Where to store your goods after customs clearance at Puerto Cabello

Your container cleared customs at Puerto Cabello. Your customs broker did the work, the duties are paid, and the goods can now move freely. And here comes the problem nobody warns you about: the cargo has to leave the port area, and you have nowhere to put it.

Short answer. Once cleared, your goods can go to any commercial warehouse in the country — they are no longer under customs control. For cargo entering through Puerto Cabello, the usual destination is a warehouse in Valencia, Carabobo state, about 55 km from the port (roughly one hour by highway), because that is where the port and the national distribution network meet. ALSERVINCA 2026 reference rates start at $13.50 per pallet per month or $6.50 per m² per month. Below we explain the difference between a bonded and a commercial warehouse — confusing them is expensive — and what you need to move the cargo.

This is the first-time importer’s most expensive misunderstanding. Two different figures, two different sets of rules:

Bonded warehouse (depósito aduanero). A facility authorized by SENIAT where goods stay uncleared, under customs control, while their destination is decided. Its real purpose is deferring duty payment. Only companies holding that specific authorization can operate one.

Commercial warehouse. Receives goods that have already cleared customs and can circulate legally. No customs control, no duty deferral: what you get is custody, inventory control, handling and dispatch.

Where ALSERVINCA fits: we are a commercial warehouse. We are not customs brokers and not a bonded facility. We receive your goods in Valencia after you clear them. We say it upfront because it is the first question every importer asks, and we would rather you know before the call than during it.

Ports are built to move cargo, not to keep it. Dwell time in the port area is limited and gets expensive fast: every extra day your container sits there is a growing cost. The pressure to move starts the day you clear customs.

Valencia is one hour away. About 55 km along the Valencia–Puerto Cabello highway. It is the country’s industrial core and where most of the formal, permitted warehousing infrastructure with real inventory control is located.

From Valencia you ship nationwide without going back to the port. Caracas, Maracay, the central and western regions all leave from the same point. If your goods stay near the port, every domestic dispatch starts with an extra leg that adds nothing. That is how our logistics distribution works out of Valencia.

Transport from the port. ALSERVINCA does not collect cargo from the port: you or your carrier bring it to our facilities in Valencia. Your customs broker almost always has trusted carriers for that leg — arrange it before clearing customs, not after.

The commercial invoice. This is the document backing your goods’ declared value, and the basis for the ad valorem charge. Without it, no formal warehouse can quote you a complete rate.

Decide whether to palletize. Loose or deconsolidated cargo that is not palletized is charged by floor area in square meters. Palletized, rack-storable goods are almost always cheaper. Worth calculating before the truck moves.

An estimate of dwell time. How long your goods will stay and how often you will withdraw them directly affects your rate and which scheme suits you.

ALSERVINCA 2026 reference rates are from $13.50 per pallet per month and from $6.50 per m² per month, plus the ad valorem charge on declared value and any handling services you use. For the full breakdown of how each figure is built and which hidden costs to watch, see how much warehousing costs in Venezuela.

For your specific case, our online quoting tool gives you a real price instantly and emails you the written breakdown — no waiting for a sales rep to call back. If you would rather talk it through, our industrial warehousing team replies within 24 hours.