Customs Clearance at Sevington Inland Border Facility
Sevington sits at Junction 10a of the M20, minutes from our Ashford office. It is where goods entering the UK through Dover, Eurotunnel and Holyhead are sent when they are held for checks, and where transit movements are started and discharged. We clear at Sevington every week, and we know how the site works, what gets consignments stopped there, and what it takes to get a trailer moving again.
What Happens at Sevington
Sevington is two operations sharing one site, and confusing them is the most common way to lose an afternoon. A consignment can need the customs side, the checks, or both. Some loads are physically examined twice by two different authorities, and if nobody has planned for that, the delay compounds.
The HMRC Customs Side
Handles transit. It is an office of departure and an office of destination, so this is where T1 and T2 movements under the Common Transit Convention are opened and discharged. ATA and TIR carnets are stamped here, and CITES permits processed.
The Border Control Post
Run by Ashford Port Health Authority with APHA, it handles sanitary and phytosanitary checks: products of animal origin, high risk food and feed of non animal origin, and medium and high risk plants and plant products.
Why Your Trailer Gets Sent to Sevington
Dover and Eurotunnel are roll on, roll off terminals built for throughput. There is no room at either to pull lorries apart and inspect them, so the inspection capacity sits inland instead. We handle customs clearance at Dover and Eurotunnel alongside the Sevington work, so the two ends of the journey are not separate conversations.
SPS selection works differently, and this is where things go wrong. When a consignment is selected for a plant or animal product inspection, the alert goes to the notifier on the IPAFFS entry, not to the driver and not to the haulier. If the notifier does not pass it on, the first anyone knows is a driver sitting at a booth.
When we are your notifier, that alert comes to us. We can tell your haulier before the truck is past the junction, rather than after.
- The haulier creates a GMR. A Goods Movement Reference linking the declarations for everything on the trailer.
- The GMR is risk assessed. Automatically, before the vehicle arrives.
- The driver checks on arrival. Cleared to proceed, or held.
- Held via Dover or Eurotunnel means Sevington. The vehicle must attend, and goods have to travel there directly and arrive in the same condition they were in at import.
- SPS alerts take a different route. They go to the notifier on the IPAFFS entry, not to the driver.
How We Help
T1 and T2 Discharge
We handle transit movements ending at Sevington, so the guarantee is released and the movement closed properly rather than left open. Read more about T1 and T2 transit.
Import and Export Declarations
Submitted to CDS as part of our full customs clearance service, with the data lined up against what the Border Control Post will be checking.
IPAFFS Pre-notification and CHED Management
Complete and consistent, including trailer unit numbers and vehicle registrations, and amended when those details change. Missing or stale vehicle details are one of the most common documentary reasons a consignment gets held.
Driver Briefing
Defra's own guidance flags that drivers are routinely sent to the HMRC side of the site when they need the Border Control Post, then have to be redirected. We tell your driver exactly what to say at the front booth, that they are carrying import goods for a Defra SPS check, and make sure they have the GMR and CHED reference to hand.
We Turn Up
We are minutes away. When something needs sorting in person, that is a short drive rather than a day trip from the other end of the country. Talk to the Ashford desk if a trailer is sitting there now.
What Actually Causes Delays at Sevington
Most held loads are not held because of the goods. They are held because of the paperwork or the routing.
Ashford Port Health states that checks typically take one to two hours to complete once a vehicle is in the right place with the right paperwork. Getting to that starting point is the part we handle.
- Sent to the wrong part of the site. Defra names this as a leading avoidable delay. The fix is one sentence at the booth.
- Incomplete IPAFFS notifications. Trailer numbers and vehicle registrations missing, or entered and then never updated when the vehicle changed.
- Inconsistent data across systems. What is on the IPAFFS entry does not match the declaration.
- Poor loading. If inspectors cannot reach the consignment, they cannot check it quickly. A load plan matters more than people expect.
- Nobody watching the notification. The inspection alert arrives and sits unread.
Sevington at a Glance
The customs and transit functions at Sevington are free to use. Defra's Common User Charge applies only to SPS consignments entering via Dover and Eurotunnel, and is charged per commodity line with a cap per health certificate. Rates are set by Defra and change, so we confirm what applies to your consignment before you commit, and any charge is set out in the quote we give you.
| Location | Sevington Inland Border Facility, Ashford, Kent |
|---|---|
| Access | M20 Junction 10a via the A2070. Not the rear entrance, which some sat navs still get wrong |
| Hours | Operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. No booking required |
| Handles | Transit (T1 and T2) opening and discharge, ATA and TIR carnets, CITES, and SPS checks on animal products, high risk food and feed of non animal origin, and medium and high risk plants |
| Serves | Goods entering via the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel and Holyhead |
| Typical check time | One to two hours once correctly presented |
| Our office | The Cobalt Building, 1600 Eureka Park, Ashford TN25 4BF, minutes away |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to go to Sevington?
Only if your goods are selected. Most movements through Dover and Eurotunnel are cleared to proceed without stopping. You will know from the GMR check on arrival whether you have been held, and the SPS notifier will be told separately if a plant or animal product inspection is required.
Can you discharge a T1 at Sevington?
Yes. Sevington is an office of destination for Common Transit Convention movements, and we handle discharge there regularly. We also open movements there as an office of departure. Getting the discharge done properly is what releases your guarantee, so it is worth doing rather than leaving open.
How long will my vehicle be held?
Ashford Port Health states checks typically take one to two hours once the vehicle is correctly presented with complete paperwork. Complex consignments, physical examinations or incomplete documentation take longer. We cannot control the inspection itself, only whether your paperwork adds hours to it.
Is Sevington open at night and at weekends?
Yes. The facility operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and no booking is needed. We are contactable around the clock as well, which matters when a trailer is held at three in the morning and nobody at the office answers.
We are a freight forwarder, not an importer. Can you work with us?
Yes, and a good part of our work comes from forwarders and hauliers. We act as the customs partner on Sevington movements, working in your name where you need us to, and we do not approach your customer.
Are you actually near Sevington?
Our office is at Eureka Park in Ashford, a few minutes from the facility. That is the reason this page exists rather than being written by a broker who has only read about the place.
Moving goods through Dover, Eurotunnel or Holyhead?
Talk to a broker who works at Sevington every week.