Bonded Warehouses in Germany: Precious Metals Without VAT?
A bonded warehouse is a storage facility under customs supervision in which goods from non-EU countries are kept without import duties. This page is about German VAT law: for silver and platinum, bonded warehouses were long attractive because these metals are subject to 19% VAT in Germany. A letter from the German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) dated 9 April 2026 has fundamentally changed the situation for private investors in German warehouses.
What is a bonded warehouse?
In German everyday usage, any warehouse under customs supervision is called a “Zollfreilager”, usually translated as bonded warehouse. Legally, EU customs law distinguishes two forms: the customs warehouse under Articles 237 to 242 of the Union Customs Code (UCC) and the free zone under Article 243 UCC.
In both cases, goods from a non-EU country are treated as not yet imported. As long as they remain in the warehouse, neither customs duty nor import VAT is due. There is no time limit on storage. Duties only become payable when the goods are released for free circulation in the EU.
In Germany there are free zones in Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven. Customs warehouses, by contrast, are operated by companies with customs authorisation.
Which VAT applies to precious metals in Germany?
The standard rate of VAT in Germany is 19%. It also applies to silver and platinum bars. There is no reduced rate for these metals.
Investment gold, by contrast, is VAT-exempt in Germany under Section 25c of the German VAT Act (UStG). This covers bars and wafers with a fineness of at least 995 thousandths. Coins require at least 900 thousandths, minting after 1800, legal tender status and a price of no more than 80% above the metal value.
For investment gold, a bonded warehouse was therefore never necessary for tax reasons. It was mainly of interest for silver and platinum.
Why could precious metals be held there without VAT?
The basis is Section 4 No. 4b UStG. Under this provision, the supply of goods that precedes their import is VAT-exempt. The same applies to all earlier supplies. As long as silver was in the customs warehouse and only the owner changed, no German VAT was due.
Dealers used this for investment products. They bought silver from non-EU countries, stored it in a German customs warehouse and sold it to private investors there. Transfer was made by warehouse receipt. Anyone who later had the metal taken out of storage then paid import VAT.
The exemption was originally intended as a simplification for trade in goods: goods were to be resold in the warehouse before being imported.
What does the BMF letter of 9 April 2026 change?
The German Federal Ministry of Finance has rewritten section 4.4b.1 of the VAT Application Decree (Umsatzsteuer-Anwendungserlass). The exemption now only applies if the buyer, a later buyer or someone acting on their behalf ends the customs warehousing procedure, for example by import or re-export.
There is a separate rule for end consumers. If a private individual acquires goods in a customs warehouse as an investment, the supply is only exempt if they or someone acting on their behalf end the customs warehousing procedure. The letter gives an example: if a private individual buys goods by credit to a storage account and does not end the procedure before selling them, the supply is subject to VAT in Germany.
The supply remains exempt if the purchase contract stipulates that the buyer must take the goods out of storage and import them into the EU on sale. In that case, however, import VAT is due on import. The tax is therefore not avoided, only deferred.
The rules apply to all open cases. The tax authorities will not challenge transactions made before the date of publication if the dealer treated them as exempt. The 2004 BMF letter on the same topic was revoked with effect from 9 April 2026.
What does this mean for investors?
In the view of the German tax authorities, the model of selling silver VAT-free to private investors in a German customs warehouse is therefore largely no longer possible. A BMF letter binds the tax offices, but not the courts. Whether this view will hold up in court remains open.
Warehouses outside the EU, for example in Switzerland or Singapore, are not directly affected by the letter. The respective national tax rules apply there. Anyone bringing metal from such warehouses into Germany must expect to pay import VAT.
Nothing changes for investment gold. It remains VAT-exempt in Germany under Section 25c UStG, regardless of where it is stored.
