Freight transport - Standardised seals - Guidelines for sealing wagons and intermodal transport units

In a liberalised European rail transport market, ongoing efforts are made by the International Union of Railways (UIC) to accelerate international freight traffic by eliminating checks and formalities at the borders to a large extent.

For this purpose it is essential that consignments are handled in accordance with rules from the moment they are accepted at the handover site (siding, station, port, container terminal, etc.). This includes ensuring that they can be properly identified, i.e. ensuring as per legal requirements that the goods due to be conveyed are unaltered upon receipt. In this respect seals only ensure that tampering during the journey can be identified.

Proper identifiability is a requirement of customs law (transit procedure, export procedure) which is met by affixing seals (sealing packages, sealing the space containing the goods) or providing a description of the goods in accordance with the relevant requirements. If goods are shipped by rail, railway undertakings (RUs) can ensure compliance with the principle of identifiability under customs law as part of their role as carriers.

The present guidelines define the recognised and standardised seals as the minimum requirement for sealing spaces in which goods are contained for conveyance by rail, and refer to a checklist for affixing seals on wagons and intermodal transport units. The checklist was prepared due to the variety of types and sealing devices.

This IRS is available in German, French and English.

It integrates in full or in part the following UIC leaflets:

- UIC Leaflet 571-3: Standard wagons - Special-purpose wagons - Characteristics, 6th edition, November 2004

- UIC Leaflet 576: Wagon doors and securing devices (Interchangeability), 5th edition of 1.7.75 and 6 Amendments

It complements the following standards:

N/A