Importers often use one phrase for two different things: “the cargo is at the warehouse”. But which warehouse the cargo sits in changes both its status and the cost.
A temporary storage facility
Once goods enter the customs territory they have to be held somewhere until they are declared. That is not a choice but a compulsory stage of the process.
Here the goods are under customs control and cannot be used, yet they have not been placed under any customs procedure either. Storage charges run from the moment the cargo is placed at the terminal, and that meter is not stopped by the declaration — it is stopped by release and collection.
A customs warehouse
This is not a warehouse but a customs procedure. The goods are declared and placed under it, and customs payments are not made.
The aim is usually to defer a decision:
- the buyer has not been found yet, or the sale will happen in stages
- the cargo will be released into free circulation in batches
- a document or a permit is awaited
- the goods will later be re-exported, so creating a payment makes no sense
The main differences
- Compulsion — Temporary storage happens automatically; a customs warehouse is chosen by declaration.
- Status — In the first case the goods are not yet under a procedure; in the second they are under a specific one.
- Payment — In both, import payments do not arise at once, but at a customs warehouse this is a formal regime with its own periods and conditions.
- Exit — Leaving temporary storage requires choosing a procedure; leaving a customs warehouse requires a new declaration.
The practical conclusion
The costliest scenario is cargo lingering in temporary storage: the charge runs while the status does not move. If the documents are not ready and the wait will drag on, placing the goods under the customs warehouse procedure is usually the better option.
The decision follows the state of the documents. While preparing the declaration it is possible to work out which option costs less, and delivery from the warehouse to your address follows on in the same chain. If your cargo is already at the terminal, send us the documents and we will say which route is shorter.
Our service on this topic
- Collection of cargo from the customs warehouse and delivery to your address Collection of cargo from the customs warehouse and safe delivery to the client address.
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Get in touch to discuss your specific customs clearance situation — our team will explain it within the framework of the law.
