There is no time limit on how long goods may stay under the warehousing procedure. This is the greatest strength of a bonded warehouse: the goods can wait until the buyer, the financing or production is ready.
However, once a declaration is registered for another customs procedure, the formalities must be completed within 30 days (Customs Regulation art. 389). In practice this is where deadline problems come from.
The event that starts the clock
The period starts to run not when the goods enter the warehouse but when a new customs procedure is declared for them. In other words the goods can wait for two years; but on the day the import declaration is registered, the 30-day clock starts.
Knowing this distinction prevents unnecessary penalties and delays.
When the administration can set a specific period
The customs administration may set a specific time limit if the nature of the goods requires it. The most typical example is perishable goods.
For products that do not perish, such as steel, this limit does not arise in practice; but for food, chemicals and products with a shelf life, the type of goods must be stated from the outset.
What to watch on a long-standing consignment
- The condition of the packaging and the surface should be reviewed regularly
- The term and limit of the insurance policy should stay in line with the value of the goods
- The difference between the stock record and the actual position should be kept at zero
- For a product whose market price is falling, the cost of waiting should be recalculated
How the cost of waiting is calculated
The decision to wait is a comparison of two figures: the cash advantage the deferred duty gives you, and the storage charge.
For products with a heavy duty burden, such as high-tonnage steel, the deferral is usually larger than the storage charge; holding the goods in the warehouse therefore produces a net gain.