Short answer: An HGV is routed to Sevington Inland Border Facility when the consignment is called for a check on entry from France via Eurotunnel or Dover. That happens most often for SPS consignments (food, products of animal origin, plants) covered by the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), or when the import declaration is pulled for a documentary or physical check. The driver needs the GMR, the MRN of the import declaration, the CMR, commercial invoice and packing list, and — for SPS goods — the CHED from IPAFFS plus the health certificate. GOV.UK does not give a typical time on site — it depends on the type of check and how busy the site is, so do not plan the delivery to the hour. Sevington runs 24/7 at M20 Junction 10a in Ashford, roughly 25 minutes from the Eurotunnel terminal.
This is an operational guide that brings the driver, the freight forwarder and the clearing agent onto the same page. You will not find another recycled "post-Brexit rules" summary here — the EasyClearance Team has pulled together the playbook we apply when handling Eurotunnel and Dover traffic on Poland–UK routes.
Sevington Inland Border Facility is a UK government site in Ashford that extends Kent's border checks inland. Its remit and scope are set out on the Sevington Inland Border Facility page on gov.uk. One distinction matters above all: Sevington is an Inland Border Facility (IBF) — a site inland, not a control point at the port of entry. A Border Control Post (BCP) does, however, operate at the facility: if your goods are called for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks, GOV.UK says you must attend the Sevington BCP.
The EasyClearance Team regularly explains to clients that treating Sevington as "just another Border Force car park" is a mistake. It is a fully-equipped customs, veterinary and phytosanitary inspection site with cold-chain bays, sampling rooms and lab handover points. The framework behind it is set out in the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), which introduced phased SPS checks and pushed physical inspections away from the border into IBFs and commercial BCPs.
The Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) links the MRN of each import declaration to the vehicle registration in a single Goods Movement Reference (GMR). The haulier should check the GOV.UK service for whether to report for an inspection after creating the GMR and again before reaching the point of entry; screens on board the ferry or train also show where to go. If the transporter does not use GVMS, IPAFFS sends a text and email 2 hours before the estimated time of arrival when checks are needed. There are two outcomes:
Routing depends on the goods' risk profile, SPS category (low, medium, high), the importer's status (AEO, trusted trader), random selection, and any flags raised in the declaration. The SPS risk-assessment logic is described in the full BTOM 2023 text, and we track the live operational picture from the driver's side in GMR — how to obtain a GVMS number in the UK.
Sevington IBF is at M20 Junction 10a in Ashford, Kent — about 25 minutes by HGV from the Eurotunnel Folkestone terminal, and 35–45 minutes from the Port of Dover (traffic and Operation Brock depending). The operational address is in the TN25 postcode area, off Church Road / A2070 — but in the cab it is safest to enter "Sevington Inland Border Facility" or the coordinates given on the GMR into the sat-nav.
The site has a single access point and a one-way system, and traffic marshals direct drivers to a vacant HGV space. GOV.UK lists standard facilities for all drivers parked on site — toilets, hand washing and water — plus staff trained in first aid. Showers and food outlets are not listed there, so bring your own food. Once checks are complete, the driver is given a card to display in the windscreen to exit the site.
For every client, the EasyClearance Team assembles a "Sevington pack" — the set of documents the driver keeps to hand in the cab and the agent holds in the cloud (CDS, IPAFFS, Dropbox). The minimum kit looks like this:
| Document | Source | Who is responsible |
|---|---|---|
| GMR (Goods Movement Reference) | GVMS | Haulier / agent |
| MRN of the import declaration (CDS) | Customs Declaration Service | Clearing agent |
| CMR (consignment note) | Shipper / forwarder | Haulier |
| Commercial invoice + packing list | Exporter | Importer / agent |
| CHED (Common Health Entry Document) | IPAFFS | Importer / SPS broker |
| EHC / health certificate (veterinary or phytosanitary) | Polish authorities (GIW / PIORIN) | Exporter |
| Vehicle insurance and V5 registration | Haulier | Driver |
| T1 (if in transit) | NCTS | Transit agent |
A single missing item triggers an automatic hold and adds hours to the wait. In practice the most common defect is not a physical missing document but a CHED number that does not match the MRN, or a typo in the exporter's name. If the driver arrives at Sevington without a GMR at all, that is a separate emergency — we cover it in No GMR at the UK border — what to do urgently.
For products of animal and plant origin, three checks apply in sequence: documentary, identity and physical. Their scope and frequency follow the risk categories published by DEFRA for each commodity group. At Sevington:
APHA or Ashford Port Health may charge for SPS checks (document, identity or physical inspection), based on the type of consignment, risk level and weight. These charges are separate from the Common User Charge (CUC), which a UK business importing SPS-eligible goods through Dover or Eurotunnel pays — see CUC rates and eligibility on gov.uk. We cover the wider topic in BTOM Phase 5 — UK border checks 2026.
GOV.UK does not give a typical time on site at Sevington — it depends on the type of check (documentary, identity or physical), any laboratory testing and how busy the site is. Worth bearing in mind before you plan the route.
That uncertainty hits unloading slots in the UK and the defrost risk on chilled and frozen goods. Planning a customer arrival to the hour before the HGV has even left Sevington is unrealistic. That is why we ask clients to work with day-long delivery windows rather than fixed arrival times.
A driver does not need legal training or interpreter-level English to get through the check. A few simple rules go a long way when dealing with Border Force officers and SPS inspectors:
If there is a dispute or a grey area, the driver is entitled to ask for the officer's details and a case reference number — that is the record you will need for any complaint or later follow-up through the broker.
We handle this path thousands of times a year and the shape of it is always the same:
Each of these is fixable remotely within 15–60 minutes — provided the driver knows who to call. EasyClearance runs a 24/7 on-call agent line; the number always goes into the driver's document pack.
Time spent at Sevington does not directly shift the moment the import VAT charge arises, but it affects the paperwork trail that supports the importer's accounting. If you use Postponed VAT Accounting, import VAT is reclaimed via the VAT return based on monthly PVA statements. The rules for reclaiming import VAT in the UK are set out in the gov.uk guide Check when you can claim back import VAT. The Sevington paperwork (CHED, MRN, CMR) is what joins the invoice to the VAT reported under PVA.
Sevington is the default for most Kent routes, but there are alternatives worth checking for certain business models:
The decision is long-term — not something to flip day to day. That is why the EasyClearance Team, when auditing a client's customs process, always tests whether the default Sevington routing is in fact optimal for the client's volume and SPS profile.
Sevington runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. SPS teams work in shifts, but overnight staffing is lighter — DEFRA's contingency plans prioritise work by risk category when inspectors are thin on the ground.
GOV.UK does not give a typical time on site at Sevington — it depends on the type of check (documentary, identity or physical), any laboratory testing and how busy the site is. Laboratory tests can extend the stay.
GMR, MRN of the import declaration, CMR, invoice, packing list — and for SPS, the CHED from IPAFFS and the health certificate. Plus T1 for transit, and V5 / insurance for the vehicle.
Traffic marshals direct the driver to a vacant HGV space; the site has a one-way layout with a lorry waiting area and the inland border facility itself.
WhatsApp 24/7: +44 7404 091 503. Our clearing agent updates CDS and IPAFFS entries remotely and supports the driver in any Border Force conversation.
Toilets, yes: GOV.UK lists toilets, hand washing and water for all drivers parked on site. Showers and food outlets are not listed, so bring your own food. Once checks are complete, the driver receives a card to display in the windscreen to exit.
Entry is free for the haulier. APHA or Ashford Port Health may charge for SPS checks (document, identity, physical); this is separate from the Common User Charge, which UK businesses importing SPS-eligible goods via Dover or Eurotunnel pay.
Sevington is an Inland Border Facility — an inland site to which vehicles are directed for checks, including customs and SPS. A Border Control Post (BCP) for SPS checks also operates at the facility, so it is not a site without a BCP. The difference from a port BCP is location, not the absence of a BCP.