Customs Posts

The Customs Service staffs nine customs posts: at six of the eight boundary crossings operated by the Borders Authority, at the two aerodromes certified by the Civil Aviation Authority for traffic from outside the Network, and at the Central Exchange Postal Depot of the Postal Service. Officers of the Service take up duty at the posts between Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 September 2026. The crossings themselves, their lanes and their traffic arrangements are the responsibility of the Borders Authority; the Service's posts are located within them.

The register of posts. The register below is maintained by the Service and updated when hours or services change. The hours are those of the customs post and follow the hours of the crossing, aerodrome or depot in which it is located.

Capacity. The table below records the positions and bays at each post and the number of officers assigned to it across all shifts. Officers are moved between posts as traffic requires; the assignments are those planned for September 2026.

Services at the posts. Not every post offers every service. The list below describes what is provided and where.

Red and green channels

At every passenger post travellers choose the green channel if they have nothing to declare and the red channel if they have. Officers at the red channel record declarations, assess duty at the simplified rate and take payment by card.

Freight lanes and holding areas

At Westbrook Freight Gate, Southbank Quay, Central Exchange Aerodrome and Westbrook Cargo Airfield, consignments cleared in advance pass through the freight lane and are recorded. Consignments marked for examination are directed to the holding area, where officers examine them in the presence of the driver or agent, normally within two hours.

Examination bays

Covered bays with weighing, scanning and unloading equipment, provided by the Borders Authority at the crossings, by the Civil Aviation Authority at the aerodromes and by the Postal Service at the depot. Fourteen bays are in service from 8 September 2026.

Animal holding

Facilities for holding animals whose certificate is not in order exist at Northgate Crossing and Southbank Quay only. Animals presented without a certificate at other posts are refused and directed to one of these two.

Postal assessment

Items arriving by post or courier are assessed at the Central Exchange Postal Depot from the sender's declaration. Where duty is due the recipient is notified by email and the item is released to the Postal Service for delivery once the duty is paid. Items held for a document are kept at the depot for 30 days.

Customs House

The Service's headquarters at Central Exchange houses the Tariff and Valuation, Trade Services and Enforcement divisions. Customs House does not clear goods; classification rulings, registration and reviews are dealt with in writing.

Outside the hours of a post. A commercial consignment arriving at a freight post outside its hours waits in the holding area until the post opens; no duty or penalty arises from the wait, and the time is not counted against the carrier. A traveller arriving at a road crossing outside the hours of its customs post is a matter for the Borders Authority, which may hold goods to be declared until the post opens.

What travellers must declare is set out on the Travellers page and the procedure for commercial consignments on the Declarations page. The activity recorded at the posts during the transition period is on the Statistics page. Questions about a particular post may be sent to contact@customs.gov.vin.