Guide
Apply for customs warehousing authorisation
Customs warehousing lets you store non-UK goods without paying import duty or import VAT until they leave the warehouse for free circulation. This guide walks you through the SP1 authorisation application, the stock accounting and guarantee requirements, and the HMRC pre-authorisation visit.
Customs warehousing is a special procedure that lets you store non-UK goods in an HMRC-authorised location without paying import duty or import VAT. The duty point is suspended until the goods are released to free circulation, re-exported, or moved to another procedure. You apply once, then operate the warehouse under the conditions set in your authorisation.
Use this guide if you import goods to hold in stock, consolidate shipments before onward sale, or re-export part of what you bring in. If you intend to process the goods (manufacture, repair, alteration), you need inward processing authorisation instead — different procedure, different rules.
Before you start
You will need:
- An EORI number starting with GB (and an XI EORI if you also move goods in or out of Northern Ireland).
- Premises that HMRC can inspect, with controlled access and a stock control system.
- A Customs Comprehensive Guarantee (CCG), or AEOC status with a guarantee waiver.
- A clean compliance record — outstanding customs debts or recent penalties will delay or block authorisation.
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1. Decide which warehouse type you need
Public warehouses (Type I or Type II) hold goods belonging to third parties — you act as the warehousekeeper for other traders' stock. Private warehouses hold only your own goods. Pick public if you plan to offer storage as a service; pick private if the warehouse exists to support your own import flows. The type drives your responsibilities, your record- keeping, and the level of guarantee HMRC requires.
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2. Document the economic need
HMRC will ask why customs warehousing is the right procedure. Set out the cash-flow benefit (duty deferred until release), the re-export pattern if you ship goods on to non-UK customers, and any consolidation or re-labelling that needs to happen before the duty point. Quantify it where you can — monthly throughput, expected stock value, percentage re-exported.
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3. Design the stock accounting system
Your records must reconcile every customs declaration to a stock movement, and every stock movement back to a declaration or onward procedure. Cover receipts, removals to free circulation, transfers to other warehouses, partial removals, losses, and shrinkage. HMRC expects unique reference numbers per consignment, segregated stock locations, and an audit trail you can produce on request.
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4. Arrange your Customs Comprehensive Guarantee
Apply for a CCG to cover the duty and import VAT suspended on goods in the warehouse. The guarantee amount is based on the maximum duty at risk at any one time. AEOC holders can apply for a guarantee waiver. Get the CCG reference before you submit SP1 — HMRC will not authorise without one.
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5. Submit form SP1 to HMRC
Apply on GOV.UK using form SP1 (the special procedures authorisation form). Include your EORI, warehouse address, warehouse type, expected throughput, your CCG reference, and a description of your stock accounting system. HMRC's target is 120 days to decide, but complex applications take longer.
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6. Prepare for the pre-authorisation visit
An HMRC officer will visit the warehouse before authorisation issues. Expect a premises inspection (security, signage, segregation), a walkthrough of your stock system with sample transactions, and a compliance review of your wider customs record. Fix anything they flag before they leave — unresolved issues mean conditions on your authorisation, or refusal.
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7. Commence operations and meet ongoing obligations
Once authorised, file the periodic returns and stock reconciliations stated in your authorisation letter, notify HMRC of any change to premises or systems, and keep records for at least four years. A breach — missing stock, late declaration on removal, or unauthorised processing — triggers an immediate customs debt and a Schedule 1 penalty.
AEOC holders can apply for a guarantee waiver
If you hold AEOC status, you can apply for a full or partial waiver of the CCG covering goods in the warehouse. The waiver removes the cash or bank guarantee but does not remove the underlying liability — you still owe the duty if a breach occurs.
Warehouse breach: customs debt plus Schedule 1 penalty
What happens next
HMRC will issue a written authorisation letter setting your warehouse type, premises, conditions, return cycle, and any guarantee terms. Read the conditions carefully before you take your first consignment — they are enforceable, and a condition breach is treated the same way as a procedural breach.
If you also process goods, you will need a separate inward processing authorisation. Goods cannot move from customs warehousing to inward processing without a customs declaration between the two procedures.