Can I close a customs warehouse with stock remaining?
You can request cancellation or amendment by writing to the address on your authorisation letter. Plan with HMRC how to resolve the remaining duty-suspended stock before approval ends, including declarations and any tax due. Supplier paperwork can be coordinated with Cambridge China Bridge.
Choose cancellation or amendment
HMRC’s guidance allows cancellation or amendment by writing to the address on your authorisation letter. Explain whether you intend to stop operating entirely or change the operation. If you are keeping part of the business running, ask whether an amendment would suit the proposed arrangement.
Include the authorisation reference, affected premises, proposed stopping date and a summary of remaining stock. Ask HMRC to confirm the effective date and the arrangements for any unresolved goods. Treat your proposed date as a planning request until you have a clear response.
Agree the remaining-stock plan
The supervising office’s cancellation responsibilities include ensuring that goods under the procedure are properly dealt with and relevant duties and taxes are paid. Plan to resolve the suspended stock before approval ends, rather than treating the cancellation letter as a stock-release instruction.
Prepare a batch list showing the owner, physical location, quantity, original declaration reference and proposed destination. Match the physical count to the warehouse records, which HMRC requires to show current stock under the procedure. Flag discrepancies for discussion before booking collections.
Choose a destination for each batch
Discuss release to free circulation, re-export or another customs procedure with your broker. HMRC describes these as routes for goods leaving duty-suspended warehousing; duty and VAT become due on entry to free circulation. For the wider release process, see UK customs clearance.
If you want stock to remain in customs warehousing elsewhere, ask the broker and receiving warehouse to confirm the transfer arrangements before booking transport. Use our guide to moving stock between customs warehouses for that separate task. Confirm capacity, batch identification and who will supply the completion evidence.
Separate collection from customs clearance
For release to free circulation, HMRC says goods must not be removed until the clearance message has been received. An entry acceptance message alone is insufficient. Ask your broker to identify the release evidence that the warehouse team should check before loading.
Give the broker and warehouse matching batch instructions, and keep the declarations, release messages and delivery evidence together. Use customs clearance documents to check the supplier paperwork without repeating the full document checklist here.
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Check completion before handing back the site
Compare the final physical count with the stock ledger and each batch’s completion evidence. Send HMRC a clear account of what has been resolved and what remains outstanding. If a movement or declaration is delayed, contact the supervising office before the agreed end date and ask how to proceed.
Keep the landlord handover and supplier dispatch plans aligned with the customs plan. Cambridge China Bridge’s staff in China can help coordinate factory documents and revised dispatch instructions. Agree who manages the HMRC correspondence and declarations using our guide to sourcing agents, forwarders and customs brokers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I cancel my customs warehouse authorisation?
Yes. Write to the address on your authorisation letter. Include the remaining-stock plan and ask HMRC to confirm the effective date and any outstanding actions.
Can I amend the approval instead of closing?
HMRC allows amendment requests through the same written route. Describe the proposed operation and ask whether an amendment is appropriate.
Must I pay duty on all remaining stock?
The destination matters. Duty and VAT become due on entry to free circulation. Discuss re-export or another customs procedure with your broker before choosing a route.
What if stock is still there on the closing date?
Contact the supervising office before that date, identify the unresolved batches and ask for instructions. Do not assume that your proposed closure date settles their customs status.