How Is a Warehouse Declaration Filed?

Warehousing and Customs · 2026.09.03 · 3 min read

The warehouse declaration is the declaration submitted to the customs administration to place goods under the warehousing procedure, and it is filed by a customs broker. The warehouse operator's role is to prepare the information and documents the declaration rests on, correctly and on time.

In practice what stalls the process is not the declaration itself but the data beneath it: a quantity that does not add up, a missing report, or a warehouse code written incorrectly.

Information needed for the declaration

The core information that has to be prepared on the warehouse side is as follows:

• The warehouse code and the affiliated customs office
• The type, HS code and quantity of the goods
• The weighing and counting result (with a report)
• The type of packaging, number of packages and their condition
• Transport document (bill of lading / CMR) details

The process step by step

When the goods arrive at the warehouse a physical check is carried out first: they are weighed, counted and the condition of the packaging is photographed. That record is the basis for the quantity in the declaration.

The reports are then passed to the broker, the declaration is registered and the goods are taken into the warehouse with the permission of the customs administration. The entry is written into the inbound–outbound register.

The three most common mistakes

• Quantity discrepancy: the quantity on the bill of lading does not match the actual weighing; the difference must be identified and recorded before the declaration
• Missing packaging record: if damaged packaging is not recorded on arrival, whether the damage occurred in the warehouse becomes disputable
• Late notification: if the 30-day period running from registration of the declaration is missed, administrative consequences follow

Who does what