Bonded warehouses are additional facilities, responsible for:

storing and preserving goods and foodstuff;
issuing “warehouse receipts” for any applicant, representing the goods possessory titles, as well as “warehouse warrants” sanctioning the right of recourse on the warranty with respect to stored goods;
selling deposited goods normally or by auction.


In order to establish a bonded warehouse, an authorisation must be obtained from the Minister of Industry. Hence, an application must be addressed to said Ministry, but it has to be filed with the Chamber of Commerce of the province within which the bonded warehouse should be located. The relevant Chamber of Commerce must then pronounce on the following matters:

need for the establishment of the aforesaid warehouse in the selected location;
adequacy of the guarantees offered to the State;
suitability of the facilities selected for business and goods deposit purposes.

Moreover, Chambers of Commerce have a supervisory role on bonded warehouses, in terms of deposit and preservation standards and conditions in particular, especially focussing on goods covered by warehouse receipts and warrants. Moreover, they can inflict financial penalties for non compliance with bonded warehouse regulations.