Bonded warehouse

A bonded warehouse, or bond, is a building or other secured area in which imported but dutiable goods may be stored, manipulated, or undergo manufacturing operations without payment of duty. They may then be again exported without payment of duty. It may be managed by the state or by private enterprise. In the latter case a customs bond must be posted with the government. This system is widely used in developed countries throughout the world.

Upon entry of goods into the warehouse, the importer and warehouse proprietor incur liability under a bond. This liability is generally cancelled when the goods are:

While the goods are in the bonded warehouse, they may, under supervision by the customs authority, be manipulated by cleaning, sorting, repacking, or otherwise changing their condition by processes that do not amount to manufacturing. After manipulation, and within the warehousing period, the goods may be exported without the payment of duty, or they may be withdrawn for consumption upon payment of duty at the rate applicable to the goods in their manipulated condition at the time of withdrawal. In the United States, goods may remain in the bonded warehouse up to five years from the date of importation. Bonded warehouses provide specialized storage services such as deep freeze or bulk liquid storage, commodity processing, and coordination with transportation, and are an integral part of the global supply chain.

Depending on the country or region, there are various options for the storage of goods in a bonded warehouse.

Temporary storage premises offer the possibility of storing goods that enter the customs territory of the EU awaiting further customs-approved use or treatment.

The type B customs warehouse is a public customs warehouse. This means that the administrator (warehouse keeper) can make the premises available to anyone that wants to store goods under customs control. It is also known as Public Customs Bonded Warehouses. Examples of type B customs warehouse in Asian countries include Central Warehousing Corporation, Concor, State Warehousing Corporation, DHL Public Bonded Warehouses, Contegrate Entrepot Public Bonded Warehouses, and Allcargo Custom Bonded Warehouses. Type B warehouses are licensed by the concerned customs authorities to act as custodian and escrow to store goods until duty is paid by the importers.

A type C customs warehouse is a private customs warehouse. This means that only the administrator of the customs warehouse (warehouse keeper) can store goods in it, either their own goods or goods stored on behalf of others, the warehouse keeper remaining responsible to customs for the goods kept in storage. The warehouse keeper is also the person who has to provide security to customs. Type C warehouses are importer-specific warehouses wherein goods of only the specific licensed importers may be stored in the warehouse. Such warehouses are also called Private Bonded Warehouses.

Type D and E customs warehouses are private customs warehouses, which means that only the administrator (warehouse keeper) is allowed to store goods in them.