A bonded warehouse in Portugal suspends duty and import VAT until release.

Under the customs warehousing procedure of the Union Customs Code, goods from outside the EU wait in premises authorised by customs, and no duty or import VAT is charged while they are there. Import duty and the related taxes, VAT or excise, fall due only when the goods are released for free circulation.

You call off what you need, when you need it, and pay duty and import VAT on those units only. Goods you send on to a market outside the EU pay no EU import duty or import VAT. And there is no time limit: the Commission says storage "may be for an unlimited period", unless the goods would threaten health or the environment.

When your goods land in Portugal, they can be in one of three places. Temporary storage is the short stop after arrival: within 90 days the goods must go under a customs procedure or leave again (Article 149), and the Portuguese tax and customs authority (AT) confirms the 90 days cannot be extended. At a site that is also a customs warehouse, they can move into that procedure and stay with no time limit. Stock that sells quickly usually goes straight to release on arrival.

Bonded storage suits higher-value goods that sell in smaller volumes, slow-moving and seasonal ranges that sell across months, and high-duty lines, where paying the duty later makes the largest difference to working capital.

Stock that sells quickly in volume usually goes through release on arrival. If you qualify under article 27(8) of the Portuguese VAT Code and opt in, you account for import VAT in your periodic VAT return instead of paying it at the border (AT import VAT leaflet). We look at your range line by line and recommend the route for each.

Our logistics partner has operated in Portuguese customs and logistics since 2005. Customs warehousing is available at three licensed sites: Vila do Conde (Touguinho), Lisbon (Alverca) and Oporto (Leixões). Across the whole base, installed capacity is about 12,000 pallets. A fourth site, Arrifana, adds about 4,500 m² of warehouse space and is not bonded. Temperature-controlled storage is available where a product needs it.

No. A customs warehouse, the entreposto aduaneiro, holds goods from outside the EU with import duty and import VAT suspended under the Union Customs Code. A tax warehouse, the entreposto fiscal, suspends excise duty on goods such as alcoholic beverages and tobacco, under the Portuguese Excise Code (Código dos Impostos Especiais de Consumo).

Some goods need one regime, some need both. Our Vila do Conde site also works as a tax warehouse, and we confirm the right regime for your product before the goods ship.