Collecting and transporting groupage consignments from GB to NI

All products moved from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) to Northern Ireland should be sealed and certified. Seals added by traders or hauliers are commercial seals. Seals added by certifying officers are official seals.

Consignments sealed with a commercial seal will need physical identity checks on entry to NI and this may increase delays at the point of entry.

Consignments sealed with an official seal may only require seal checks and are likely to move through the point of entry more quickly.

To assist with identity checks, you may want to attach a document that shows the seal number and delivery address for the products to the outside of the consignment or pallet.

Types of seal you can use

The method of sealing used by a trader is a commercial decision. You should discuss and agree sealing methods with your certifying officer.

Examples of acceptable seals include:

• strapping with shrink wrap where the straps cross over both ways where possible and the seal is attached at the cross-over points to prevent items being removed or added to the load
• wire wrap with shrink wrap fixed with a seal on top
• sealed reusable large netting (or other cover) over multiple pallets

You can seal the consignment in part of a trailer or container if there’s only one point of physical entry to the consignment and the seal is applied to that point of entry.

Pallets should be sealed so they cannot be tampered with. Pallets must comply with ISPM 15.

Smaller consignments such as boxes can be sealed with security tape that shows if the consignment has been altered.

You should not use cling film or pallet wrap by itself as this does not prevent the load from being tampered with.

Your consignment will be subject to further checks and will be delayed if:

• you do not apply the seal correctly
• the seal number does not match the number on the certificate