Customs warehousing
Source: gov.uk (2025-06-25)

Information about customs warehousing.

For general advice on customs warehousing, see the Customs Warehousing Handbook (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/special-procedure-customs-warehousing).

Customs valuation within customs warehousing

Where a sale for import to the UK takes place before entry of the goods to free circulation, the customs value must be based on that sale under Method 1. If there has been no sale for export, then a sale can be made in a customs warehouse, and this should be the basis of a Method 1 value. The duty and exchange rates at the time of removal from the warehouse must be used. If a series of sales takes place in the customs warehouse before entering free circulation and documentation regarding the first sale is not available to the final buyer, Method 1 will not be applicable and one of the other valuation methods should be used.

Where the customs value is established under Method 1 based on a price actually paid or payable, which includes the cost of warehousing and of preserving goods while they remain in warehouse, such costs need not be included in the customs value. This applies if the costs are shown separately from the price actually paid or payable for the goods.

Expenses

If the goods are in storage abroad at the time of the sale for import to the UK, the ownership of the goods remains with the seller. Thus, normally the storage expenses will be recovered by the seller as part of the price actually paid or payable by the buyer. If not, these expenses are to be included in the customs value if they constitute a payment made directly or indirectly to the seller or for their benefit.

If the goods are put into storage abroad subsequent to their purchase but prior to their import to the UK, and prior to the process of transportation; at this stage the buyer owns the goods. Expenses incurred by the buyer after purchase cannot be considered as a payment made directly or indirectly to the seller or for their benefit. Such expenses represent activities undertaken by the buyer on their own account. The cost of these activities is to be added to the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods but only if Regulations 111 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1248/regulation/111) and 115 CIDEER (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1248/regulation/115) provide for adjustment in respect of them. As no such provision exists, the storage expenses are not to be included in the customs value.

If the goods are put into storage in the UK prior to their clearance to free circulation, the cost of warehousing and of preserving goods while they remain in a customs warehouse are not to be included in the customs value. This is subject to the proviso that the cost is shown separately from the price actually paid or payable for the goods.

If the goods are temporarily stored incidental to their transport, for example:
- prior to export, storage expenses are incurred at the port of export pending the arrival of the exporting vessel
- at importation a period of time elapses between the unloading of the goods and the lodging of the customs declaration - during this period, the goods are stored under customs control thus incurring storage expenses
Expenses of this kind, arising out of incidental storage of goods during transport, are to be regarded as charges associated with the transport of goods. Thus, the rules relating to the valuation treatment of transport costs are to be applied as appropriate. Further guidance on this subject is provided in WCO Commentary 7.1.

The same principles apply to the valuation of goods for ad valorem customs duty and for import VAT at the time of importation, after warehousing or on removal from a Freezone.

When goods undergo any of the permitted forms of handling in a customs warehouse, the declarant has the option of paying duty on the customs value applicable to the goods before the operation instead of paying duty on a customs value established when the goods are removed from the warehouse regime. This option is likely to be appropriate only when a customs value is determined under Method 1, that is, the declarant has purchased the goods. When the declarant is able to establish an acceptable value under Method 1 on the basis of a purchase price for the goods prior to their being subjected to an operation, that customs value is acceptable.

When values may be adjusted

Lost

If some of the goods have been lost before entry to free circulation, the price actually paid or payable may be apportioned to take account of any loss.

Destroyed, or damaged in customs warehouse

If goods are proved to have been destroyed or damaged, apportionment of the total price between the destroyed or damaged goods and the remainder is allowable. This equally applies when goods are ‘garbled’ (that is, sound goods are separated from goods that have been damaged or have deteriorated).

Price reductions granted by the supplier or seller

If, before entry of the goods to free circulation, the declarant claims that the price paid or payable has been reduced by the supplier or seller who is not related to the declarant, a revised value is acceptable providing it is supported by satisfactory evidence. In the case of related parties, it is necessary to consider whether the price reduction is influenced by the relationship or stems from contractual arrangements in place at the time of entry to free circulation of the goods to be valued.