{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-1976-3237/annex-2/article-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-1976-3237/annex-2/article-2.json",
  "legislation": "eur/1976/3237",
  "legislation_title": "Council Regulation (EEC) No 3237/76 of 21 December 1976 on the advance implementation of the Technical Annexes and the advance use of the specimen TIR carnet of the Customs Convention on the international transport of goods under cover of TIR carnets (TIR Convention) of 14 November 1975, Geneva",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-1976-3237",
  "path": "annex/2/article/2",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Structure of load compartments",
  "text": "1. To meet the requirements of Article 1 of these Regulations:\n(a) the constituent parts of the load compartment (sides, floor, doors, roof, uprights, frames, cross-pieces, etc.) shall be assembled either by means of devices which cannot be removed and replaced from the outside without leaving obvious traces or by such methods as will produce a structure which cannot be modified without leaving obvious traces. When the sides, floor, doors and roof are made up of various components, these shall meet the same requirements and be of sufficient strength;\n(b) doors and all other closing systems (including stopcocks, manhole-covers, flanges, etc.) shall be fitted with a device on which customs seals can be fixed. This device must be such that it cannot be removed and replaced from the outside without leaving obvious traces, or the door or fastening be opened without breaking the customs seals. The latter shall be adequately protected. Opening roofs shall be permitted;\n(c) apertures for ventilation and drainage shall be provided with a device preventing access to the interior of the load compartment. This device must be such that it cannot be removed and replaced from the outside without leaving obvious traces.\n2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1 (c) of these Regulations, constituent parts of the load compartment which, for practical reasons, have to include empty spaces (for example, between the partitions of a double wall) shall be permitted. In order that the said spaces cannot be used to conceal goods:\n(i) where it covers the full height from floor to roof, or, in other cases, where the space between it and the outer wall is completely enclosed, the lining inside the load compartment shall be so fitted that it cannot be removed and replaced without leaving obvious traces, and\n(ii) where a lining is of less than full height and the spaces between the lining and the outer wall are not completely enclosed, and in all other cases where spaces occur in the construction of a load compartment, the number of such spaces shall be kept to a minimum and these spaces shall be readily accessible for customs inspection.\n3. Windows shall be allowed provided that they are made of materials of sufficient strength and that they cannot be removed and replaced from the outside without leaving obvious traces. Glass shall nevertheless be permitted, but in this case the window shall be fitted with a fixed metal grille which cannot be removed from the outside; the mesh of the grille shall not exceed 10 mm.\n4. Openings made in the floor for technical purposes, such as lubrication, maintenance and filling of the sandbox, shall be allowed only on condition that they are fitted with a cover capable of being fixed in such a way as to render the load compartment inaccessible from the outside.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/1976/3237/annex/2/article/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T15:09:38.505645+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}