If your business receives imports from other countries, the U.S. Customs Bureau will require that you pay taxes on the items before you can take possession. These taxes vary based on the items, but often cost businesses hundreds to thousands of dollars. But what happens if you need to have your items shipped to a warehouse in the U.S. instead of your personal business? Do you have to pay the warehouse additional money to store the items? Will the government allow the warehouse to accept shipments on your behalf? Is there a penalty fee?
You may have lots of questions about paying the duty tax on imported items. The truth is, you can simplify this process by using bonded storage. Baltimore business owners can use customs bonded warehouses to improve the efficiency of receiving imported goods from other countries.
Finding a Customs Bonded Warehouse
Not all private and public storage facilities are customs bonded. Those that are will often advertise it because it’s an advantage for businesses. If you’re looking to contract with a warehousing and distribution company, call and ask if the facility is bonded storage. Baltimore has a few companies that offer business owners the benefits of using bonded storage.
When a storage facility claims to be customs bonded, this simply means that they provided a bond to the government. The bond is basically a guarantee that duties and taxes will be paid on the items received by the warehouse, but that the process for paying the taxes may be different than for those who use non-bonded facilities.
Ways You Save Money Using Bonded Storage
Your business can actually save money using bonded storage. One way is that the government will allow you to defer paying the duty tax until you sell the products you received. This frees up your capital and allows you to make investments or purchases. You also save money if you accept the shipment but then ship it out to another country. You can avoid paying any duty tax because the government knows you did not sell the products in the U.S. Saving money on documentation paperwork is also possible because the bonded storage in Baltimore will handle all of the paperwork for you. With all of the benefits, it’s only to your advantage to use bonded storage for your international imports and exports.
