Customs warehousing and bonded storage
Customs and excise warehouses hold goods with duty suspended until they are released, re-exported or moved on. The regime suits importers who need to defer duty, consolidate shipments or store goods for a market they are still developing.
TCSA reviews your enquiry and helps identify suitable member providers. The appointed provider confirms the scope and quotation.
What this covers
Importers holding duty-suspended stock, businesses consolidating part-loads into full consignments, and organisations storing goods pending a decision on which market they will be sold in.
Regime advice
Which warehouse type fits the goods, the duty position and how long they will be held.
Provider identification
Matching to a member warehouse operator with the right authorisation, capacity and handling capability for the goods.
Entry and removal documentation
The declarations and records that accompany goods entering, moving between and leaving a warehouse.
Records and stock control
The record-keeping the regime requires, and what happens at stock reconciliation.
Who performs the work: A member warehouse operator. TCSA reviews the requirement, confirms which operators can meet it and makes the introduction; the operator confirms scope, capacity and charges directly.
Limits: Storage itself is delivered by the warehouse operator. TCSA does not own or operate storage facilities and does not guarantee capacity.
How membership and accreditation differInformation to have ready
None of this is required to send an enquiry. It helps us confirm the appropriate route and the scope faster.
- Goods type and handling requirements
- Expected volume and storage duration
- Temperature, security or hazardous-goods requirements
- Origin and destination of the goods
- Whether duty suspension or deferment is the objective
- Preferred location
What happens next
The same four steps apply whatever the service. Timings are agreed with you rather than promised up front.
- 01
Requirement
You describe the goods, volumes and how long they need to be held.
- 02
Matching
TCSA identifies member operators with the authorisation and capability required.
- 03
Quotation
The operator confirms storage, handling and any duty-suspension arrangements directly with you.
- 04
Onboarding
The regime is set up and the first entries are made under the agreed arrangements.
What affects the price
Storage is usually charged per pallet or per square metre per week, with handling charged per movement. Duty remains suspended rather than waived, and becomes payable when goods are released to free circulation.
Submitting the enquiry is free. The service itself is quoted before any work begins.
The provider who delivers the work sets its own rates. TCSA does not set them.
Where this is available
Confirmed for the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and the Netherlands. Other markets are reviewed on request.
Availability on a specific lane, site or regime is confirmed during review.
Who handles the work
Member operators are matched on their authorisation type, handling capability and current capacity. Membership status is verified against TCSA membership records before an introduction is made.
Membership of TCSA is not a statutory licence, and neither membership nor accreditation guarantees the performance of any provider. Scope and charges are agreed with you before work begins.
Questions about this service
Related services
Warehousing and third-party logistics
Third-party logistics covers storage, pick and pack, and the fulfilment activity around it. It is the commercial counterpart to a customs warehouse: this page covers storage and fulfilment generally, while customs warehousing covers duty-suspended storage specifically.
Customs clearance and brokerage
Support with import, export and transit declarations where goods cross a customs border. TCSA reviews the requirement and identifies a suitable member brokerage for the trade lane involved.
Transit and temporary movement
Transit procedures move goods under customs control between two points, or into and out of a territory temporarily. The documentation and guarantees are different from an ordinary import, and the movements are usually time-limited.
The process
How an enquiry works
Find customs, freight and trade services through TCSA. Tell us what you need and we will review your enquiry, connect you with suitable member providers, or confirm whether TCSA can deliver the service directly. Submitting an enquiry does not book work or accept a quotation, and does not guarantee that a provider is available.
- 01
Choose a service and tell us what you need
Pick the service that fits and describe the requirement. It takes a couple of minutes.
- 02
TCSA reviews the requirement
We confirm the appropriate next step: a member provider, a TCSA-delivered service, or a managed sourcing process.
- 03
The agreed route responds
Suitable member providers or the TCSA team respond according to the route you agreed to.
- 04
You decide whether to proceed
Review the scope, the provider and the pricing before committing to anything.
Membership
What members get on services
You do not need to be a member to enquire. Membership changes the rate you pay and the way opportunities are routed to you as a provider.
For buyers
- Preferential rates on eligible services, confirmed with your quotation.
- Eligibility checked against your membership record, not a self-declaration.
- One enquiry route covering customs, freight, compliance and inspections.
For member providers
- Enquiries matched to your stated services, countries and language capability.
- Only enquiries you are assigned to are visible to you, in the Member Portal.
- Your details are shared only where the customer has permitted it.
Buying a service has no bearing on accreditation. Accreditation is assessed separately against published criteria.