you travel to Holyhead. If your journey allows, you can also make use of the services at Warrington or Birmingham inland border facilities before you arrive at Holyhead.

Check for more information on getting ready for Welsh ports.

Documents you’ll need to bring

You’ll need all relevant paperwork in relation to your movement.

Common Transit Convention movements

To start a CTC movement out of Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), you’ll need to:

• get from your agent or freight forwarder for every consignment:
  • the Local Reference Number (LRN)
  • either all the export declaration references and include this in a goods movement reference, or a Master Unique Consignment Reference (if there is one) in writing
• show the LRN and either all the export declaration references in a goods movement reference, or a Master Unique Consignment Reference in writing, at the Office of Departure to get a Transit Accompanying Document (TAD)

To end a movement at an Office of Destination, you’ll need to present the TAD and provide the Movement Reference Number (MRN) for every consignment.

If you’re a:

• trader using an Office of Destination at an IBF you should make sure that import entries are submitted and have arrived by the time the goods reach the Office of Destination
• driver attending an Office of Destination you should have details of the customs entries for the consignments you’re carrying (for example, entry numbers and dates)

Goods without arrived import entries will need temporary storage.

If you’re a driver attending an IBF with goods that need temporary storage you may have to use an alternative facility at your own expense.

IBFs cannot be used for commercial storage.

ATA Carnet movements

For both inbound and outbound movements, you’ll need to present the ATA Carnet documents for each consignment.

CITES movements

For both inbound and outbound movements, you’ll need to present a CITES permit for each consignment.

Locations of inland border facilities

You can find a list of inland border facility locations.

Stop 24 and Dover Western Docks

Vehicles that are excluded from Sevington for being oversized or for containing hazardous goods can be processed at these sites.

In the event of a problem with HMRC inland border facilities, you may be directed to Dover Western Docks or Stop24.

This is in addition to existing commercial operations already provided at these sites.

Tell HMRC that you’re going to be attending an inland border facility

You should tell HMRC in advance that you’re attending an IBF if the goods you’re moving:

• are going to an office of departure or office of destination (starting or ending a transit movement)
• are covered by an ATA Carnet
• need a CITES permit

Regardless of why you attend the site, if your goods have been flagged as ‘held’ for a compliance check, you must let front office staff know about this upon your arrival.

You can also check if there are any delays at an IBF.

What to expect when visiting an inland border facility

There will be local signage in place to help direct you to the site along the strategic main roads.

Upon arrival at the site, you’ll be greeted by a traffic management marshal.

There will be automatic number plate recognition cameras at the entry and exit points of the site. This monitors vehicles entering and exiting the site to manage traffic and security.

A quick visual inspection of the vehicle will be done by security marshals at the entry checkpoint. For example, they’ll check that there are no leaks and that the vehicle is not prohibited as a result of these checks.

Following this, you’ll be directed to a vacant parking bay. Once you’ve parked your vehicle, you’ll be asked to switch your engine off by the traffic marshal and to keep it off whilst you’re parked. There should be no idling of engines.

You’ll then take your documents to the front office and be directed to wait in your vehicle while the paperwork is processed. Once this is complete, you’ll receive either an approval and exit receipt to move off-site, or a non-approval where you will follow a separate process.

You’ll then be able to exit the site and rejoin the strategic main road.

Duration of the checks

HMRC estimates that you will need between one to two hours at the facility to go through customs clearance. Make sure you leave sufficient time when planning your journey.

The sites are staffed and operated 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

Once you’ve completed the paperwork process, you can return to your vehicle and you should leave immediately.

Facilities available on sites

All sites will provide water, toilets, and handwashing facilities. Additional facilities are offered on a site-by-site basis as outlined in each site-specific section. Cookers and fires are not permitted on-site.

If your vehicle is excluded

It’s possible that vehicles may arrive at the site that are classed as ‘excluded’ from the requirement to park on the site. This is based on things like load content, vehicle size and the presence of hazardous goods. If there are any issues, your vehicle will be moved to the marshal inspection bays for further examination by a senior security marshal.

Vehicles are excluded if they contain:

• livestock and other live loads (exemptions to this apply on sites that process CITES movements)
• any vehicle transporting abnormal loads, which are:
  • a weight of more than 44,000kg
  • an axle load of more than 10,000kg for a single non-driving axle and 11,500kg for a single driving axle
  • a width of more than 2.9m
  • a rigid length of more than 18.65m
• the following hazardous goods:
  • class 1 substances and articles (explosives) and class 4.1 substances (polymerizing substances)
  • category I or II nuclear material
  • high consequence dangerous goods
  • class 6.1 substances (insecticides)
• vehicles subject to Special Types General Order (STGO) 2003

Holyhead restrictions on tankers

Holyhead cannot receive tankers containing over 3,000 litres of hazardous or contaminant liquid.

The Holyhead facility has no penstock valve to help drain away spillages.

Liquid contaminants include organic matter which is highly polluting to watercourses, such as:

• milk
• food
• crops
• dirty water
• silage effluent and slurry