Bonded warehouse
A bonded warehouse is a customs-approved facility where imported goods can be stored without paying duty and import VAT until they are released.
Last reviewed 16 July 2026.
A bonded warehouse (customs warehouse) is a secure facility, authorised by customs, where imported goods can be held with duty and import VAT suspended. The charges only become payable when the goods leave the warehouse for the home market — or are avoided entirely if the goods are re-exported.
This is valuable for cash flow and for goods whose final destination is uncertain. An importer can bring in stock, store it duty-suspended, and pay duty only on the portion actually sold into the UK, releasing it in batches as demand requires.
Operating or using a customs warehouse requires authorisation and careful record-keeping, since customs needs to account for goods entering and leaving under duty suspension.
How it affects your landed cost
A bonded warehouse changes the timing and sometimes the incidence of duty and VAT in your landed cost — you pay only when and if goods enter the UK market, and not at all on goods you re-export. For importers with uncertain demand or transit-and-re-export flows, that can materially change the effective landed cost. Our calculator gives you the per-unit duty and VAT figures you need to weigh whether bonded storage is worth it.
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