Operating an authorised consignee temporary storage facility

Check how you can operate an authorised consignee temporary storage facility so you can store goods for up to 6 days, including how to get authorised.

If you are an authorised consignee, you can store goods at an authorised consignee temporary storage facility (after you have ended a transit movement) for up to 6 days, before you do any of the following:

An authorised consignee temporary storage facility does not require an inventory-linked system (a computerised system connected to a Community System Provider).

You cannot operate an authorised consignee temporary storage facility if any of the following apply:

There are 2 ways you can end transit movements at an authorised consignee temporary storage facility.

You can end the movement either:

If an arrived import declaration is unavailable, the Transit Accompanying Document serves as the temporary storage declaration. You must keep this in your temporary storage stock account records.

Individual consignments on the Transit Accompanying Document will need separate temporary storage declarations. Each import declaration for the onward movement of the goods (for example, in free circulation) will need to be submitted within 6 days of the transit goods entering temporary storage.

To end transit movements in an authorised consignee temporary storage facility, you must meet certain conditions.

Your authorised consignee temporary storage facility must:

You must also:

You’ll also need to follow the same rules as you would for operating an external temporary storage facility for:

Your facility must:

have furnished office accommodation to make sure interviews carried out by officers can be conducted

Your facility must be located in an appropriate place and be the right size for the goods you wish to store. There must be a separate area for hazardous goods if you plan to allow them at your facility.

There must also be space for:

officers to unload, examine and count goods properly, both without and with any specialised equipment

You must tell customs authorities immediately when you find any:

You must provide a secure area or lockable compartment within your authorised consignee temporary storage facility to keep any prohibited or restricted goods you discover during unloading.

Goods not listed on a Transit Accompanying Document must also stay there until the paperwork supporting the goods being in the UK arrives.

Check if goods are banned or restricted goods or email: [email protected].

You must not store goods that are not in temporary storage within your approved authorised consignee temporary storage facility, unless approved by HMRC.

You must also make sure that all poisonous and hazardous or dangerous goods are clearly marked and are separated from all other goods in your premises.

You must make sure that goods are not removed from the approved area until the goods have been declared and released by customs and clearance has been given. You can do this through either:

You must make sure that all customs cleared goods are removed from the temporary storage designated area of your premises within 3 days of the date of customs clearance. The goods can be moved to an appropriate area within your facility whilst awaiting pick up for onward delivery.

If requested, you will need to provide your UK customs authority control officer with a written explanation about why goods have not been removed from the temporary storage area of your facility within 3 days or another agreed time limit.

If you need to destroy any goods (for example, if they’re damaged or out of date) you should write to your supervising office giving details of the:

intended place and the way you’re going to destroy them

Your supervising office will tell if you need to do it under customs (or other authority) control, and whether they’ll attend. There’ll be no liability to a customs debt if you’ve destroyed the goods.

You’ll need to keep evidence and a C21 form audit trail on the temporary storage stock account record for the goods.

You’ll need to keep records for a minimum of 4 years of:

You will need to apply for authorised consignee status. As part of the application process, you will be able to apply for authorised consignee temporary storage. You may also need to apply for a customs comprehensive guarantee before we can give approval for the temporary storage.

As part of the approval process to become authorised, we may visit your facility. This may be after your authorisation has been granted. If this visit identifies that your premises is unsuitable, your approval may be removed.

If you already operate a temporary storage facility, and you want to change that facility to an authorised consignee temporary storage facility, you’ll need to:

Border Force will check that there are not any: