Border controls for non-food products
Guidance for businesses on OPSS border controls.
This guidance is for businesses operating at the border importing non-food products.
Information on the types of product covered is provided in The border with the EU: importing and exporting goods.
Consignments arriving in the UK are subject to controls by market surveillance authorities including Trading Standards to ensure that they meet the requirements of all applicable product safety legislation before being released onto the market.
This process is managed and administered by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). Where a consignment hits an OPSS routing code the importer or freight agent representing the importer is required to submit complete import paperwork to the OPSS Borders Team at opss.borders@beis.gov.uk for assessment. This assessment might result in either a documentary check or a physical examination of the consignment.
Details of this process are set out below.
Routing suffix codes
Entries selected for intervention are identified through risk and intelligence processes. OPSS controls are set in the UK’s import controls system’s Customs Handling of Import Freight (CHIEF) and Customs Declaration Service (CDS). Where a consignment hits an OPSS controls it can be identified by its routing code.
The second character on the route code identifies OPSS interest and whether there is also other government department (OGD) involvement.
The route will appear on:
- CURSES
- inventory messages (UKCIUM)
- trade reports (E1, E2/H2, E5, E8, E9, N3, N4, N6)
- EDI DEVD
The table below lists the codes, their meanings and the actions required by traders.
| Route | Meaning and involvement | Presentation of import documents by importer / freight agent |
|---|---|---|
| 1S | OPSS / Trading Standards | To OPSS |
| 2S | OPSS / Trading Standards | To OPSS |
| 1U | OPSS / Trading Standards and Customs (NCH) | To OPSS and NCH |
| 2U | OPSS / Trading Standards and Customs (NCH) | To OPSS and NCH |
| 1V | OPSS / Trading Standards and Border Force | To OPSS and at the Frontier |
| 2V | OPSS / Trading Standards and Border Force | To OPSS and at the Frontier |
| 1Q | OPSS / Trading Standards and OGD | To OPSS |
| 2Q | OPSS / Trading Standards and OGD | To OPSS |
| 1W | OPSS / Trading Standards, OGD and Customs (NCH) | To OPSS and NCH |
| 2W | OPSS / Trading Standards, OGD and Customs (NCH) | To OPSS and NCH |
| 1R | OPSS / Trading Standards, OGD and Border Force | To OPSS and at the Frontier |
| 2R | OPSS / Trading Standards, OGD and Border Force | To OPSS and at the Frontier |
Route 1 type entries are dealt with in the order they are presented to the OPSS Borders Profiling Team, with no priority given to specific locations or types of goods.
Please note: If an entry is showing as ‘Route 1’ or ‘Route 2’ but there is no letter suffix after the routing number – or if the routing number is 1 or 2 with a letter suffix that doesn’t match any shown in the above table – the entry is not for the OPSS Borders Profiling Team. If this is the case and you require further assistance, please contact the NCH directly: nch@hmrc.gov.uk
Documents to be provided for clearance
If you are advised that an entry for your goods is selected for intervention, you must provide:
- the entry acceptance advice
- a copy of the single administrative declaration
- the invoice
- a packing list
- Bill of Lading / Airway Bill as applicable
- any appropriate licence or certificate
Where lodgement of the consignment is on CHIEF these documents must be sent to opss.borders@beis.gov.uk.
Where lodgement of the consignment is on CDS the documents are sent via secure document upload to this system.
Where the documents are presented by e-mail the subject header must include the entry number and entry date. Please note that import paperwork for multiple consignments will be rejected.
Accepted file types
File types that can be processed include PDF, JPEG and TIF.
After your documents have been received / reviewed
If further documents are needed for clearance, you will be advised by email and will be asked to present all documents again.
Contact information
OPSS Borders
Email: opss.borders@beis.gov.uk
NCH enquiries
Email: nch@hmrc.gov.uk