DISPLAYING ITEMS BY TAG: Customs

Dubai Customs is pleased to announce that new template of unified GCC Printof Customs Declaration has been implemented in Mirsal system effective from September 29, 2024. This new template is aligned with the standard unified Customs Declaration format agreed at GCC Customs Union committee.

Following are the major changes in the new template of GCC print (in addition to some other minor improvements):

• QR code has been introduced in the new unified GCC print whereby the latest declaration information can be scanned and verified through QR code.
• Antidumping charge has been printed separately, wherever applicable, in addition to Customs duty and other charges.
• GCC AEO Company Name and GCC AEO Logo have been added as new fields for printing in the new template.
• Weight and Quantity of items are now displayed at HS Code line item level whereby net weight and quantity of each line item are printed in the new template.
  Similarly, in Customs Restrictions section, Agency (i.e. controlling Authority) is now printed, wherever applicable, at each HS Code line item level. 
• ‘Copy type’ (like consignee copy, consignee claim copy, handling authority copy) and associated Distribution text’has now been removed from the new template.

Dubai Customs would like to inform you that the Public Transport Authority in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has updated its regulations pertaining to transportation of goods on trucks and passenger transport by buses and taxis on land roads, in line with the necessary safety requirements and standards, and that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will implement all requirements and obligations on trucks, buses and taxis for all carriers including KSA national carriers.

Among the requirements stated in the updated regulations is the service life requirement, as shown below:

You are kindly requested to abide by the above, as effective April 04, 2021 Saudi Customs will not allow entry of vehicles destined for Saudi Arabia territories that violate the service-life requirement.

Due to system and infrastructure upgrades, Dubai Customs’ Container Terminal 2 X-Ray Facility will be closed from the 22nd February to the 20th March 2023.

During the closure. facility users are advised to use other Dubai Customs X Ray Facilities located at Gate 3, Container Terminal 1, and Car Yard A.

Please note that other Inspection activities at Container Terminal 2 Inspection Complex will remain uninterrupted.

Due to system and infrastructure upgrades, Dubai Customs’ Container Terminal 2 X-Ray Facility will be closed from the 22nd February to the 20th March 2023.

During the closure. facility users are advised to use other Dubai Customs X Ray Facilities located at Gate 3, Container Terminal 1, and Car Yard A.

Please note that other Inspection activities at Container Terminal 2 Inspection Complex will remain uninterrupted.

For the purposes of simplifying and facilitating customs procedures and creating an appropriate environment in the free zones to attract investments, stimulate
e-commerce movement and reduce costs for the business sector, The following has been decided:

Article (1):

A. Free zone companies shall be exempted from service fees of Customs Deposit Refund Claims for goods with value not exceeding
AED 3,000 for the following Customs Declarations:
   1. Free Zone Transit Out Declaration
   2. Transit Between Dubai-Based Free Zones Declaration

B. Regular service fees for Customs Deposit Refund Claims shall be applied for goods with value exceeding AED 3,000.

Article (2):

Free zone companies must submit Customs Deposit Refund Claims through the available electronic channels, in accordance with the Customs rules and procedures in force. 

Article (3):

Customs Declarations referred to in this Notice shall be settled in accordance with Customs procedures applicable in Dubai Customs.

Article (4):

The Tariff and Origin Department at Dubai Customs shall be the competent authority to address any dispute related to the implementation of provisions thereof.

Article (5):

This Notice shall be effective from 01/04/2021 until further notice, and any provision that contradicts or is in conflict with this Notice shall cease to have effect. All concerned departments are required to take necessary action to implement it within their respective scope of competence.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC), United Arab Emirates has introduced a system for electronic attestation of commercial invoices. All Customs clients will require to get the commercial invoices attested from MOFAIC for Customs Declarations with Dubai Customs effective from 01 February 2023. This requirement will be applicable for submission through all channels but for specific Declaration Types and for Invoices above a certain value.

Please refer to Customs Notice No.11/2022 for more information.

Customs Inspection Department is consolidating all the different sections in Cargo Village Inspection Center under a common section to be called “Dubai Cargo Village”.

Accordingly the following sections will be discontinued with immediate effect:

•   Warehouses
•   Emirates
•   VAT Cargo Village
•   EK AlRamool

Hence while booking for Dubai Cargo Village inspection, client will be able to select “Dubai Cargo Village” section only.

Mirsal 2 Enhancements effective from 3rd September 2021

AWB Number Validation in Declaration

In order to facilitate trade and to enhance Customs control, Customs is implementing validation of AWB Number provided in the import declaration types. It is expected that AWB information is submitted by the carrier / air cargo agents / courier companies to Customs before submission of the declaration. Initially, Customs System shall show a warning message when the matching AWB number provided in the Customs Declaration is not submitted or not found in customs records at the time of Declaration submission. However, customers shall be allowed to clear the declaration. After completion of the initial awareness period, Customs system shall not allow Declaration Submission if corresponding AWB is not submitted to Customs prior to declaration submission. All the concerned parties are requested to submit the manifest of air / courier shipments to customs promptly to avoid any impact on completing the Declaration Clearance Process.

Following are the Declaration Types in which AWB number will be validated:

• Import to Local from ROW
• Import to Local from GCC (Statistical Import)
• Import for Re Export to Local from ROW
• Import to CW from ROW
• Transit (ROW to ROW) – Inbound Transport Document Number Only if Inbound channel is Air
• FZ Transit In
• Temporary Admission from ROW to Local
• FZ Transit In from GCC and other Emirates FZ and GCC Local Market
• Courier Import
• Courier Transit
• Cargo Transfer from CTO to CH (Same Location)
• Cargo Transfer from CTO to CH (Different Locations)

Customers are advised to follow the below instructions when entering AWB Number in the customs declaration to avoid any non-compliance issues:

1. AWB number (Inbound Master Transport Document Number and House Transport Document Number) should be the same as per the Air / Courier Shipment Manifest submitted to Customs by Airlines or Air Cargo Agents.
2. AWB number format should be the same as per the AWB issued by Airlines / Courier / Air Cargo Agents.
3. In case of the Shipment that arrived in consolidation where Master and House AWB Number combinations are given in Customs Declaration, Master Transport Document Number should be entered as Airline AWB Number and House Transport Document Number should be entered as the House AWB Number.
4. Cargo Agent Code provided in the Declaration should be the same of the one who submitted the corresponding Air House Manifest to Customs. (Please note that for House Consignments, Master and House AWB combination should be given in the Declaration)
5. For Cargo Transfer Declaration Type of CTO to CH, Consolidated Airline AWB Number of Transferred Cargo will be validated against the corresponding Airline AWB. The AWB numbers starting with “CBV” (Courier Baggage Voucher) which are given in the Cargo Transfer Declarations are exempted from validating the AWB submission.

Cargo Tracking Service:

Cargo Tracking is a service provided to Importer, Exporter and Customs Broker through which they can search and view the status of end-to-end process of Customs Clearance by using the Bill Of Lading/Air Way Bill or Customs Declaration Numbers of the cargo being imported or exported through Sea, Air and Courier Air Channels excluding the Low Value Courier Import/Export.. This facility enables the customer to view the different statuses of the cargo such as request for customs clearance, customs inspection booking, and inspection completion in a single service where the customers are either importer or exporter or customs broker in the declaration clearance process. In the case of sea channel where the declaration has not yet been submitted, then importer can view the BOL details only provided that the delivery order has already been issued for the logged-in customers.

Additionally, customers can also view the statuses of arrival/ departure of the vessel or air craft through which cargo is arriving or departing, manifest submission, issuance of delivery order for sea cargo and gate pass for cargo delivery etc.

Note: The information of Vessel/Air Craft movement, Manifest submission, Delivery Order and Gate Pass shall be shown subject to the availability of information received by Customs from DPW, DNATA or EK Sky Cargo.

Please be informed that due to the new procedures in Kuwait, whereby all Kuwait businesses were issued with new trade license numbers, we request all Kuwaiti trade license holders who are registered with Dubai Customs to submit a “New Business Code Registration Request” and not to renew their existing customs business code.

Please be informed of an upcoming enhancement to the Dubai Trade Customs Declaration and Vehicle Clearance Certificate services. This enhancement will be implemented on September 08, 2024.

Postal Declarations:

Service charges for Postal cargo clearances have been revised and will be based on the value of goods being declared

• AED 0 for value of goods less than or equal to AED 3000
• AED 10 for value of goods between AED 3000 and AED 15000
• No change for value of goods greater than AED 15000 or consignments containing tobacco, tobacco products, e-cigarettes, nicotine liquid, alcoholic beverages and foods containing alcohol irrespective of the value

Vehicle Clearance Certificate:

Currently, vehicle clearance certificates can be downloaded only one at a time. With the upcoming enhancement, customers will be able to select multiple certificates (maximum 50 numbers) belonging to the same declaration and download it all as a single file.

Kindly be informed about Microsoft’s decision to retire the desktop application “Internet Explorer 11” and to replace the application by “Microsoft Edge”. Microsoft is providing “Internet Explorer 11” mode in “Microsoft Edge” to ensure smooth running of websites compatible with “Internet Explorer 11”.

Dubai Customs “ActiveX” component is required to perform the following Mirsal2 transactions on Dubai Trade:
• To sign the “Declaration” and “Refunds and Claim” transactions using the Digital Certificate of the Customer.
• To register the Customer’s Digital Certificate with Dubai Customs using “Manage Digital Certificate” service on Dubai Trade.

Due to the “ActiveX” dependency, the above mentioned services will only work in Internet Explorer 11, hence we request for all Customers to ensure that the “ActiveX” component is installed on their computer, in order to use the above Mirsal2 services. For the guideline and further information click here.

The Tariff and Origin Department, represented by the Customs Policies and Procedures Section, has facilitated customer access to the customs policies and notices pages on the Dubai Customs website by introducing QR Code reader for both pages. This enables customers to instantly log on to the DC website and access the policies and customs notices pages in a quick and efficient manner, from the convenience and comfort of their smart devices.

The move is in line with the Dubai Government's paperless strategy that aims to eliminate the use of paper in all internal operations and customer transactions. Now customers will be able to use QR code reader to stay updated of the new customs policies and regulations as published on the official Dubai Customs website.

The QR code will be activated on DC website as well as Dubai Trade portal starting the 4th quarter of 2021. The QR code technology is environment-friendly as it allows customers to directly access the desired information without having to spend time searching online or using paper documents. This technology also features higher QR code readability on all smartphones.

Dubai Customs takes another step forward in supporting Traders within Dubai to overcome business challenges by launching the ‘Trader Export Report’ service, which will help support traders to zero rate goods exported by clearing agents or assigned freight forwarders by overseas buyers. These Traders faced a challenge whereby they were unable to zero rate exported goods due to the lack of documentary proof of export.

The new online service aims to provide the necessary official proof required by the VAT legislation in order for these Traders to zero rate the export of goods within the specified period.

The Importer is requested to provide the correct import declaration numbers to the exporting agent of the overseas buyer so that correct import declarations will be referenced in the export declarations. This will enable the importer to generate the Trader Export report with accurate records of imports and exports in order to provide proof of export in conjunction with the Exit Certificate.

‘Generate Trader Export Report’
• Importer/Exporting Agent will generate the report by providing Importer Business Code and period range in which report data is required.
• Importer/Exporting Agent will then view and download this Trader Export Report to support the zero rating of exported goods.
• For purpose of FTA verification of the validity and authentication of the report, Customs is also providing a facility for FTA to view, search, download or generate the report, whereby the FTA can search the report submitted by an importer/Exporting Agent or can generate a new report based on the importer’s TRN. The FTA may also request the Importer/Exporting Agent to provide the Exit Certificate.

The user-friendly service is available on Dubai Trade Portal and will be applicable for the following cleared declaration types:
• Import to Local from ROW
• Import to Local from FZ
• Import to Local from CW
• Import to Local from GCC (Statistical Import)
• Export from Local to ROW or Export from Local to GCC (statistical export) which mention any of the above inbound declaration types as Previous Declaration Number (PDN) in the applicable line items

Note that the trader is still required to meet all the other requirements for zero rating the export of goods, including the retention of the exit certificate and commercial documents proofing the export, and ensuring the goods are exported within the prescribed period of 90 days of the date of supply. This Trader Export Report will only apply to imported goods, which were subsequently exported, and does not apply to goods acquired locally.