Rejecting a Shipment from China at Destination: Must the Buyer Still Take Custody?
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Rejecting a shipment does not always allow a buyer to leave it unattended at the destination. For a commercial purchase from a Chinese supplier, CISG Article 86(2) can require the buyer to take custody for the seller even while exercising a right to reject the goods. The important questions are whether the goods are actually available, what release requires, and whether the seller has an authorized person there to take charge.
This guide addresses temporary custody at destination. The separate guide to returning goods and obtaining a refund deals with the subsequent exchange of goods and money.
1. Establish the rejection right and applicable law first
Article 86 regulates preservation; it does not give every dissatisfied buyer a right to reject. Identify the contractual or legal basis, the affected goods and the notices already given. A quality complaint does not automatically avoid the sale. CISG Articles 26 and 49 have separate requirements for avoidance, and inspection and defect notices require attention under Articles 38 and 39 and any applicable exceptions. See the inspection and notice guide.
The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) applies only where its conditions are met. Check the parties’ places of business, relevant treaty status and declarations, the nature of the transaction and any effective exclusion or variation under Article 6. China retains its declaration concerning Article 1(1)(b) for the mainland; a Chinese supplier’s address alone does not establish applicability. The Convention entered into force for China on 1 January 1988. Where domestic law instead governs the issue, do not automatically import this CISG custody rule.
2. Check Article 86(2) before simply refusing collection
The paragraph concerns goods dispatched to the buyer, placed at its disposal at their destination, where the buyer exercises a right to reject them. It requires taking possession on the seller’s behalf only if this can be done without paying the price and without unreasonable inconvenience or unreasonable expense. It does not apply if the seller, or a person authorized to take charge for the seller, is present at the destination.
An arrival notice alone may not establish that the buyer can obtain possession. Ask the actual operator to identify the release conditions and keep the written answer. The following checks apply those statutory conditions to the evidence; they are not automatic rulings on particular port arrangements.
| Destination situation | What to establish |
|---|---|
| The carrier will release only against the outstanding goods price. | Record the exact payment condition. Article 86(2) does not itself require paying that price to take custody; whether payment is otherwise due remains a separate question. |
| Release requires handling charges or a storage deposit. | Separate these from the goods price. Obtain an itemized quote and practical alternatives; any charge is not automatically an unreasonable expense. |
| The supplier says its local agent will collect. | Verify the agent’s authority to take charge, presence at destination and actual arrangements. A forwarding contact is not necessarily authorized to receive rejected goods for the seller. |
| Access is blocked by missing documents or regulatory restrictions. | Document the obstacle, who can resolve it and feasible lawful alternatives. Do not assume that a vessel’s arrival means the goods are at the buyer’s disposal. |
There is no fixed cost percentage in Article 86(2) that decides reasonableness. Record the goods’ condition, urgency, handling requirements, available alternatives and cost evidence. Even if this paragraph does not require taking possession, that conclusion alone does not settle all contractual, mitigation or local obligations.
3. Record temporary custody without misdescribing the goods
If taking possession under Article 86(2), explain to the seller in writing that the goods are being taken into temporary custody for preservation, identify the rejection already communicated and request workable collection or handling instructions. Keep the actual correspondence. A reservation cannot create a rejection right that does not exist or override contradictory conduct.
Give the warehouse a precise inventory and handling instruction: order and batch identifiers, quantities, visible condition, segregation, required storage conditions, permitted inspection and persons authorized to release the goods. Check receipt wording before signing. Do not describe damaged goods as inspected and conforming when that is untrue. Preserve dated photographs and the chain of custody.
Custody for preservation does not by itself resolve ownership, accidental-loss risk, acceptance of conformity or payment. Those questions need their own analysis. Using or reselling the goods can affect available remedies; a general “rights reserved” statement is not a substitute for controlling what actually happens.
4. Keep reasonable preservation expenses and third-party bills separate
Once possession is taken under paragraph 2, Article 86(1) governs the buyer’s rights and obligations: reasonable preservation steps are required, with a right to retain the goods until the seller reimburses reasonable expenses. A buyer that has already received goods and intends to exercise a right to reject them must also examine paragraph 1 directly; the pre-possession payment qualification is not a general excuse to abandon goods already held.
Article 87 permits third-party warehousing at the other party’s expense provided the expense is not unreasonable. Keep quotes, the reason for selecting the facility, dates, invoices and payment records. The sales-law allocation does not rewrite the buyer’s separate contract with a warehouse or carrier. A right to seek reimbursement is not proof that the supplier has already paid, nor an automatic set-off against every amount claimed by the supplier.
Review storage arrangements when circumstances change and avoid unnecessary accumulation of charges. If release is obstructed by defective shipping papers, use the document and port-delay evidence guide to distinguish the obstacle from its resulting costs.
5. A custody obligation is not an unrestricted disposal power
If the supplier does not take the goods back, Article 88 requires a separate assessment. Paragraph 1 permits an appropriate sale in specified cases of unreasonable delay after reasonable notice of the intention to sell. Paragraph 2 requires reasonable measures to sell rapidly deteriorating goods or goods whose preservation would involve unreasonable expense, with notice to the extent possible. Paragraph 3 requires accounting for the balance after the permitted reasonable preservation and selling expenses.
These rules do not authorize arbitrary destruction or unrestricted sale of unsafe goods. Article 4 generally leaves the sale contract’s effect on ownership outside the CISG. Destination customs, product restrictions, third-party rights and any relevant court orders need separate consideration. Record urgent conditions and obtain appropriate local assistance where necessary.
6. Prepare a decision file before the storage deadline
For an initial discussion, identify the supplier’s legal name, order, goods and amount, current location, alleged defect, rejection and notice dates, release conditions, daily charges, any seller-appointed recipient and the next practical deadline. The key attachments are the contract, relevant messages, operator’s written release requirements, condition records and proposed storage or collection arrangements.
A review can examine whether temporary custody is required, what notice and preservation steps are appropriate, and how a claim against the Chinese supplier could be pursued. Destination handling may require local advice. See cross-border business legal services, use the consultation page, or email panjianxing46@gmail.com. Service scope and fees are confirmed before engagement; an inquiry does not itself establish a retainer or guarantee reimbursement.
Sources checked on 19 October 2026: official CISG text, Articles 1, 4, 6, 26, 38–39, 49 and 86–88; UNCITRAL 2016 Digest, Article 86; and UN depositary status and declarations.
General information for commercial sales, not advice on a particular shipment. The cover is an AI-generated conceptual illustration, not an actual client, case or shipment photograph. Jianxing Pan, Lawyer and Partner, Beijing Chang’an Law Firm · Beijing / Shenzhen.
