If a driver has been told to report to the “Ashford customs office”, it means Sevington Inland Border Facility. It sits at Junction 10a of the M20, a few minutes from our own office in Ashford, and it is where goods coming in through Dover and Eurotunnel go when they are held for checks, and where T1 and T2 transit movements are started and closed. It is not a walk-in office for the public. Here is what actually happens there and what you need to have ready.
Two operations on one site
Sevington is really two things sharing a site, and confusing them is the most common way to lose an afternoon.
- 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 are opened and discharged. ATA and TIR carnets are stamped here and CITES permits processed.
- The Border Control Post is run by Ashford Port Health Authority with APHA. It handles sanitary and phytosanitary checks: products of animal origin, high risk food and feed, and medium and high risk plants and plant products.
A consignment can need one side, the other, or both. Drivers are routinely sent to the customs side when they need the Border Control Post and then have to be redirected, so knowing which one you need before you arrive matters.
Why a lorry gets sent to Sevington
Dover and Eurotunnel are roll on, roll off terminals built for throughput. There is no room at either to pull a trailer apart, so the inspection capacity sits inland. The haulier creates a Goods Movement Reference linking the declarations for everything on the trailer. That GMR is risk assessed automatically before the vehicle arrives. The driver checks the result after crossing: cleared to proceed, or held. Held through Dover or Eurotunnel means Sevington. The vehicle has to go there directly, and the goods have to arrive in the same condition they were in at import.
Plant and animal product checks work differently. When a consignment is selected for an SPS 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 being turned around.
What the driver needs to have
- The GMR and the movement reference numbers for the declarations on the trailer.
- For a T1 or T2 movement, the transit accompanying document.
- The commercial paperwork: invoice, packing list and CMR.
- For SPS goods, the CHED reference and the health certificate, with the trailer and vehicle details matching what is on the IPAFFS entry.
- One sentence for the front booth: which side they need, and if it is the Border Control Post, that they are carrying import goods for a Defra SPS check.
How long it takes
Ashford Port Health says checks typically take one to two hours once a vehicle is in the right place with the right paperwork. Getting to that starting point is where the time goes. The usual causes of delay are being sent to the wrong part of the site, IPAFFS notifications with missing or stale trailer and vehicle details, data that does not match between the notification and the declaration, a load packed so inspectors cannot reach the consignment, and an inspection alert that arrives and sits unread.
Is there a charge?
The customs and transit functions at Sevington are free to use. Defra’s Common User Charge applies only to SPS consignments entering through Dover and Eurotunnel. It is charged per commodity line with a cap per health certificate, and the rates are set by Defra and change, so we confirm what applies to a consignment before it moves.
How we help
We clear at Sevington every week. We discharge T1 and T2 transit movements ending there so the guarantee is released and the movement closed properly, submit the import and export declarations as part of our customs clearance service, act as the IPAFFS notifier so the inspection alert comes to us rather than sitting unread, and brief the driver on exactly what to say at the booth. Because we are minutes away, when something needs sorting in person it is a short drive, not a day trip. There is more detail on our Sevington customs clearance page, and the desk is open 24 hours on +44 1233 516081.
Quick answers
Is Sevington the same as the Ashford customs office? Yes. People search for it under both names. The site is the Sevington Inland Border Facility, on the edge of Ashford in Kent.
Does every lorry have to go there? No. Most movements through Dover and Eurotunnel are cleared to proceed. Only vehicles whose GMR comes back as held, and consignments selected for an SPS inspection, need to attend.
Can the driver just turn up and ask? They can, but without the references and the right side of the site they will be waiting. Ring the number above before they arrive and we will tell them exactly where to go.