The Customs Transit Procedures (EU Exit) Regulations 2018

Sealing as an identification measure

23.—(1) Customs seals, and seals of a special type in paragraph 18(7), must have at least the following essential characteristics and comply with the following technical specifications—

(a) essential characteristics of the seals—

(i) remaining intact and securely fastened in normal use;

(ii) being easily checkable and recognisable;

(iii) being so manufactured that any breakage, tampering or removal leaves traces visible to the naked eye;

(iv) being designed for single use or, if intended for multiple use, being so designed that they can be given a clear, individual identification mark each time they are re-used;

(v) bearing individual seal identifiers which are permanent, readily legible and uniquely numbered;

(b) technical specifications—

(i) the form and dimensions of seals may vary with the sealing method used but the dimensions are such as to ensure that identification marks are easy to read;

(ii) the identification marks of seals must be impossible to falsify and difficult to reproduce;

(iii) the material used must be resistant to accidental breakage and such as to prevent undetectable falsification or reuse.

(2) Where seals, or seals of a special type in paragraph 18(7), have been certified by a competent body in accordance with ISO International Standard No 17712:2013 ‘Freight containers – Mechanical Seals’(1) published by the International Organization for Standardization in May 2013, Edition 2 (or any later edition), those seals are deemed to fulfil the requirements laid down in sub-paragraph (1).

HMRC must ensure that, for containerised transports, seals or seals of a special type with high-security features must be used to the widest possible extent.

(3) The customs seal must bear the following indications—

(a) the word “Customs” or a corresponding abbreviation;

(b) the United Kingdom country code, in the form of the ISO-alpha-2 country code(2), “GB”.

(4) A seal of a special type must bear either of the following indications—

(a) the name of the person authorised in accordance with paragraph 18(7) to use it;

(b) the corresponding abbreviation or code on the basis of which HMRC can identify the person concerned.

(5) The holder of the procedure must enter the number and the individual seal identifiers of the seals of a special type in the declaration and those seals must be affixed no later than when the goods are released for the common transit procedure.

(6) HMRC must—

(a) notify the customs authorities of the other common transit states of seals of a special type which they have decided to approve, and have not decided to approve for reasons of irregularities or technical deficiencies;

(b) review the seals of a special type approved by them and in use, when they receive information that another customs authority has decided not to approve a particular seal of a special type;

(c) conduct a mutual consultation in order to reach a common assessment;

(d) monitor the use of the seals of a special type in paragraph 18(7).

(1)

The standard is available at https://www.iso.org/standard/62464.html. A hard copy may by inspected free of charge by arrangement with HM Revenue and Customs at 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ.

(2)

Described at https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#search. A hard copy may be inspected free of charge by arrangement with HM Revenue and Customs at 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ.