Receiving goods into a customs warehouse
Source: gov.uk (2025-04-30)

Information about what goods can be stored in a customs warehouse and what to do if there are issues when receiving goods into a customs warehouse.

Eligibility of goods

The term ‘domestic goods’ refers to goods that are in free circulation within the United Kingdom, while ‘non-UK goods’ are defined as goods not in free circulation.

Non-UK goods can be stored in a customs warehouse with their duty and import VAT suspended. Domestic goods can also be stored in a customs warehouse but they will not be under the customs warehouse procedure. There are usually no time limits for storing goods in a customs warehouse, except perishable goods such as food items that have a limited shelf life. HMRC will request the goods be removed, if they might be a threat to humans, animals, plant health or the environment.

Examples of non-UK goods can include, irrespective of whether they are liable to customs duties and or import VAT:
- goods to be stored, delaying payment of duties and import VAT until later entry to free circulation
- goods for which the necessary supporting documents, for example import licences, are not available at the time of importation
- goods produced under other customs procedures such as inward processing
- goods that attract excise duty
The following goods will be eligible for entry to the customs warehousing procedure subject to the following requirements being met:
- carcasses and animal products — the required import licence or health certificate must be presented at the frontier when the goods are imported
- other goods subject to import restrictions — for example, convention on international trade in endangered species or wild fauna and flora (CITES) and plant health, any supporting documentation such as import licences, permits or certificates must be presented at the frontier when the goods are imported
Eligible sources of goods

Goods from any of the following sources may be entered to the customs warehousing procedure:
- direct third country imports
- on discharge of a transit movement and entry to a customs warehouse
- on transfer from another customs warehouse
- from another customs special procedure, for example, inward processing or temporary admission
- under arrangements for claiming remission or repayment of duties in respect of rejected imports
More information can be found at:
- claiming repayment or remission of charges on rejected imports (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-repayment-or-remission-of-charges-on-rejected-imports-ce1179)
- procedures for entering goods to a customs warehouse (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/appendix-1-de-110-requested-and-previous-procedure-codes-of-the-customs-declaration-service-cds/requested-procedure-71-entry-to-a-customs-warehouse-cw).
Ineligible goods

Prohibited goods are ineligible for entry to the customs warehouse procedure, for example counterfeit or pirated goods.

Find more information on import prohibitions and restrictions (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-trade-tariff-import-prohibitions-and-restrictions/uk-trade-tariff-import-prohibitions-and-restrictions).

Storing goods in a customs warehouse without them being entered to a customs warehouse procedure

If there is an economic need and compliance with the arrangements is not adversely affected, domestic goods may be stored in the customs warehouse designated site without being entered to the customs warehousing procedure. Find more information on co-storage (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/special-procedure-customs-warehousing/co-storage#eel-decline).

Movement from the place of entry to the customs warehouse

The movement of goods between the office of entry (entry location into Great Britain from the third country) and the customs warehouse designated site will normally be carried out under cover of the import customs declaration entering the goods to customs warehousing. This is known as ‘moving under the arrangements’.

For goods being discharged inland under transit, the customs warehouse premises will also need to hold a temporary storage approval to discharge the transit procedure.

Arrival of the goods at a customs warehouse

The goods will usually go directly into the customs warehouse without presentation to the supervising office (except if this has been made a condition of the authorisation). Unless there are exceptional circumstances, it is expected that the goods will arrive at the customs warehouse premises within 5 working days of the customs declaration to the customs warehousing procedure being cleared. The 5 working days limit also applies to goods received from another customs procedure.

Storing goods outside of an approved customs warehouse, such as areas like dockside, is deemed unacceptable. Before declaring goods to a specific customs warehouse, the declarant should make sure to check the availability of storage space at the intended location of the customs warehouse. If the customs warehouse lacks capacity, the warehousekeeper should apply to their supervising office for an extension of the authorised customs warehouse premises or add another location within their customs warehousing authorisation.

Unreasonable or unexplained time delays for receipts

If there are unreasonable or unexplained time delays (see arrival of the goods at a warehouse) between the frontier declaration being made and the goods arriving at their customs warehouse destination, a full explanation should be made to the supervising office by the depositor.

Reporting discrepancies between the declaration and the goods received

Warehousekeepers must report to their supervising office all discrepancies between the declaration entering the goods into the customs warehouse procedure and the goods received at the customs warehouse. Once resolved, an amendment of the entry must be made.

A declaration to the customs warehousing procedure may be amended if there are incorrect or incomplete details. There is a limit of up to 3 years to amend and 90 days to cancel a customs declaration once it has cleared.

Under shipments

If a warehousekeeper or depositor identifies a shortage in the goods received compared to what is entered on the declaration, the supervising office must be notified within 14 days of the date of entry to the procedure. Details of the supervising office can be found in the customs warehousing authorisation letter.

It is the responsibility of the warehousekeeper or depositor to provide clear evidence that the shortage of goods was not entered to the customs warehousing procedure. For example, due to the goods not fitting in the container when packed, the wrong invoice is sent with the goods by the supplier or an agent error in completion of the import documentation.

Over shipments

When the goods received are more than the quantity entered on the declaration, these will be regarded as dutiable. If the warehousekeeper or depositor does not want to warehouse the excess goods, the original declaration will not require an amendment, but an additional declaration to free circulation will be required to cover the over shipped goods.

If the additional goods are going to be placed under the customs warehousing procedure, then the supervising office must be notified within 14 days from the date of entry into the procedure and the goods should be warehoused provisionally until the matter is resolved. The warehousekeeper or depositor will need to produce a revised commercial invoice and a statement confirming the receipt of the excess goods. Authorisation may then be given to amend their stock records. Details of the supervising office can be found in the customs warehousing authorisation letter.

Department for Business and Trade (DBT) licences

Goods requiring a Department for Business and Trade (DBT) licence can be warehoused without the presentation of the document. However, the stock records must be noted that an import licence needs to be produced or made available at the time the goods are declared to free circulation.

Find more information on how the government monitors imports into the UK at import controls (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-controls).

Claiming a preferential duty rate on custom warehoused goods

A preferential rate of duty on import can only be claimed at the time goods are entered into free circulation by producing a valid proof of origin. When goods are entered into a customs warehouse, the warehousekeeper should receive the proof of origin, unless the claim to preference is being made using importer’s knowledge. It is their responsibility to endorse the certificate of origin or origin declaration with the stock reference number assigned to the consignment and the date the goods are stored in the customs warehouse. The certificate of origin or origin declaration should also be recorded in the warehouse records. Confirmation that a proof of origin is held will be required on the declaration removing the goods from the customs warehousing procedure.

The proof of origin will only be valid for a limited time, and the warehousekeeper should be aware that they may not be able to claim a preferential rate of duty on the goods if the validity period of the proof of origin expires. The warehousekeeper should also be aware that HMRC cannot accept a proof of origin that is presented more than 2 years after its date of issue, unless there are reasonable grounds to why it wasn’t presented before the expiry of the period of its validity.

Find more information on claiming preference when removing goods to free circulation at:
- using preference agreements for goods in a customs warehouse (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-preference-agreements-for-goods-in-a-customs-warehouse)
- get proof of origin for your goods (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-proof-of-origin-for-your-goods)
- proving originating status and claiming a reduced rate of Customs Duty for trade between the UK and EU (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/proving-originating-status-and-claiming-a-reduced-rate-of-customs-duty-for-trade-between-the-uk-and-eu)
Goods which have failed to obtain a tariff quota

HMRC may allow the entry of goods which have failed to obtain a tariff quota into customs warehousing. A notification to withdraw the original declaration will need to be made to HMRC up to 90 days after acceptance of that declaration. However, this provision is only applicable in cases of unintentional errors, where there is no obvious negligence or deception involved. It would not be allowed for repeated occurrences.

More information can be found at UK Trade Tariff: duty suspensions and autonomous tariff quotas (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/duty-suspensions-and-tariff-quotas).