Reading China's GACC Document No. 40 on boosting bonded zones: 24 measures on guarantee waivers, consolidated reporting, domestic sales and smart supervision, and how importers and cross-border sellers benefit.
On April 14, 2026, the General Office of the State Council forwarded the General Administration of Customs (GACC) document titled "Several Measures to Promote the Capacity and Quality Upgrade of Comprehensive Bonded Zones" (Guohan Letter No. 40 of 2026, hereinafter "Document No. 40"). The document sets out 24 support measures along four directions: upgrading the development capacity of new business models, safeguarding the resilience and security of industrial and supply chains, promoting the integration of domestic and foreign trade, and improving smart supervision and collaborative governance (source: gov.cn, April 14, 2026). Since its release, commerce departments in Shenzhen and other cities have held policy briefing sessions to explain implementation paths (Shenzhen Municipal Commerce Bureau, 2026). For companies running imports and cross-border e-commerce on bonded warehousing, the regulatory convenience signals in this document are worth reading measure by measure — this article focuses on the benefits most relevant to bonded warehouse operations.
What Document No. 40 says: four transformations and four directions
At its press conference, the GACC explained that the policy drives four transformations for comprehensive bonded zones: functional focus shifting from traditional foreign-trade orientation toward national strategic needs; development mode shifting from the conventional "two ends overseas" model toward serving the domestic and international dual circulation; and a broader shift from transit economy to hub economy, from policy preferential zone to institutional high ground (GACC press conference, April 2026). For warehousing operations, the policy benefits concentrate in four categories:
| Policy direction | Representative measures | Impact on bonded warehouse operations |
|---|---|---|
| New business models | Bonded repair promotion, bonded display and trading innovation | More flexible bonded display scenarios for wine tastings and fragrance showcases |
| Supply chain resilience | Remote supervision for major equipment, differentiated management of key commodities | Smoother inbound procedures for high-value goods |
| Domestic-foreign trade integration | Support for exporting products to domestic sales, convenient zone exit for specific goods | Clearer paths for bonded goods to enter domestic sales |
| Smart supervision and collaboration | Consolidated reporting, information mutual recognition, guarantee waivers | Higher clearance efficiency and account management quality |
The five benefits most relevant to bonded warehouses
Benefit one: guarantee waivers for AEO enterprises. The document states that, with risks under control, customs Advanced Authorized Enterprise (AEO) companies in the zone may apply to conduct outward processing, out-of-zone testing, out-of-zone repair and consolidated reporting without related guarantees, and receive stronger financial and credit support. For high-credit companies, working capital occupation drops noticeably and stocking schedules become more relaxed.
Benefit two: consolidated reporting and convenient zone exit. Supporting convenient exit of specific goods and expanding information mutual recognition makes the "whole-batch entry, piecemeal exit, consolidated reporting" operating model smoother — particularly friendly for frequently shipped goods in small batches such as wine and cosmetics.
Benefit three: an open channel for export-to-domestic sales. Supporting export products to shift to domestic sales, combined with facilitation arrangements for bonded goods entering domestic sale, gives "two-ends-overseas" e-commerce and processing trade companies a chance to serve both markets.
Benefit four: bonded repair and extended value-added services. With bonded-repair finished goods moving into domestic sales entering an exploratory phase, the "warehouse + labeling + kitting + inspection" service chain can stretch further, letting warehousing operators move from pure storage toward value-added services.
Benefit five: smart supervision upgrades make account management a baseline. Lifecycle management plus information mutual recognition are making electronic ledgers and data integration standard practice, so systematic capabilities move from a plus factor to a baseline requirement for warehousing operators (key points on electronic ledger management in bonded inventory account management).
A live case: "zero breakthrough" in bonded wine imports
The policy dividends are already landing. On August 31, 2026, the Shuanglong B-bonded facility in Songjiang, Shanghai completed its first bonded entry of Australian wine, a "zero breakthrough" for bonded alcoholic beverage business (source: Songjiang District People's Government, August 31, 2026). More wine importers are validating the value of bonded warehousing — deferred duty payment, in-zone Chinese-label rectification and piecemeal exit lower both time-to-market and capital costs for imported wine. Importers evaluating a bonded wine warehouse can review the full process in our bonded wine warehouse guide.
Action checklist for enterprises
- Verify your own credentials. Confirm whether you are a customs AEO enterprise, and check with your local customs office on the applicable conditions for guarantee waivers and consolidated reporting.
- Reshape supply chain cash flow. Fold "whole-batch entry, piecemeal exit, consolidated reporting" into your inventory plan to reduce capital tied up per batch.
- Assess the domestic sales route. If you have export-to-domestic sales demand, prepare customs duty payment and Chinese-label compliance early.
- Upgrade systematic capabilities. Electronic ledgers and customs data interfaces are the direction of smart supervision; plan WMS upgrades and data connections early.
- Follow regional implementation rules. Local customs and commerce authorities are issuing implementation details; for specific transactions, defer to official GACC publications and local customs answers.
FAQ
Does Document No. 40 apply to ordinary bonded warehouses? The document targets comprehensive bonded zones. Ordinary bonded warehouses still follow general customs bonded supervision rules, but directional conveniences such as guarantee waivers, consolidated reporting and smart supervision offer reference value for similar operations. Local customs answers prevail.
Which clauses affect the 1210 bonded stocking model? Clauses on consolidated reporting, convenient zone exit and export-to-domestic sales relate to cross-border e-commerce retail imports; evaluate them against the whole 1210 process (see our 1210 bonded stocking guide).
What benefits do wine importers get from bonded warehousing now? Deferred duty payment lowers capital occupation, Chinese-label stripping and rectification can be done inside the zone, and piecemeal exit matches sales rhythm — combined with the new policy conveniences, the overall cost advantage is stronger.
Can non-AEO enterprises enjoy the conveniences? Some measures target AEO enterprises; non-AEO companies can look at universal clauses such as differentiated conformity assessment and information mutual recognition, and may evaluate applying for AEO status.
When will the implementation rules land? The State Council forwarded the document in April 2026, and local customs and commerce departments are issuing implementation details; keep watching local customs announcements.
Wrap-up
Document No. 40 is pushing comprehensive bonded zones from "policy preferential zones" toward "institutional high ground" — a systemic tailwind for the bonded warehousing industry: lower capital occupation, more flexible operating models and an open domestic-sales channel. Whether you import wine, fragrance or run a cross-border e-commerce business, turning these policy dividends into your stocking plan puts you a step ahead in the next round of competition. Want to know which bonded warehousing solution fits your goods? Leave a comment or contact the Yunxiu team for a storage solution assessment.
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This article was written by the Yunxiu Supply Chain Research Center. Policy content is subject to official GACC and competent authority publications. Data updated to 2026.
Need bonded or temperature-controlled warehousing? Yunxiu Warehousing provides bonded warehouse space (4,170 sqm), temperature-controlled storage (1,000 sqm), Chinese-label stripping and kitting services. Rates are subject to actual quotation — contact us for a quote.
