Bonded Warehouse – 11 Types
Classes of bonded warehouse vary widely based on the needs of companies. For example., E-commerce sellers need different warehouse facilities than fruit distributors. Alternatively, electronics manufacturers may need more services than cargo consolidators at a bonded warehouse. As such, there are 11 general types of bonded warehouses in the logistics space for companies to utilize.
Three Popular Types of Bonded Warehouse
Class 1 – Government Owned Bonded Warehouse
Premises owned or leased by the government. Overall, the government uses these for the storage of seized merchandise undergoing examination by CBP, pending final disposition. See class Class 11 for more.
Class 2- Privately Owned Bonded Warehouse
This type of bonded warehouse is privately owned. In short, it is the importer’s private warehouse used exclusively for the storage of merchandise belonging to, or consigned to, the proprietor.
Class 3- Publicly Bonded Warehouse for Storage
Among the 11 types of bonded warehouse – public bonded warehouse exclusively stores merchandise imported or subject to IRS tax. Generally, this bonded warehouse is available to any importer at the discretion of the proprietor. For example, a proprietor may impose restrictions on the use of their space by importers. Rarely, this includes the exclusive use of the bonded warehouse by one importer.
Three More Types of Bonded Warehouse
Class 4 – Yards for Heavy & Bulky Cargo
Bonded yards or sheds store heavy and bulky imported merchandise. For example, these areas offer storage for stables, feeding pens, corrals. In addition, limited enclosures for the storage of imported animals and tanks for imported liquid merchandise fall into this category.
Class 5 – Bins or Parts of Building for Grain Storage
Bonded bins or parts of buildings or elevators to be used for the storage of grain.
Class 6 – Manufacturing & Assembly Centers
These types of bonded warehouse manufacture, solely for exportation, of articles made in whole at the warehouse. In other words, companies can import different products to one location. They can evade taxes on those individual parts. They can assemble the parts there. Afterwards, the new whole product is registered as an import under a lower tax class.
Last Five Choices of Bonded Warehouse
Class 7 – Smelting & Refining Locations
- Bonded warehouses established for smelting and refining imported metalbearing materials for exportation or domestic consumption.
Class 8 – Cleaning, Sorting, Repacking Centers
- Bonded warehouses established for the cleaning, sorting, repacking, or otherwise changing the condition of, but not the manufacturing of, imported merchandise, under CBP supervision, and at the expense of the proprietor.
Class 9 – Duty Free Stores
- The logistics industry calls these “duty-free stores.” Indeed, merchants can sell conditionally duty-free merchandise for use outside the customs territory. The proprietor of the merchandise in this class owns, sells and delivers from the warehouse to an exit point for exportation. These stores may also sell items other than duty-free merchandise. A direct-ship vendor solution, in which a retailer owns some of its inventory, is essentially a hybrid of a traditional “drop ship” model, in which the retailer holds no inventory. In a DSV solution, a retailer only off-loads fulfillment for certain products and vendors.
Class 10 – International Travel Merchandise Locations
- Bonded warehouses for international travel merchandise, goods sold conditionally duty-free aboard aircraft and not at a duty-free store.
Class 11 – Confiscation Centers
- Confiscation centers store merchandise for improperly documented, imported. These goods cannot clear customs quickly. CBP hold goods in General Order if they remain uncleared for more than 15 days. After 15 days, GO merchandise moves to a Class 11 bonded warehouse. After six months, CPB confiscates the goods. In addition, they can elect to put the merchandise up for an auction.