# 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, Article 2: Structure of containers

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

1. To meet the requirements of Article 1 of these Regulations:
(a) the constituent parts of the container (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 visible traces or by such methods as will produce a structure which cannot be modified without leaving visible 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;
(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 outside the container without leaving visible traces, or the door or fastening be opened without breaking the customs seals. The latter shall be adequately protected. Opening roofs shall be permitted;
(c) apertures for ventilation and drainage shall be provided with a device preventing access to the interior of the container. This device must be such that it cannot be removed and replaced from outside the container without leaving visible traces.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1 (c) of these Regulations, constituent parts of the container 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:
(i) it shall not be possible to remove and replace the lining inside the container without leaving visible traces, or
(ii) the number of the said spaces shall be kept to a minimum and these spaces shall be readily accessible for customs inspection.

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/1976/3237/annex/7/article/2 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-1976-3237/annex-7/article-2
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.