What is a Customs Bonded Warehouse?

A customs warehouse is a bonded storage facility. It has permission from the local customs authority to store imported goods. The advantage is that you can postpone the immediate payment of duties and taxes. It is not until the goods that are stored are released for sales within the European Union  that duty payment or payments are made.

The key advantages of this type of warehouse in Europe is as follows:

• The main benefit of this type of bonded storage area is the suspension of duties and taxes until the goods are removed into free circulation.
• Frequently located near international transportation infrastructure such as ports, border crossings and airports, storage of goods is secure.
• Greater compliance as the goods in bonded warehouses remain under the control of local customs.
• Providing supply chain flexibility to businesses on how long they wish to store goods as bonded inventory.
• Dependent on the authorisation conditions, the logistics provider can offer additional rework activity for goods under customs control.

In many cases, it is 3PL providers that operate bonded warehouses in Europe working in partnership with clients to optimise storage location and reduce transportation costs.

If you are considering a European bonded warehouse, SEKO has multiple strategic warehouse locations in the EU such as Rotterdam & Amsterdam. in the Netherlands and Paris & Lyon in France.

The bonded warehouse in the UK is located in Milton Keynes, within the "Golden Circle" that is ideal for UK distribution. The warehouse has both a standard and wet-bond for beverages.

Benefits of bonded warehousing in Europe

• Free up capital by delaying duties and tax payment.
• Improvement of warehousing and distribution strategy into the European market.
• Cost effective inventory management in the European Union.
• Strategic location of your goods ready for faster delivery to your customers.

European Customs Bonded Warehouse FAQ

SEKO Logistics has contract logistics experts that can support your warehousing needs in Europe, don't hesitate to reach out to the team should you have any questions on how to benefit from a bonded warehouse solution.

How does a bonded warehouse help your duty mitigation strategy?

A customs bonded warehouse optimizes duty mitigation by deferring duty and import VAT payments until goods leave storage for local distribution. If goods are re-exported to non-EU markets, duties are waived entirely, preventing double taxation.

Does re-exporting the products from the customs warehouse affect the duty status?

Products can be re-exported from a customs warehouse without the payment of duties and taxes.

What does preserving "Preference status" mean?

Preference and origin are an important part of free trade agreements (FTA), the ability to claim customs duty relief based on the FTA's can be affected if the goods have imported from country A into country B, then shipped to country C.

What are non-manipulation certificates?

A Non-Manipulation Certificate is an official document issued by customs authorities proving that goods stored in a bonded warehouse were not altered, processed, or manipulated during transit, preserving their Preferential Trade Agreement (FTA) origin status

ABOUT SEKO LOGISTICS 

Built on nearly 50 years of logistics expertise, SEKO Logistics is the no-nonsense global end-to-end logistics partner – from factory to consumer. SEKO delivers sustainable client-first service, expert reliability and tech-driven shipping solutions that turn supply chains into a competitive differentiator. With over 150 offices in more than 60 countries, SEKO helps you move at the speed of commerce. 

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Author: SEKO Logistics