Temporary storage and customs warehouse at one site
Yes. HMRC permits temporary storage and customs warehousing in the same area or premises, with the same person applying for both. Check both approvals and their authorised areas. Goods need a declared transition into customs warehousing; moving a pallet alone is insufficient. Discuss your sourcing and shipment brief with Cambridge China Bridge.
Verify both approvals before booking
HMRC allows a temporary storage facility and customs warehouse in the same storage area or premises. The same person needs to apply for both. Operating a customs warehouse requires HMRC authorisation.
Ask the logistics provider for its current temporary storage approval and customs warehouse authorisation, including amendments. Match the holder’s legal name, site address and conditions to your booking. Ask who actually operates each service if the sales quotation comes from another company. For the broader storage decision, see our customs warehouse guide.
Check the areas, not just the address
Ask for plans linked to both approvals and have the provider mark where your goods will arrive, remain and enter customs warehousing. Temporary storage areas must be marked internally and externally. Other-status goods cannot be stored in the approved temporary storage area without National Frontiers Approval Unit approval.
Permission to use the same premises does not establish that every bay is covered. Ask the provider to explain any overlap between authorised areas and show the approval supporting it. Resolve differences between the plan, approval and proposed pallet location before booking.
Agree the declared transition
HMRC requires a full or simplified declaration to enter goods into customs warehousing. Chargeable imported goods brought to a temporary storage facility cannot be cleared or released to another customs process before physically arriving there; they must also be checked and recorded. Removal from temporary storage requires evidence of customs-authorised release.
Give the customs agent written instructions identifying the intended procedure and warehouse. Ask for the declaration reference, customs release evidence and a stock-record trail linking the temporary storage entry to the customs warehouse entry. Treat a pallet move or a commercial system status change as insufficient evidence on its own. Use our customs agent guide when agreeing responsibilities.
Test the provider’s handover records
Ask the provider to walk through a sample consignment from arrival to warehouse entry. Compare product descriptions, carton quantities, batch references, declaration details and locations. Customs warehouse records must show the current stock under the procedure in real time.
Agree who checks the handover, who sends you the evidence and who resolves mismatches. Ask how goods are held when the declaration or release evidence is missing. For the separate deadline question, use our temporary storage deadline guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can the same warehouse provide both services?
Yes. HMRC permits the same storage area or premises, with the same person applying for both. Ask for evidence of both approvals before booking.
Does a customs warehouse approval cover temporary storage?
Do not assume it does. Request the temporary storage approval separately and compare its holder, address and authorised area with the customs warehouse authorisation.
Can goods stay in the same bay when the procedure changes?
HMRC permits a shared storage area. Check that the approvals cover the arrangement and that other-status storage has the necessary approval. Warehouse entry still needs a declaration.
What proves goods entered customs warehousing?
Ask for the warehouse declaration details, customs release evidence and linked stock records. A pallet movement or an internal status label alone does not demonstrate the declared transition.