A Guide to Bonded Warehouses

Bonded Warehouses and Their Types. Work of The Customs Warehouse. Customs Terminal.

07.09.2019
Romans AntonovsRomans Antonovs

What Are Customs Warehouses and What Is the Principle Of Their Work?

Each cargo imported into the European Union (EU) from other countries must pass customs inspection and only after that, it can be delivered to the free zone, customs warehouse or taken out of the European Union. When goods are declared for customs control, they can be delivered or unloaded at the customs warehouse.

What is a customs warehouse?         

It can be both premises and territory, the activity of which requires a special permit issued by customs. Various goods and other items that are currently under customs control can be stored in the customs warehouse.

What Can Be Stored in A Customs Warehouse?

Products are divided into 2 main categories:

  • Goods of the European Union. They are delivered to this type of warehouse in case of economic necessity and are not subject to customs supervision. For the storage of EU goods, an appropriate customs permit is required, and goods are not subject to the customs warehousing procedure.
  • Non-EU products. In this case, the goods are placed under the customs warehousing procedure. It should be noted that although non-EU goods are stored in a customs warehouse, they are not subject to trade policy measures (quotas, permits, etc.), various payments (excise or VAT) and import duties. When the customs warehousing procedure applies to non-EU goods placed in a customs warehouse, a customs declaration must be submitted to the customs office.

What Are the Types And Types Of Customs Warehouses?

Depending on whether any person can use a warehouse to store goods or only the owner of a warehouse, the customs warehousing procedure can be divided into public and private. This division is relevant not only in Latvia but also in all EU countries.

In the case of a public customs warehouse, there is the following breakdown by type:

  • Type A-the person responsible for the goods is the holder of the contract for the storage of goods with the warehouse owner or the responsible person is the warehouse holder;
  • Type B-custodian is Responsible;
  • Type F - warehouse Management is carried out by the customs service.
    • In the case of a private customs warehouse, the owner of the warehouse, who is also the custodian, is responsible, in which case the following classification by type applies:
  • Type D-goods released for free circulation through local clearance (duty-free shop);
  • Type E-the customs procedure remains in force, but the goods are not necessarily in the customs warehouse;
  • Type C - if a warehouse situation of type D or E is not implemented.

It should be noted that the same site cannot be recognized by more than one customs warehouse.

Thus, the warehouse owner is responsible for handling goods in warehouses of type A, C, D and E, and the warehouse owner in warehouses of type B is responsible for the work, and customs is responsible for managing the warehouse of type F.

According to the procedure of customs warehousing, goods can be stored indefinitely.

How Is The Work Of The Customs Warehouse In Latvia Regulated?

The type of warehouse operation is determined by customs, which in turn is controlled by the state revenue Service (SRS) in the Republic of Latvia. The SRS has the right to issue and cancel permits for customs warehousing. Currently, there are more than 140 warehouses in Latvia for which the SRS has issued permits, and a detailed list of customs warehouses is available on the website of the state revenue Service. The list includes warehouses not only in Riga but also throughout Latvia. The list of customs warehouses is regularly updated.

There are situations when a customs warehouse should be used for the temporary storage of goods. In this case, this location needs separate permission.

What Is the Customs Terminal?

                So-called customs and logistics complexes, which not only store goods, but also perform various other services, such as the change of owners of goods, processing and consolidation of goods, marking excise goods and various other tasks. Often terminals are in an area with modern and developed infrastructure, halls for truck drivers and even a separate railway.

            How Do Customs Warehouses And Terminals Work In The European Union?

                As in Latvia, customs warehouses and terminals are also available in all countries of the European Union. They not only offer storage, but they also provide customs control in cases where the goods are imported from a third country such as Russia. If goods are imported from another European Union, they are not subject to customs control.

In order to facilitate the export and import of goods between the countries of the European Union, as well as with third countries, the EU Customs code has been developed, which includes legal acts ensuring that the procedures applied in all Member States of the community are applied to the same standard.

As mentioned earlier, lists of customs warehouses in Latvia are available on the SRS website. Similarly, all customs warehouses located in the EU are also listed in the same catalogue on the Europages website.

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