Sevington customs checks to move back towards Dover and Eurotunnel

HM Revenue & Customs has outlined plans to transfer customs functions from Britain’s two remaining government-funded inland border facilities to infrastructure provided by port operators.

Under the plans, checks associated with the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel will move away from Sevington, while customs operations at Holyhead Inland Border Facility are expected to transfer into facilities within Holyhead Port.

The exact implementation dates have not yet been confirmed.

Transit services to end at Sevington

The most significant change for businesses using the Common Transit Convention is that Sevington will no longer act as an office of departure or destination once the new arrangements begin.

Traders will instead have three options:

• use transit facilities provided by the relevant border operator;
• employ an Authorised Consignor or Authorised Consignee commercially;
• obtain approval to start or end transit movements at their own premises or those of a client.

The Port of Dover is expected to provide transit facilities for goods moving through Dover, while Getlink’s existing transit services will continue for Eurotunnel traffic, according to HMRC’s stakeholder letter.

Authorised consignors can start transit movements at approved premises without presenting the goods at a customs office. Authorised consignees can similarly receive and end movements at an approved location. Obtaining these authorisations, however, involves meeting customs, record-keeping and, in some cases, temporary-storage requirements.

The Road Haulage Association is collecting feedback from operators that currently depend on Sevington for transit movements, as well as businesses already holding Authorised Consignor or Consignee status.

Eurotunnel checks expected to move to Folkestone Services

A LeShuttle Freight notice reproduced by Freightlink provides further detail for Eurotunnel users.

It states that customs checks for its traffic will be handled at Folkestone Services, formerly known as Stop24, near junction 11 of the M20. Inbound vehicles receiving an orange customs status after travelling through the tunnel would be directed there rather than to Sevington.

The Port of Dover has not yet published equivalent operational details identifying precisely where its replacement checks will take place.

SPS checks will remain at Sevington

The announcement does not mean that the entire Sevington facility will close.

Its Border Control Post, used for sanitary and phytosanitary checks on products including food, plants and goods of animal origin entering through Dover and Eurotunnel, is not covered by the customs transition. It will remain operational under the existing arrangements until further notice.

This means drivers could face different destinations depending on the type of intervention required. Eurotunnel loads selected for a customs inspection are expected to be directed to Folkestone Services, while consignments selected for SPS controls will continue to travel to Sevington.

The future of these SPS arrangements may also be influenced by the outcome of negotiations over a possible UK–EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement. However, no replacement regime has yet been finalised.

Holyhead customs checks to move inside the port

At Holyhead, HMRC intends to transfer customs processes from the inland facility at Parc Cybi to infrastructure supplied by the operator of Holyhead Port.

The existing inland site currently provides inbound and outbound transit services, physical customs inspections and facilities for ATA and TIR carnets and CITES permits.

HMRC said work on the detailed arrangements and timetable was continuing. It has not yet confirmed precisely which services will move, the facilities drivers will use or when the transfer will take effect.

No immediate change for hauliers

For now, hauliers and traders must continue using Sevington and Holyhead exactly as they do today. Existing reporting instructions and customs processes remain in force until HMRC announces the transition dates.

Several practical issues remain unresolved, including the precise Dover location, opening hours, vehicle capacity, charges and future arrangements for ATA and TIR carnets and CITES documents.

The government says the change will end the temporary post-Brexit model under which it funded customs infrastructure for ports that lacked sufficient space. Under the standard model operating elsewhere in Britain, border locations themselves are responsible for providing the necessary facilities.

The transition is expected to begin in early 2027, subject to final confirmation.