A bonded warehouse is a place where imported goods are stored under the supervision and with the permission of the customs administration without customs duties being paid. The decisive word here is "supervision": the goods are physically in Türkiye but legally not yet imported.
That is why a bonded warehouse is a customs procedure rather than a storage service. What a depot offers is space; what a bonded warehouse offers is time.
What it solves
A bonded warehouse solves three concrete problems:
- Cash flow: duty is not paid until the goods are withdrawn
- Time: the goods wait until the buyer or production is ready
- Flexibility: the consignment can be split and withdrawn in part
How it works: entry, waiting, exit
Goods enter the warehouse with a warehouse declaration. On entry they are weighed, counted and the condition of the packaging is recorded; that record is the ground to stand on in any later dispute over damage.
During the waiting period stock records are kept and every movement is entered in the inbound–outbound register. Exit takes place after the declaration and customs permission; all or part of the goods can be withdrawn.
Who it suits
It suits any importer who cannot sell the goods or put them into production straight away. The benefit is particularly clear for these profiles:
- High-tonnage raw material and steel importers
- Traders bringing in consignments whose buyer is not yet confirmed
- Firms re-exporting to the Middle East
- Businesses selling seasonally that do not want stock taxed up front
What to watch for
The first thing to look at when choosing a warehouse is the documents: the warehouse opening and operating licence, the type and code, the affiliated customs directorate and the all-risk insurance policy.
The second is record discipline. In a warehouse, quality is the accuracy of the record rather than of the product itself; the difference between the quantity found in a count and the quantity in the records must be zero.