They wouldn't care about the appearance of the seat (rips in it - unless they're incredibly deep like someone has gone on a seat stabbing rampage) providing that:
1. The seat is secured, bolted down, and the back rest doesn't have any play in it (I got done for this back in my Familia, my back rest in the drivers seat had the slightest play in it, and I got pinged for it)
2. The seat belt can't have any frays in it on the fabric
3. The seat belt has to retract by itself and not just hang there once you've pulled it out
4. The seat must be standard (but by the sounds of it, yours is)
Yes, if you're registered address of the car is a certain amount of kilometres away from Regency, they will send you to the nearest police station/checking station. So in your case, you'd get sent to the local cop shop regardless of the defect.
Edit: Check all your bushes!! This is a huge thing they like to check! If any of them are worn, replace them before you go through!!