Bonded Warehouses

A bonded warehouse, or bond, is a building or other secured area in which dutiable goods may be stored, manipulated, or undergo manufacturing operations without payment of duty. It may be managed by the state or by private enterprise. For the latter case a customs bond must be posted with the government.

If you are importing alcohol or tobacco then you will require a wet bonded warehouse. Dry bonded warehouses are for the storage of all other excise applicable goods.

Finding good sites close to your customers and ingress points is becoming increasingly difficult, as goods origins shift from the near abroad in the EU to further afield, and other recent supply chain disruption is resulting in more time spent in bond.

Bonded warehouses must be approved by HMRC. Finding a site that meets your requirements doesn't have to be time consuming as Stowga experts can identify sites and partners for you, but we also advise you to speak to HMRC directly to check the details of any requirements you many have.