The hardest part of importing is often paying duty on goods long before you sell them. A bonded warehouse exists precisely to solve that.

Bonded and general warehousing are not the same

A general warehouse is ordinary storage for goods that have already cleared customs. A bonded warehouse is a customs-supervised area with a special status: the goods are physically in the country but, for customs purposes, are not yet considered imported. That distinction determines when duties become payable.

The real advantage: deferring duty until you sell

When a container enters a bonded warehouse you do not pay customs duty and VAT upfront. As you sell, you withdraw only what you need and pay duty on that quantity alone. For slow-moving products this means keeping cash in your business that would otherwise be tied up for months.

When does it make sense?

  • Slow-turning, seasonal or spare-part type inventory
  • Goods subject to high duty rates
  • First bulk shipments where demand is still uncertain
  • Goods arriving for re-export to third countries
  • Products needing labelling, kitting or repackaging before sale

What can be done to cargo in bond?

A bonded warehouse is not only for waiting. Within what customs regulations permit, handling operations such as labelling, palletising, order-level picking and repackaging can be carried out there — so the goods are sale-ready the moment they are released.

What to watch for

Bonded storage is not free: there is a monthly charge per pallet or square metre, plus inbound and outbound handling fees. The arithmetic is simple — if the cash benefit of deferred duty exceeds the storage cost, bonded storage wins. For fast-moving, low-duty goods, direct import is usually the better route.

If you are not sure which model fits, share your product group and estimated stock turnover and we will compare the two scenarios in numbers.