How long can goods stay in a Chinese bonded warehouse?
It depends on the facility. Goods may stay one year in a bonded warehouse and two years in a B-type bonded logistics centre, each extendable by up to one year with customs approval. A comprehensive bonded zone sets no storage limit. Stock past its period that is neither imported nor re-exported is handled by customs as overdue.
“Bonded warehouse” is used loosely for three kinds of facility, and the storage clock is the clearest difference between them. An operator will call any of the three bonded. Which one it actually runs decides how long your stock may wait before tax is paid.
The three storage periods
| Facility | Storage period | Extension | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonded warehouse 保税仓库 | 1 year | Up to 1 year with customs approval, save in special circumstances | Provisions on Bonded Warehouses, Art. 22 |
| B-type bonded logistics centre 保税物流中心（B型） | 2 years | Up to 1 year with customs approval, save in special circumstances | Interim Measures for B-type Centres, Art. 24 |
| Comprehensive bonded zone 综合保税区 | No limit | Not needed | GACC Order No. 256, Art. 33 — unless another law provides otherwise |
What else differs
- A bonded warehouse is for storage. Substantial processing is not permitted in one (Art. 20). Warehouses are public-use, serving any client; self-use, holding only the operator’s own goods; or specialised.
- A B-type centre adds more. Simple processing and value-added services, global procurement and international distribution, and entrepôt trade and transit (Art. 15).
- A comprehensive bonded zone allows the most. Processing and manufacturing, R&D, testing and repair, logistics distribution and cross-border e-commerce (Order 256, Art. 5).
A self-use bonded warehouse holds only its operator’s own goods. If your stock is going into someone else’s bonded warehouse, it has to be a public-use one — ask which it is before the contract, not after the container arrives.
When the time runs out
By the end of the period, goods have to be imported with tax paid, or re-exported. Stock in a bonded warehouse that is neither, and has no approved extension, is handled by customs under the rules for goods not declared in time (Art. 27). For slow-moving or seasonal lines a one-year clock is a real constraint rather than a formality, and it is often the deciding difference between a warehouse and a zone.
Storage defers tax; it does not change what the goods must hold once they are released into the domestic market. The routes into China, and what each one requires, are set out in selling into China through a bonded zone.
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Sources
- GACC — Provisions on Bonded Warehouses and the Goods Stored in Them: Art. 20 (no substantial processing), Art. 22 (one-year period), Art. 27 (overdue goods)
- GACC — Interim Measures for B-type Bonded Logistics Centres: Art. 15 (permitted activities), Art. 24 (two-year period)
- GACC Order No. 256 — Administrative Measures for Comprehensive Bonded Zones, in force 1 April 2022: Art. 5 (permitted activities), Art. 33 (no storage limit)
All sources checked 13 September 2026. This page is general information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Requirements vary by product, market and circumstance — confirm your own position before acting.
