Storage and Warehousing Contract Chile (Contrato de Almacenaje)

A Storage and Warehousing Contract Chile (Contrato de Almacenaje) is a commercial agreement governed by Código de Comercio (C.Com) Arts. 807–855 — the Chilean statutory framework for warehouse operations — by which a warehouseman (almacenista or depositario) undertakes to receive, store, safeguard, and return goods (mercaderías) entrusted by a depositor (depositante) in exchange for agreed storage fees (tarifas de almacenamiento), with a legal obligation to return the same goods or equivalent goods of the same type and quality.

Chilean warehouse law distinguishes between: (1) almacenaje general (general warehousing) — the storage of goods by a private warehouse operator for its clients without issue of negotiable warehouse receipts; and (2) almacenes generales de depósito (general deposit warehouses or bonded warehouses) — regulated storage facilities authorized by the Ministerio de Hacienda under Ley 18.690 of 1987 to issue warrants (títulos de crédito representativos de mercaderías) and certificados de depósito (deposit certificates) that function as negotiable instruments allowing the depositor to pledge the stored goods as collateral for credit financing without physically transferring the goods.

The warrant system under Ley 18.690 is a critical financing mechanism in Chile's agricultural, mining, and commodity sectors. A warrant is a negotiable document issued by a Ley 18.690-authorized almacén general de depósito that represents a security interest in identified stored goods — the holder of the warrant has a preferential right over the goods in case of the depositor's insolvency. The CMF (Comisión para el Mercado Financiero) regulates warranted credit operations, and Chilean banks (Banco de Chile, BancoEstado, Banco BCI, Banco Santander Chile, and Scotiabank Chile) regularly extend credit against warrants issued by authorized warehouses for commodities including wheat (trigo), copper cathodes (cátodos de cobre), salmon and trout (salmón y trucha), fruit (fruta), timber (madera), and wine (vino).

Under C.Com Art. 808, the almacenista's core obligation is to keep the depositor's goods intact (conservar las mercaderías en el estado en que las recibió) and to return them on demand or at the agreed term. C.Com Art. 811 imposes a duty of ordinary care (culpa leve) on the almacenista — the standard of care that a person of ordinary diligence exercises in managing their own affairs. The almacenista bears liability for loss or damage to stored goods except where caused by the goods' own defects (vicios propios), force majeure (caso fortuito or fuerza mayor) under CC Art. 45, or instructions from the depositor.

For public warehousing operations regulated by the DGA (Dirección General de Aduanas) — zona franca storage in Iquique (Zona Franca de Iquique — ZOFRI, governed by DFL 341/1977), Punta Arenas, and Arica; recintos de depósito aduanero; and almacenes particulares under the Ordenanza de Aduanas — the warehousing contract must comply with DGA customs regulations, ZOFRI S.A. operating rules, and the customs bond (garantía aduanera) requirements applicable to bonded warehouse operators.

A Storage and Warehousing Contract Chile is needed whenever a business or individual engages a professional warehouse operator to store goods in Chile for commercial, logistical, or financial purposes under the C.Com Arts. 807–855 framework.

Agricultural businesses — fruit exporters in the O'Higgins, Maule, and Atacama regions; wine producers (viñas) in the Maipo, Colchagua, Cachapoal, Maule, and Bio Bío valleys; and grain traders (comerciantes de granos) handling trigo, maíz, and soya imported through Puerto San Antonio and Puerto Valparaíso — need warehousing contracts for cold storage (almacenamiento en frío), controlled atmosphere (atmósfera controlada), and ambient temperature storage facilities. For export operations, warehouse contracts with almacenes generales de depósito authorized under Ley 18.690 allow producers to obtain warrant-backed financing from Banco de Chile or BancoEstado to cover production costs while waiting for export sale proceeds.

Mining and commodity companies — including CODELCO, Antofagasta Minerals, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM), and lithium producers in the Atacama salt flat — need warehousing contracts for copper cathodes and mineral concentrates stored at port facilities in Antofagasta, Mejillones, Tocopilla, and Iquique awaiting export loading. These warehousing arrangements at port premises are subject to DGA supervision and must comply with customs procedures under the Ordenanza de Aduanas.

Logistics and e-commerce companies — operated through 3PL (third-party logistics) providers such as DHL Supply Chain Chile, Geodis Chile, DB Schenker Chile, and domestic operators — need warehousing contracts for fulfillment center operations in Santiago's Pudahuel and Colina logistics corridor. Under SERNAC's guidelines on e-commerce (issued under Ley 21.398 of 2021 — Ley Pro Consumidor), e-commerce operators must ensure adequate inventory storage to fulfill orders within advertised delivery times.

Importers storing goods in DGA-supervised almacenes de depósito aduanero (ADA) or recintos de depósito temporal (RDT) while completing customs procedures need warehousing contracts that address DGA access rights, customs examination procedures, and the consequences of customs confiscation or destruction orders for non-compliant goods. ZOFRI (Zona Franca de Iquique) tenants need warehousing contracts governed by DFL 341/1977 and ZOFRI S.A.'s operating regulations.

A valid Storage and Warehousing Contract Chile under C.Com Arts. 807–855 must contain the following essential elements to establish enforceable obligations and comply with applicable regulatory requirements.

Party Identification (Identificación de las Partes): Full legal details of the depositor (depositante) — company name, RUT, registered address, and authorized signatory — and the warehouseman/warehouse operator (almacenista or operador de almacenaje) — company name, RUT, Registro de Comercio inscription, warehouse facility address, and authorized representative. For almacenes generales de depósito authorized to issue warrants under Ley 18.690, include the Ministerio de Hacienda authorization number and the CMF supervision details.

Goods Description (Descripción de las Mercaderías): Precise description of the goods to be stored — nature, quantity, weight or volume, lot numbers, serial numbers (for high-value equipment), packaging condition, and any special characteristics (perishable, temperature-sensitive, dangerous, fragile, oversized). For warrant-backed storage under Ley 18.690, goods must be specifically identified and segregated (mantenidos en lotes identificados) in the warehouse to support the warrant's security interest. A physical inspection protocol (acta de recepción con descripción del estado de las mercaderías) should be conducted at delivery and documented.

Warehouse Facilities and Storage Conditions (Instalaciones y Condiciones de Almacenamiento): Description of the warehouse premises — location, dimensions, type (almacén general, frigorífico, almacén a temperatura controlada, almacén al aire libre, silos, tanques), and applicable storage conditions (temperatura, humedad, iluminación, ventilación). Specific facility certifications should be referenced: SEREMI de Salud certificates for food storage; SAG certifications for agricultural product storage; SEREMI del Medio Ambiente permits for hazardous materials storage; and DS 594/1999 occupational health compliance certifications.

Storage Term (Plazo de Almacenaje): The agreed storage period — fixed term (plazo determinado) or indefinite subject to notice for retrieval (plazo indefinido con aviso previo). Under C.Com Art. 808, the almacenista must deliver the goods on demand (a petición del depositante) unless a fixed term was agreed and the almacenista has a valid claim against the goods (such as unpaid storage fees). For warrant-backed storage, the storage term must be aligned with the warranty period of the warrant instrument under Ley 18.690.

Storage Fees and Billing (Tarifas y Facturación): The agreed storage tariff structure — per-pallet rate (tarifa por pallet), per-tonne rate (tarifa por tonelada), per-square-meter rate (tarifa por m²), or per-unit rate — and billing frequency (monthly, upon delivery/retrieval, or on a transaction basis). Additional charges for ancillary services — receipt and dispatch handling (manipuleo de recepción y despacho), inventory management (gestión de inventario), palletizing, labeling, shrink-wrapping, and cross-docking — should be specified. All fees are subject to IVA of 19% and must be invoiced through the SII electronic invoice system (facturas electrónicas). For agricultural product storage, price adjustment mechanisms linked to the IPC (Índice de Precios al Consumidor) published by the INE or to UF (Unidad de Fomento) indexation are common in multi-year contracts.

Liability and Insurance (Responsabilidad y Seguro): The warehouseman's liability for goods loss or damage under C.Com Arts. 808–815 — standard of care is culpa leve under CC Art. 44 — and agreed liability caps. The contract should require the warehouseman to maintain adequate cargo insurance (seguro de almacenaje) covering the stored goods against fire, theft, water damage, and other specified risks, with CMF-regulated insurers (Chubb, HDI, Mapfre Chile, Zurich Chile). The policy should name the depositor as additional insured or loss payee. For goods exceeding the warehouseman's insurance coverage, depositors should maintain their own all-risks cargo insurance.

Access and Security (Acceso y Seguridad): Terms governing the depositor's access rights to the stored goods — advance notice requirements for retrieval appointments, business hours for access, visitor protocols for inspections, and security procedures. For warehouses storing food products subject to SERNAC enforcement, pharmaceutical products regulated by the ISP, or dangerous goods under DS 298/1994, access must also comply with the specific regulatory inspection rights of the relevant authority.

Warrant Provisions (Disposiciones sobre Warrants — if applicable): For almacenes generales de depósito authorized under Ley 18.690, the contract should specify: the procedure for issuance of certificados de depósito and warrants; the fee for warrant issuance; the warehouseman's obligations upon presentment of the warrant by a transferee; pledge notification procedures under CC Arts. 2384–2406; and the consequences of the depositor's failure to pay storage fees on the warehouseman's right to sell the goods at public auction (remate en pública subasta) under C.Com Art. 838.

Forms-legal.com provides this Storage and Warehousing Contract Chile template as a practical reference for depositors and warehouse operators. For warrant-backed financing arrangements and regulated product storage (food, pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods, customs bonded goods), the contract should be reviewed by a licensed Abogado familiar with C.Com Arts. 807–855, Ley 18.690, and the applicable sector regulations. Los usuarios de forms-legal.com pueden descargar este documento de forma gratuita en formato PDF o DOCX, completar los campos del formulario guiado y obtener un documento listo para firma.