Warehouses for bulk goods

The term "bulk goods" refers to goods with a net mass of at least 10,000 kg that lend themselves to bulk handling and transport due to their uniform physical features, namely:

• Liquid bulk cargo (e.g. oils and fats)
• Uniform bulk cargo in granular or similar form (e.g. cereals, coffee, gravel, coal, natural or cut stone, sand, sugar, etc.)

Loads of the same goods in units (e.g. logs, nappies, steel, etc.) are not considered bulk goods.

Procedure in brief

In warehouses for bulk goods, import customs duties are levied with a contingent payment obligation and both commercial policy measures and non-customs legislative instruments are applied. This means that potential import duties are assured and any bans/restrictions must be complied with.

There are three stages to the customs clearance procedure for "warehouses for bulk goods":

• Initiation of the warehousing process (only for imported goods)
• Storage of these goods
• Termination of the warehousing process (removal = transfer to another customs clearance procedure)

The minimum quantity for each removal is 1,000 kg gross. This rule does not apply to the assessment of residual volumes taken from the warehouse for bulk goods.

Bulk goods put into free circulation (definitive customs declaration) or another customs procedure no longer need to be presented to the customs office.