Customs warehousing is a customs procedure under which non-EU goods are temporarily stored within the customs territory (in such warehouses) and keep their non-EU status, without the depositor having to pay customs duties, VAT or other taxes, pending a further customs destination, which may be:
- Release for free circulation in the EU
- Release for consumption (final import)
- Transit to another EU country
- Re-export outside the EU
While stored in a customs warehouse, goods can be sold to another party fully exempt from VAT and duties, as they are still “non-EU goods”.
During storage, some “usual forms of handling” are also permitted, partly listed below. These are generally operations aimed at preserving the goods, improving their presentation or their marketable quality, such as:
- Inventory or sample checks
- Packing, unpacking, repacking, repairing packaging, etc.
- Simple sorting and grading operations
- Affixing stamps, labels, etc. to goods or their packaging
- Sorting of goods, provided these are simple operations
Goods can be kept in a customs warehouse with no time limit.
Customs warehousing also makes goods from non-EU countries available within Italy, ready for immediate production or commercial use.
CSD manages more than 10,000 m² of customs warehouses across Italy.
A stock of non-EU goods already in the country, always available and usable “on demand”, choosing one of the customs destinations above with the help of your trusted customs broker.