A Notice of Seizure from Border Force: The Procedure, the One-Month Window and Restoration
A seizure notice starts two separate clocks running: one to challenge whether the seizure was lawful, and one to ask for the goods back anyway. Missing the first ends that route for good.
A notice of seizure means Border Force or HMRC has taken goods as liable to forfeiture under section 139 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 [2]. From that point there are two separate routes, and they can be used together: a notice of claim, which challenges whether the seizure was lawful and must arrive within one month; and a request for restoration, which asks for the goods back even if the seizure was lawful, normally within 45 days [1].
This is the procedure, as GOV.UK and the statute set it out. It is not advice on declarations, descriptions or shipping, and nothing here is about avoiding a seizure. An opened parcel is not necessarily a seized one — the difference between a customs examination and a seizure is worth being sure of before reading further.
The document you received
There are two forms. If you or your agent were present when the goods were seized, you receive a seizure information notice, also called a receipt of goods seized. If nobody was present — the usual case for a parcel stopped at an import postal hub — a notice of seizure is sent to you [1]. The statute requires notice of the seizure and of its grounds to be given to the owner, except where the seizure happened in the owner's presence [3].
Keep the document and its envelope. It carries the reference number every later letter must quote, and its date is what the deadlines run from [1].
Two routes, side by side
| Notice of claim | Restoration request | |
|---|---|---|
| What it says | The goods were not liable to forfeiture; the seizure was unlawful | Whether or not the seizure was lawful, please return the goods |
| Deadline | One calendar month | 45 days, with later requests still considered |
| Who decides | A magistrates' court (a sheriff court in Scotland) | Border Force or HMRC, using a discretionary power |
| If refused | The court condemns the goods as forfeit | Review, then appeal to a tribunal |
| If missed | Goods deemed condemned; the route is closed | Still possible to ask, but later |
The guidance is explicit that the two are not alternatives: you can send a notice of claim challenging the seizure and still ask for restoration [1]. They answer different questions, and one does not wait for the other.
The one-month window
GOV.UK states the rule in calendar terms: the notice of claim must be received within one calendar month; the period starts on the day of the seizure and ends at 11:59pm on the last day of the month [1]. The statute frames the period as one month from the date of the notice of seizure [3]. Where the two might produce different dates, working to the earlier one removes the question.
The consequence of missing it is final for that route. Schedule 3 provides that if no notice of claim has been given when the period expires, the thing seized is deemed to have been duly condemned as forfeited [3]. GOV.UK puts it in plain terms: if the notice of claim is not received in time, ownership passes to HMRC or Border Force, and you can no longer challenge the legality of the seizure [1].
What a notice of claim sets in motion
A notice of claim is a written notice. The statute requires it to state the claimant's name and address, and a claimant outside the United Kingdom must also give the name and address of a UK solicitor authorised to accept service on their behalf [3].
Once a valid claim is received, the authority must take proceedings for condemnation in court [3]. These are condemnation proceedings in a magistrates' court, or a sheriff court in Scotland [1]. The court asks one question: whether the thing was liable to forfeiture at the time of seizure. If it finds that it was, it condemns the goods as forfeited [3].
That is a court process with the formality that implies. It is the route for a person who believes the goods should never have been seized at all, and it is where independent legal advice earns its cost.
Restoration
Restoration rests on a statutory discretion: the power to restore, subject to such conditions as are thought proper, anything forfeited or seized [4]. Because it is discretionary, a request can succeed even where a seizure was lawful, and it can fail even where the seizure was harsh.
The request should be received within 45 days of the date of seizure shown on the seizure information notice, or the date on the notice of seizure. GOV.UK also says you can ask for the goods to be considered for return even if the time limit for challenging the seizure has expired [1].
- Write in English [1].
- Give your full name and address [1].
- Quote every reference number on the seizure information notice or notice of seizure [1].
- Explain the circumstances and why you are asking for the goods back [1].
- Include proof of ownership, such as purchase receipts [1].
- Send it to the address the guidance gives for the seizing authority; for Border Force postal seizures that is the National Post Seizure Unit [1].
For a research buyer, proof of ownership means the ordinary commercial record: the supplier's invoice, the order confirmation or purchase order, and proof of payment. The importer of a consignment is ordinarily the person responsible for the declaration made in their name [5], so a request should come from, or on behalf of, whoever that is. Supporting documents describe the goods as they actually are; a restoration request is a statement to a public authority, and it should contain nothing that is not true.
Reviews and appeals
If restoration is refused, you can ask for the decision to be reviewed within 45 days, and the review officer has 45 days to respond. If you are not satisfied with the review decision, you can appeal to a tribunal within 30 days [1].
| Step | Time limit | Who acts |
|---|---|---|
| Restoration request | 45 days from the seizure date on the notice | You |
| Request a review of a refusal | 45 days | You |
| Review decision | 45 days | Review officer |
| Appeal to the tribunal | 30 days from the review decision | You |
Realistic outcomes
The guidance is candid about the limits. The general policy is not to return seized excise goods, or anything that is prohibited, such as illegal drugs, offensive weapons or endangered species [1]. Perishable goods are disposed of as quickly as possible, and where seized goods have been destroyed they cannot be restored, though an appropriate payment is usually offered instead [1].
- Goods restored, with or without conditions [4].
- Restoration refused, followed by review and possibly a tribunal appeal [1].
- A notice of claim decided by the court, which either condemns the goods or does not [3].
- No response within the claim window: the goods are deemed condemned and the legality route closes [3].
For temperature-sensitive research material, time is part of the outcome. Even a successful restoration may return material that has spent weeks outside its storage conditions, and whether it is still fit for the work is a question only its documentation and your own judgement can answer.
The record to keep
- The notice itself, the envelope and the date you received it.
- Every reference number, on one page, with the deadlines calculated from the seizure date.
- Copies of everything sent, and proof of when it was sent and received.
- The commercial documents for the consignment: invoice, order, payment, supplier paperwork.
- Every reply, with its date, and the date the next deadline runs from.
Deadlines are where these cases are most often lost, and a single page with the dates on it is the cheapest protection there is. The GOV.UK guidance was last updated on 30 January 2026 [1]; check it again before sending anything, because the procedure is the authority's to change.
References
- What you can do if things are seized by HMRC or Border ForceGOV.UK, 2026
- Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, section 139legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1979
- Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, Schedule 3: Provisions relating to forfeiturelegislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1979
- Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, section 152legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1979
- Import goods into the UK: step by stepGOV.UK