法律法规

 

 

Unified Customs Regulation

“Law”

of the GCC States

 

 

 

 

Rules of Implementation and Explanatory Notes Thereof

 

 

Table of Contents   Introduction Section I: General Provisions and Definitions Section II: Principles for Application of the Customs Tariff Section III: Prohibition and Restriction Section IV: Distinguishing Elements of the Goods Section V: Importation and Exportation   Chapter I - Importation: i. Marine (sea) Transport. ii. Land Transport.   iii. Air Transport   Chapter II - Exportation   Chapter III - Postal Traffic   Chapter IV - Common Provisions   Section VI: Stages of the Customs Clearance Chapter I - Customs Declarations Chapter II - Inspection (examination) of Goods Chapter III - Provisions relating to Passengers Chapter IV - Adjustment of Prices Chapter V - Payment of the customs taxes” duties” and the release of goods.

 

 

 

 

Section VII: Cases where customs duties and taxes are suspended: Chapter I - General Provisions Chapter II – Goods in Transit   Chapter III - Warehouses Chapter IV - Free zones and duty-free shops Chapter V - Temporary Admission Chapter VI - Re-exportation Chapter VII - Drawback     Section VIII: Exemptions Chapter I - Commodities exempted from customs duties and taxes Chapter II - Diplomatic exemptions Chapter III - Military exemptions Chapter IV - Personal effects and household appliances Chapter V –Imports of the philanthropic societies (charities) Chapter VI- Returned goods Chapter VII - Common provisions Section IX: Service fees and charges Section X: Customs brokers Section XI: Rights and duties of the customs officers Section XII: Customs Zone (boundary)

 

 

 

Section XIII: Customs matters (cases)   Chapter I: Detection (investigation) of smuggling Chapter II: Seizure report Chapter III: Precautionary (provisional) measures Part 1: Precautionary (provisional) seizure Part 2: Preventing the offenders and the accused persons from leaving the country. Chapter IV: Customs offences and penalties thereof Chapter V: Smuggling and penalties thereof: Part 1: Smuggling Part 2: Penal liability Part 3: Penalties Chapter VI: Prosecutions (pursuits): Part 1: Administrative prosecutions Part 2: Judicial prosecution of the smuggling offences Part 3: Devolution of the right of prosecution and conciliatory settlement (compromise). Chapter VII: Liability and Joint liability Chapter VIII: Rules of Court procedures Section XIV: Sale of goods Section XV: Privilege of the Customs Administration Section XVI: Prescription Section XVII: Final Provisions

 

 

 

Rules of Implementation of the Unified Customs Regulation “Law”:   I. The value of goods for customs purposes. II. Temporary admission III. Re-exportation of goods IV. Exemption of the personal effects and gifts accompanying the passengers V. Exemption of the philanthropic societies “charities” from the customs taxes “duties” . VI. The goods subject to the provisions of the customs zone “boundary” and conditions of transport therein. VII. Fines imposed on the customs offences.     Explanatory Notes to the Unified Customs Regulation “Law” .

 

 

Introduction

 

 

The unification of the customs regulations and procedures in the GCC States is one of the most important  objectives to be achieved by the customs

administrations of the GCC member States among which is the adoption of “ a Unified Customs Regulation “Law” of the GCC States” that unifies the

customs procedures in all the customs administrations of the GCC States and contributes to the enhancement of cooperation in the customs field among the Member States.

The efforts to achieve this objective had been made since 1992 and the

technical committee, assigned by the directors general of customs, to do this task had held seventeen meetings for this purpose and concluded with the    agreement on the Regulation “law” referred to above.

 

To ensure that this Regulation “Law” is in line with the provisions of the

international organizations relating to customs, the Secretariat General had dispatched English versions of this Regulation to the World Trade

Organization and the World Customs Organization for their comments and the Secretariat General received those comments which were passed to the

competent technical committee for consideration and proposing appropriate action.

The Unified Customs Regulation “Law” of the GCC States was adopted in the

20th Session of the Supreme Council held in Riyadh during the period 27-29 November 1999 provided that it would be implemented as a reference

regulation for one year from the date adopted by the Supreme Council and that it would be revised in the light of the comments received by the

Secretariat General from the member States in an attempt to have it

obligatorily implemented by all the Customs Administrations of the GCC States by 2002.

In order to complete the necessary implementation aspects of the Unified

Customs Regulation “Law” in  the customs administrations of the  GCC States

and to review the comments of the member States and finalize the

preparation of the Rules of Implementation and the Explanatory Notes, the Supreme Council , in its 21st  Session held in Manama, Bahrain 30-31

December 2000, decided to extend the reference implementation of the Unified Customs Regulation “Law” of the GCC States for one more year provided that it should be obligatorily implemented by all the Customs     Administrations of the GCC States in January 2002 .

The said decision “resolution” of the Supreme Council was a step which had   enabled the customs administrations and the ad hoc committees of the GCC  States to complete all the aspects that would provide the factors of the proper implementation of this Regulation “Law” to achieve the objective for which it    was made, that is the unification and facilitation of the customs procedures in

 

the GCC States which would enhance the trade exchange among them and   between the rest of the  world countries, and lay down the firm foundations of the customs Union of the GCC States.

Pursuant to the recommendation of the Ministerial Council, in its 81st

Preparatory Session, to adopt the recommendation of the Financial and

Economic Cooperation Committee (The Ministers of Finance and Economy of the GCC States) in its 55th  Meeting concerning the Unified Customs

Regulation “Law” of the GCC States, the Supreme Council, in its 22nd   Session held in Muscat on 30-31 December 2001, resolved as follows:

 

1.  Approval of the amendments proposed to the Unified Customs

Regulation “Law” of the GCC States and the Rules of Implementation and the Explanatory Notes thereof.

2.  This Regulation “Law” shall come into force as of January 2002.

3.  Implementation of Articles (9, 98) relating to the Unified Customs Tariff and the mechanism for the collection and distribution (allotment) of

duties in the customs union of the GCC States shall coincide with the setting up of the customs union.

4.  Article (97) relating to drawback “the refund of the customs taxes

”duties” on the goods re-exported to outside of the GCC States”  shall be implemented after the issuance of the rules of implementation

thereof.

5.  Provisions of Article (109) entitling the GCC nationals the right to

practice the activity (profession) of customs clearanceshall be

implemented after the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee has agreed to permit the GCC nationals to practice this activity

“profession”  in the GCC States.

The Supreme Council, in its 23rd  Session held in Doha, Qatar 21-22

December 2002, approved the decisions of the Financial and Economic

Cooperation Committee concerning the application of Article (9) relating to the application of the unified customs tariff, and Article (97) relating to Drawback,  Article (98) relating to the goods exempted from the customs taxes “duties”

and Article (109) permitting the GCC nationals to practice the activity of customs clearance.

 

This Regulation “law” falls in (17) sections comprising (178) Articles containing provisions regulating the customs work, the areas subject to customs control,   the nature of the customs procedures at the land, sea , air  and post customs   offices that apply to the import and export operations, the application of the

customs tariff and the collection of the customs duties on the imported goods, the stages of the customs clearance of the goods, the exemptions and

temporary admission of goods, the documents to be produced to customs for the clearance of the goods, and the provisions for the establishment of free

zones and duty-free shops and the regulation of the work of the customs

brokers (clearing agents), the treatment of the customs offences and the

smuggling cases and the rights and duties of the  customs officers. Hence this

 

regulation “law” is deemed the legal instrument regulating the customs procedures in the customs administrations of the GCC States and the  relationship between these administrations and the public of nationals, residents and importers so that the person dealing with the customs

administrations would find no difference in the customs procedures applied in

any of the GCC States. This regulation “law” does also regulate the

relationship between these customs administrations and the government departments in each State.

When this regulation “law” had been prepared, it was taken into account that it would be utilized in the customs work for the time being and it would also

prepare the customs administrations of the member States for the phase of

the forthcoming customs union of the GCC States as it meets all requirements thereof.

 

 

 

Unified Customs Regulation (Law) of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

 

 

Section I

 

General Provisions and Definitions Article 1

This regulation (law) is called “The Unified Customs Regulation (Law) for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC Sates)” .

Article 2

The   following   words   and   terms,   wherever   mentioned   throughout   this Regulation “ Law “ , its Explanatory Note and Rules of implementation, shall have the meanings hereby assigned for them, unless the context otherwise requires:

 

1.  The term “the Council “means the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.

2.  The term “the Minister “means the minister to whom the Customs Administration reports.

3.  The term “competent authority” means the authority to which the customs administration reports.

4.  The term “the Director General “means the Director General of Customs.

5.  The term “the Director “means the director of a Customs office.

6.  The term “the Administration “means the Customs Administration.

7.      The  term     “Customs  office  “  means  the  sector,  designated  by  the Minister, at each seaport, airport, land port or at any other place where there is a branch office of the Administration authorized to complete all or some of the customs procedures.

 

8.  The term “ Regulation / law “means the rules and provisions governing customs work, and any other supplementing or amending rules or

provisions.

 

9.  the term “ customs zone “ means that part of the lands or seas subject to the customs control and procedures set forth herein which is of two    kinds:

 

(i). Sea customs zone: Which includes that part of the sea located between the shores and the end boundary of the territorial

waters.

(ii) Land customs zone: which covers the lands located between the land boundaries or shores, on the one hand, and the internal line

on the other hand, to be prescribed by a resolution by the Minister or the competent authority?

 

10.The term “customs line “means that line conforming to the political

boundaries (borders) separating between the country and the adjacent countries and the seashores surrounding that country.

11.The term “ customs tariff “ means the nomenclature containing the     descriptions of the goods and the respective taxes and customs duties as well as the rules and notes of the kinds and types of commodities.

12.The term “customs taxes (duties) “means the amounts levied on the goods according to the provisions of this Regulation.

13.The term “fees/charges “means the amounts collected by customs for the services rendered.

14. The term “goods “means any natural, material or animal, agricultural, industrial or intellectual product.

15. The term “type of goods “means the description mentioned in  the customs tariff nomenclature.

16. The term “the price actually paid or payable” means the

total amount paid to the seller, directly or indirectly, for the goods

imported by the buyer or for his favor.

17. The term “the imported goods being valued” means the goods being valued for customs purposes.

18. The term “ identical goods” means goods that are the same in all respects, including physical characteristics, quality and reputation.

 

Minor differences in appearance would not preclude goods otherwise conforming to the definition from being regarded as identical.

19. The term “similar goods” means goods which, although not alike in all respects, have like characteristics and like component materials which enable them to perform the same functions and to be

commercially interchangeable. The quality of the goods, their

reputation and the existence of a trademark are among the factors to be considered in determining whether goods are similar.

20. The term “sales commission” means the commission paid to the  seller’s agent who is related to the seller or the factory, governed by or acting for its favor or on its behalf.

21. The term “packing costs” means the cost of all packing and

coverings (excluding instruments of international traffic” whether for he labor or the materials used for placing the goods in packings suitable   for shipping to the GCC states.

22. The term “ unit price at the greatest total quantity” means the unit price at which certain goods are sold to unrelated persons, at the first     commercial level after importation in its state when imported or after

further preparation or processing, if the importer so requested.

23. The term “related persons” means persons who are:

(a). legally recognized partners in business,

(b). officers or directors of one another’sbusiness, (c). employer and employee,

(d). any person directly or indirectly owns, controls or holds 5 per cent or more of the outstanding voting stock shares of both of them,

(e). one of them directly or indirectly controls the other,

(f). both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by a third person,

(g). together they directly or indirectly control a third person, (h). members of the same family.

24. The term “Valuation Agreement “means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994.

25. The term “origin of the goods” means the producing country,

whether these goods are natural resources, agricultural crops or animal or industrial products.

 

26. The term “ prohibited goods “ means any goods the import or export of which is prohibited under the provisions of this Regulation “ Law “     or any other regulation “ law “ .

 

27. The term  “ restricted goods “ means those goods the import or

export of which is restricted under the provisions of this regulation “law “ or any other regulation “ law “ .

28. The term “source “means the country from which the goods is imported.

 

29. The term “importer “means the natural or legal person importing the goods.

30. The term “exporter “means the natural or legal person exporting the goods.

31. The term “ manifest “ means the document containing a full

description of the goods carried  on  the various means of transport.

32. The term “ free zone “ means a part of the state’s territories in which commercial or industrial activities are exercised under the respective laws of that state. Any goods entering that zone are considered to be outside the customs zone and shall not be subject to the usual customs control and procedures.

33.  The  term  “duty-free  shop”  means  that  licensed  building  or  place wherein goods are placed free of customs duties (taxes) for purposes of display or sale.

 

34. The term “ customs declaration “ means the goods declaration or the declaration submitted by the importer or his representative describing the elements  identifying the declared goods and quantity   thereof  in  details according to  the provisions of this regulation “ law “ .

35. The term “storehouse” means that building or place intended for the temporary  storage  of goods  pending  their  withdrawal  under  one  of  the customs procedures whether such place/building is directly administered by the Administration or by the official public agencies or the investors.

 

36. The term “ warehouse “ means the place or facility wherein the goods are  deposited  under  supervision  of  the  Administration  free  of  customs duties (taxes) according to the provisions herein.

37. The term“carrier “means the owner of a means of transportation or  his authorized representative (under an official authorization).

38. The terms “specified routes “means the routes specified by the minister     for the carriage of the imported or exported goods into/from   the    country    or the goods in transit under a resolution.

 

39. The term“Treasury “means the public treasury.

40.  The  term   “Customs  Clearance”  means  documentation  of  the customs  declarations  for  the  imported,  exported  and  transit  goods according to the procedures provided for herein.

41. The term “Customs broker “means any legal or natural person

licensed to undertake customs clearance for the account of the others.

42. The term “representative of the customs broker” means any legal or natural person licensed to follow up customs procedures.

 

 

 

Article 3

The provisions of this regulation “law “apply to the sovereign territories and territorial waters of the country. Notwithstanding, free zones, totally or partially excluded from customs provisions, may be established in such territories.

 

 

Article 4

Any goods crossing the customs line, at importation or exportation, shall be subject to the provisions of this regulation (law).

 

 

 

 

Article 5

The Administration shall perform its duty at the customs office or customs zone  and  May  also  exercise  its  powers  within  the  extent  of  the  country’s territories and territorial waters under the conditions set forth herein.

 

Article 6

Customs offices are established and canceled by a resolution of the minister or the competent authority.

Article 7

Competencies and work hours of the customs offices are specified by a resolution of the minister or the competent authority.

 

Article 8

Subject to the provisions of the articles relating to the inspection of goods, customs procedures shall only be conducted at the designated customs    offices as set forth in article 7.

Section II

 

Principles of application of the Customs tariff

 

Article 9

Goods imported into the country are subject to the customs taxes “duties” specified in the customs tariff, and the other applicable fees, excluding those exempted under the provisions of this regulation “ law “or under the Unified Economic  Agreement  of  the  GCC  Arab  states  or  any  other  international agreement within the framework of the Council.

Article 10

The duty rate of the customs tariffshall be either ad Valorem (percentage of the value of goods) or specific (an amount levied on each unit of the goods), or both.

Article 11

Customs taxes” duties” are levied, amended and abandoned by the legal instrument applicable in each Member State subject to the respective

resolutions issued by the Council and the provisions of the international agreements in force.

 

 

 

Article 12

Resolutions amending the customs taxes “duties” shall specify the date at which such amended taxes “duties” shall be effective.

 

Article 13

Imported goods are subject to the customs taxes “duties” applicable at the date of registering the customs declaration with the customs offices unless otherwise provided for in the text of the resolutions amending the customs  tariff.

Article 14

When custom taxes “duties” are to be levied on the goods deposited at the    warehouse due to the expiry of the warehousing period, such goods shall be

 

subject to the tariff provisions applicable at the date of registering the customs declaration.

Article 15

Goods taken out from the free zones and duty-free shops into the local markets are subject to the customs tariff effective at that time.

Article 16

Smuggled goods (contrabands) or the like are subject to the customs tariff prevailing at the time of the detection or occurrence of smuggling, if

applicable, whichever is higher.

 

 

 

 

Article 17

The customs tariff effective on the sale dayshall apply to the goods sold by the customs office according to the provisions provided for herein.

 

 

 

Article 18

 

 

 

Damaged goods shall be subject to the customs tariff based on their value at the date of registering the customs declaration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section III

 

Prohibition and Restriction Article 19

 

A customs declaration shall be produced for any goods entering or leaving the country;  the  goods  are  then  presented  to  the  customs  authorities  at  the nearest customs office.

 

 

 

Article 20

Marine  means  of  transport  entering  the  country,  irrespective  of  their  load capacity, are prohibited from anchoring in any seaports (harbors) other than those designated for receiving them, excluding the case of sea emergency or force  majeure  wherein  the  shipmaster  shall  immediately  notify  nearest customs office or security point of such occurrence.

Article 21

Vessels, loaded with prohibited or restricted goods or goods subject to high rates of duty, of a loading capacity less than two hundred marine tons may not enter or get involved in the shipping activity within the marine customs zone except  in  circumstances  arising  from  sea  emergency  or  force  majeure,  in which case the shipmastershall promptly notify the nearest customs office or security point of such occurrence, excluding goods transported within the local seaports of the country whose customs procedures have been finalized.

Article 22

Aircraft departing or arriving in the country may not take off or land at the airports where no customs offices exist unless in cases of force majeure in which  case the shipmaster shall  promptly  notify  nearest  customs  office  or security  point  of  such  occurrence  and  submit  a  report,  approved  by  the customs office notified of that occurrence, unless otherwise provided for in any other regulation (law) or resolution.

 

 

Article 23

Land means of transport may not enter or leave the country through the areas where no customs offices exist.

 

Article 24

By virtue of the provisions of this regulation (law) or any other regulation

( law ) or resolution, the Customs Administration prohibits admission, transit or exit of the prohibited goods or infringing goods as well as the entry, transit or exit  of  any   restricted  goods  except   under  approval  from  the  competent authorities in the country.

 

 

 

Section IV

 

Distinguishing Elements of the Goods

(Origin, Value, type)

 

 

Article 25

Imported goods are subject to the proof of origin according to the rules of origin adopted within the framework of the international and regional economic agreements in force.

 

 

Article 26

The value for customs purposes shall be calculated according to the rules and principles set forth in the rules of implementation.

Article 27

Acceptance of the value as a distinctive element of the goods requires the following:

1.  Any customs declaration shall be accompanied by a detail original

invoice and the director general or his representative may allow

finalization of the clearance procedures without presentation of the

authenticated original invoices and the required documents against an undertaking to produce them within a period not to exceed 90 days

from the date of undertaking.

2.  The value of the goods shall be proved by producing all original

invoices and documents reflecting the value according to the rules set forth in Article 26.

3.  The customs office may require all documents, contracts,

correspondence and other relevant documents without having to accept all that is stated in them or in the invoices themselves.

4.  The Administration may request Arabic translation of the invoices

issued in a foreign language showing details of the goods in

accordance with the customs tariff as well as the other documents, if so required.

 

Article 28

The value of the exported goods is that indicated in the customs declaration plus all the costs until arrival of the goods at the customs office.

 

 

 

 

Article 29

Goods  not  mentioned  in  the  customs  tariff  (Harmonized  System)  and  the explanatory notes are to be classified according to the classification advice given  by  the  World  Customs  Organization.  Goods  that  fall  under  national subheadings in the customs tariff are to be classified within the context of the Unified Customs Tariff of the member States of the Council.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION V

 

Importation and exportation

 

Chapter I: Importation

 

1. Sea transportation

 

 

Article 30

a) Any goods imported into the country by sea shall be registered in the manifest.

b) A single manifest for the whole load signed by the shipmastershall be made which shall contain the following information:

 

I. Name and nationality of the ship and its registered load.

ii. Types of the goods, total weight thereof and the weight of bulk goods , if any .If goods are prohibited, their actual descriptionshall be

mentioned.

iii. Number of packages and pieces, description of packing, marks and numbers thereof.

 

iv. Names of the consignor and consignee.

v. The seaports where the goods are shipped from (ports of loading).

c) When entering the customs zone, the shipmastershall produce the original manifest to the competent authorities.

d)  When the ship enters the harbor, the shipmastershall submit to the customs office the following:

 

1. The cargo manifest

2. The manifest of the ship’s supplies (logistics) and the crew’s baggage and belongings.

3. A list of the passengers’ names.

4. A list of the goods to be unloaded at this port.

5. All the shipping documents which the customs office may require for application of the customs regulations.

e) Manifests and documents shall be submitted within sixty-three hours from the time the ship enters the seaport, excluding official holidays.

 

 

 

 

Article 31

 

If the manifest belongs to a ship (vessel) that does not make regular voyages or that does not have a forwarder at the port, or if it is a sail ship, then the

manifest must be endorsed by the customs authorities at the shipping port.

 

 

 

Article 32

 

a) Cargo of the ships and all other marine means of transportation may be unloaded only within the customs zone at the port. Any shipment may be   unloaded or transshipped only under supervision of the customs office.

b) Unloading and transshipment shall be completed according to the conditions laid down by the director general.

 

Article 33

 

Shipmaster, forwarder or his representativeshall beheld responsible for any    shortage in the number of pieces or packages or the amount of the bulk goods until delivery of the goods to the customs warehouses or acceptance of the

goods by the owners, if so allowed, subject to provisions of Article 54 herein.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article 34

 

If a shortage in the number of unloaded pieces or packages or in the amount of bulk goods, compared to those mentioned in the manifest, is found out, the shipmaster or his representative shall justify such shortage and prove that it has occurred outside the marine customs zone.  If documents     cannot  be submitted at once, a time period not exceeding six months may be given to submit the same against a guarantee ensuring the Administration’s rights.

 

 

 

2. Land transportation

 

Article 35

 

Customs procedures of the goods imported by land should be completed at   the first customs office and may be referred to another inland customs office, When necessary, under a resolution by the director general.

 

 

Article 36

a) A manifest of the total cargo of the land means of transportation shall be  prepared and signed by the carrier or his representative and shall contain    adequate information on the means of transportation, its cargo and all other details according to the conditions prescribed by the director general.

b) Carriers or their representatives shall submit the manifest to the port immediately upon arrival therein to.

 

3. Air transportation

 

Article 37

 

Subject to the provisions of Article 22 herein, aircraft crossing the country borders shall follow the specified routes and shall land only at the airports where customs offices exist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article 38

 

A manifest of the airplane’s cargo shall be prepared and signed by the captain according to the conditions set forth in paragraphs a, b, c, d, of Article 30

herein.

Article 39

The  captain  or  his  representative  shall  submit  the  manifest  and  the  lists mentioned in Article 38 herein to the customs officers and shall deliver theses documents to the customs office upon arrival of the aircraft.

 

 

 

Article 40

 

Goods may not be unloaded or dropped out of the aircraft during flight unless it is necessary to do so for safety purposes, provided that the customs office  shall be notified of the same, subject to the provisions set forth in the other     relevant regulations.

 

 

 

Chapter II:  Exportation Article 41

Owners of the means of transportation of goods, loaded or unloaded, shall- when leaving the country- submit to the customs office the manifest according to the provisions of Section 1 of this Chapter and shall obtain exit permission. However, the Director General, may, in certain cases, make an exception to this condition.

 

 

 

 

Article 42

 

Exporters  of  goods  shall  proceed  with  the  goods  to  be  exported  to  the competent customs office and declare them in detail. Carriers towards land borders may not overpass the customs offices.

 

 

 

 

Chapter III: Postal traffic Article 43

Goods are imported or exported by mail according to the provisions of this regulation (law) and subject the other applicable international postal

agreements and local regulations in force.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter IV: Common provisions Article 44

a) Several sealed packages, assembled in any way whatsoever, may not be stated in the manifest as a single package.  Containers, palettes and trailers are subject to the instructions given by the director general.

 

b) A single consignment may not be split. However, for acceptable reasons,   the director general may allow such splitting, provided that such splitting shall not result in a loss to the treasury.

 

 

Article 45

Provisions of Articles 32, 33, and 34 herein shall apply to the land and air transport  in  respect to the  unloading and transshipment of goods.  Drivers, captains of aircraft and carriers shall be responsible for any shortage in case of land and air transport.

 

Article 46

 

The Administration may use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) in customs clearance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION VI

 

Stages of customs clearance

 

Chapter I: Customs declarations

 

 

Article 47

 

When clearing any goods , even if exempted from customs taxes and duties, a detailed customs declaration,  conforming to the forms approved within the framework  of  the  GCC  states,  shall  be  submitted  to  the  customs  office containing   all   the   information   that   enable   application   of   the   customs regulations and levying applicable customs taxes and duties and for statistical purposes.

 

 

 

Article 48

 

Subject to the provisions of para. (1) of Article 27 herein, The director general shall specify the documents to be attached with the customs declarations and the information to be contained therein and shall allow the completion of the clearance  procedures  in  the  absence  of  any  of  the  required  documents against  cash  or  bank  guarantees  or  a  written  undertaking  to  submit  such documents according to the stipulated conditions.

 

 

 

Article 49

Contents of the customs declarations may not be modified after registration;     however, the applicant may apply in writing to the customs office for correction before the customs declaration is referred to inspection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article 50

 

Owners of the goods or their representatives may check their goods before submitting  the  customs  declaration  and  may  take  samples  thereof,  when necessary, after obtaining permission from the Director and under supervision of  the  customs  office.    Such  samples  shall  be  subject  to  the  applicable customs taxes “duties” .

 

 

 

Article 51

No parties other than the owners of the goods or their representatives may have access to the customs declarations excluding competent judicial or    official entities.

 

Chapter II: Examination (Inspection) of goods Article 52

 

The designated customs officershall examine the goods wholly or partially    after registering the customs declarations according to the instructions of the director general.

Article 53

a) Examination of goods shall take place at the customs office; however in certain cases such examination may be conducted outside the customs office according to the rules laid down by the director general.

 

b) Transferring the goods to the place of examination and the unpacking and repacking of packages and all the other works required for examinationshall be at the expense of the owner of the goods who will beheld responsible until arrival of the goods at the place of examination.

 

c) Goods placed in the customs warehouses or at the places intended for examination may not be removed without approval of the customs office

.

 

d) The individuals carrying the goods and presenting them for examination shall be acceptable to the customs office.

e) Access to the  stores,  customs warehouses,  hangars,  sheds  and  yards intended for the storage or deposit of goods and to the places allocated for examination  may  not  be  authorized  to  any  person without  approval of the customs office.

 

Article 54

Examination shall  be  conducted  only  in  the  presence  of  the owner of the goods  or  his  representative.  Should  a  shortage  in  the  contents  of  the packages develop, responsibility for such shortage is determined as follows:

 

 

 

 

1. If the goods had been placed in the customs warehouses in packages that   are in an apparently proper condition from which it can be ascertained that the shortage in their contents had occurred at the exporting country prior to

shipping, then such shortageshall be disregarded.

2. If the goods entering the customs  warehouses o stores  are in packages that are not in an  apparently  proper condition , the entity in charge of these warehouses    an  stores  shall   ,  together  with  the  carrier   ,       record  this occurrence  in  the  acceptance  report  and  verify  the  weight,  contents  and number of packages. It shall also take the necessary precautions to ensure safety of the goods. In this case the carriershall beheld responsible unless a reservation is indicated on the manifest and endorsed by the customs office of the exporting country in which case the shortage will be disregarded and the pursuitshall be discontinued.

 

3. If the goods have been admitted into the customs warehouses and stores in packages that are in an apparently proper condition then they became subject of suspicion,the entity in charge of the warehouses shall be responsible for

any shortage or switching, if any.

 

 

Article 55

When the customs office suspects the presence of prohibited or illegal, it shall have the right to open the packages for inspection. Such opening of packages may  be  authorized  in  the  absence  of  the   owner  of  the   goods  or  his representative,  if he  refrains from attending the  inspection  at the specified time notified to him.

When necessary, the customs office may inspect the goods before notifying the  owner  of  the  goods  or   his  representative.  Such   inspection   may  be

 

conducted  by  a  committee  formed,  for  this  purpose,  by  a  decision  of  the director general and a report of the findings of inspectionshall be made.

Article 56

a) The customs office may have the goods analyzed by specialized agencies to verify the kind and specifications of the goods or their conformity to the regulations and laws.

 

b) Goods requiring the availability of certain conditions and specifications to be released shall be subject to analysis (testing) and inspection; however the director may release them against an appropriate undertaking ensuring that they are not to be disposed of until the analysis result has come out.

 

 

 

 

c) The director general may order that the goods, proved through inspection or analysis to be harmful or not conforming to the approved specifications, be destroyed   at   the   expense   and   in   presence   of   their   owners   or   their representatives. When  necessary,  such  goods  shall  be  re-exported  to  the source country in which case a report of the same shall be made.

 

 

Article 57

Customs taxes “duties” shall be levied according to the contents of the customs declaration. Should physical inspection result in a difference

(discrepancy) between the goods and what is stated in the customs

declaration, customs taxes and duties shall be levied on the basis of this  finding without prejudice to the customs’ right to levy the applicable fines, when necessary, under the provisions herein?

 

 

 

 

 

Article 58

If the customs office cannot verify the contents of the customs declaration through inspection of the goods or the documents submitted, it may suspend inspection and request necessary supporting documents.

 

 

Article 59

 

The customs office may re-inspect the goods under the provisions of Articles

51 - 56 herein.

 

 

 

 

Chapter III: Provisions relating to passengers

 

 

Article 60

 

Items or belongings accompanying the passengers shall be declared and inspected at the competent customs offices according to the rules and

practices laid down by the director general.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter IV: Adjustment of the value Article 61

A valuation committee composed of officers from the administration shall be established by a resolution of the director general to settle the disputes arising between the customs office and the persons concerned about the value of the imported  goods.  Such  committee   may  seek  assistance  of  experts  at  its discretion.

Without prejudice to the importer’s right to appeal to court, the importer may appeal  before  the  valuation  committee  against  the  decisions  of  increased value within fifteen days following the registration of the customs declaration or  from  the  date  of  the  valuation  notice  sent  to  him  by  registered  mail. Decisions of this committee shall be taken by majority and shall be effective once  approved  by  the  director  general.  The  importer  shall  be  informed  in writing of the decision taken by the committee concerning his complaint. Such decisionshall be reasonable.

Article 62

a) Should a dispute arise  between the competent customs officer and the owner  of  the  goods  about  the  value  of  the  goods  due  to  discrepancy  in description, origin or any other reason, the  matter shall  be  referred to the director for settlement.  If the director approves the opinion of the customs officer but the owner of the goods does not accept such opinion, the matter shall be referred to the director general for settlement of dispute or for referral to the valuation committee.

b) The  director  may  release  the  goods  in  dispute  ,  if  not  prohibited,  after collecting a deposit in an amount equivalent to the sum of the customs duties and taxes determined by the customs office. Samples of the goods shall be

 

temporarily maintained for reference when necessary; such samples shall be returned to the owner of the goods unless they are consumed for inspection and analysis purposes.

 

 

 

 

Chapter V

 

Payment of customs taxes “duties” and other charges and the Release of goods

 

 

Article 63

(a) Goods  shall  be  subject  to  customs  taxes  “duties”  and  may  not  be released  unless  after  completion  of  their  customs  procedures  and payment  of  customs  duties  and  taxes  according  to  the  provisions herein.

(b) Goods  shall  be  delivered  to  the  owners  or  their   duly  authorized representatives according to the procedures prescribed by the director general.

 

 

Article 64

The customs officers assigned to collect customs duties and taxes shall execute an official receipt in the form prescribed by the minister or the    competent authority.

 

 

Article 65

When a state of emergency is declared, precautions may be taken for

removing the goods against special guarantees and conditions prescribed by the minister or the competent authority.

 

 

 

Article 66

According to the rules and conditions prescribed by the director general,

goods may be released prior to payment of the customs duties and taxes and after completion of the customs procedures against bank, monetary or

documentary guarantees.

 

SECTION VII

 

Cases where customs taxes “duties” are suspended and Drawback

 

 

Chapter I: General Provisions Article 67

 

Goods may be admitted and transported to any other place within the country without payment of the customs taxes “duties” against submission of a bail or bank  guarantee  equivalent  to  the  amount  of  the  customs  taxes  “duties” payable according to the instructions given by the director general.

 

 

Article 68

Bails, bank guarantees and securities shall be released under discharge   certificates according to the conditions prescribed by the director general.

 

 

Chapter II: Goods in Transit Article 69

Subject  to  Article  67  herein  and  the  provisions  of  the  Unified  Economic Agreement of the GCC Arab States, goods are allowed to transit the territories of the Council states according to the applicable provisions and regulations and the international agreements force.

Article 70

Transit operations can be completed only at the authorized customs offices.

 

 

 

 

Article 71

Subject  to  the   provisions   of   the   applicable   regional   and   international agreements transit goods are transported through the specified routes by the various  means  of  transport  at  the  carrier’s  responsibility  according  to  the instructions of the director general. The routes for the transit transportation and the conditions thereof are to be specified by a resolution of the minister or the competent authority.

 

 

 

 

Article 72

In the event goods are transported from one customs office to another, the persons concerned may be exempted from submitting a detail declaration at the port of entry and the referral shall be according to the documents and conditions prescribed by the director general.

Article 73

The minister or the competent authority shall issue the necessary resolutions governing the suspension of the customs duties and taxes applicable to all     other kinds of transit transport.

 

 

Chapter III: Warehouses

 

 

Article 74

Warehouses inside or outside the customs officeshall be established by

a  resolution  of  the  minister  or  the   competent  authority;  the   rules  and conditions  controlling  such  warehouses  shall  be  laid  down  by  the  director general.

 

 

Article 75

 

Goods may be deposited with the warehouses inside or outside the customs   office without payment of customs duties and taxes according to the rules and conditions prescribed by the director general.

 

 

 

 

 

Article 76

The Administration is entitled to supervise and control the warehouses,    managed by other agencies, under the provisions of this regulation” law” and the other regulations (laws )in force.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter IV: Free zones and duty-free shops

 

 

Article 77

Free zones are established by the legal instrument of each State; the rules and conditions thereof are laid down by a resolution of the minister or the   competent authority.

 

 

 

Article 78

(a). Subject to the provisions of Articles 79 and 80  herein, all foreign goods of whatever  kind  or origin  may  be  brought  into  the  free zones  and  duty-free shops , and taken out from them to  outside the country or to other free zone and duty-free shops ,  without being subject to customs duties or taxes.

(b). Subject to the export restrictions and customs procedures applicable to   re-exportation, the foreign goods re-exported from inside the country may be admitted into the free zones and duty-free shops.

(c). Goods in the free zones and duty-free shops shall not be subject to any restriction in respect to the period they can remain therein.

Article 79

The imported goods, stated in the cargo manifest, may not be transferred or admitted into the free zones and duty-free shops unless by approval of the director general and under the conditions and controls prescribed by   him.

 

Article 80

 

 

 

The following goods may not be admitted into the free zones and duty-free shops:

1. Flammable  goods, excluding the fuels necessary for the  operation allowed by the authority supervising   free zones and duty-free shops  under the conditions prescribed by the competent authority.

2. Radioactive materials

 

3.  Arms, ammunition and explosives, of any kind, except those licensed by the competent authorities.

4.  Goods  infringing  the  laws  relating  to  commercial  and  industrial property rights and copyright protection in respect of which resolutions have been issued by the competent authorities.

5. All kinds of narcotic drugs and derivatives thereof.

6. Goods originated in an economically boycotted country.

7. Goods prohibited from entering the country; a list of such goods shall be made by each State.

 

 

 

 

Article 81

The customs office may carry out inspection works in the free zones and duty- free shops for detection of prohibited goods, and it may also review the

documents and examine the goods when smuggling operations are being suspected.

Article 82

The management of the free zones and duty-free shops shall submit to the     Administration, if so requested, a list of all the goods brought into or taken out from them.

 

 

 

Article 83

Goods placed at the free zones and duty-free shops may not be transferred to other free zones and duty-free shops, stores or warehouses unless according to  the  securities,  undertakings  and  procedures  prescribed  by  the  director general.

Article 84

Goods shall be withdrawn from the free zones and duty-free shops into the

country according to the provisions of applicable regulations and as instructed by the director general.

Article 85

Goods taken out from the free zones into the customs office are treated as foreign goods even if incorporating local raw materials or articles on which

 

customs duties and taxes have been collected prior to their admission into the free zones.

 

 

 

 

 

Article 86

National and foreign vessels shall be permitted to obtain all necessary marine equipment from the free zones.

Article 87

The  administration  of  the  free  zones  and  duty-free  shops  shall  be  held responsible for all the offences committed by its officers and for the goods illegally  taken  out  from  them.  All  regulations  and  instructions  relating  to security, public health, smuggling and fraud control shall remain effective in these free zones and duty-free shops.

 

 

 

Article 88

 

The goods imported from the free zones and duty-free shops into or out of the country shall be treated as foreign goods.

 

 

Chapter V

 

Temporary Admission

 

Article 89

Subject  to  the  provisions  provided  for  in  this  chapter  and  in  the  Unified Economic  Agreement  of  the  Council  countries  and  the  other  international applicable agreements, goods shall be temporarily admitted without collection of customs duties and taxes according to the conditions set forth in the Rules of Implementation

 

 

Article 90

The director general may grant temporary admission to the following:

1.  Heavy machinery and equipment for completion of projects or for conducting the experiments and tests relating to such projects.

2. Foreign goods imported for completion of processing.

 

3. Items temporarily imported for playgrounds, theatres, exhibitions and like events.

4. Machinery and equipment imported into the country for repair.

5. Containers and packing imported for refilling.

6. Animals admitted in for grazing.

7. Commercial samples for exhibition.

8. The other cases so requiring.

The items provided for herein shall be re-exported or deposited with the free zone, customs offices or warehouses during the temporary admission period prescribed by the Rules of Implementation.

 

 

 

Article 91

Provisions of the Unified Economic Agreement of the GCC states and the

other international applicable agreements governing the temporary admission of vehicles shall be observed according to the instructions prescribed by the   Rules of Implementation

 

 

Article 92

The materials and articles released by temporary admission may not be used, allocated or disposed of for purposes and objectives other than those for

which they were imported and declared in the submitted declarations.

 

 

 

 

Article 93

Any shortage develops in the goods released by  temporary admission when taken out   shall be subject to the customs duties “ taxes “ applicable at the    time of admission.

Article 94

The Rules of Implementationshall prescribe the conditions for practical

application of the temporary admission and the guarantees to be produced.

 

 

Chapter VI

 

Re-exportation

 

Article 95

The goods imported into the country, on which customs duties “taxes” were not collected,  may  be  re-exported  outside  the  country  or to the free zone according  to  the  procedures  and  guarantees  prescribed  by  the  Rules  of Implementation

Article 96

 

In certain cases, permission may be given for   transshipment of the goods or withdrawal of the goods that were not placed into the customs warehouses, from the wharves to the ships under the conditions prescribed by the director general.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter VII Drawback

 

 

Article 97

Customs duties “taxes” collected on the foreign goods shall be totally or

partially refunded at re-exportation according to the practices and conditions set forth by the Rules of Implementation.

 

 

Section VIII

 

Exemptions

 

Chapter I

 

Goods exempted from customs duties “taxes”

 

 

 

Article 98

 

 

The goods agreed to be exempted from customs duties and taxes in the  unified customs tariff of the GCC states shall be exempted from customs duties and taxes.

 

 

 

Chapter II

 

Diplomatic exemptions

 

Article 99

 

 

Imports of the diplomatic corps, consulates, international organizations and the  members  of  the  diplomatic  and  consular  corps  accredited  by  the government shall be exempted from customs taxes “ duties “ on reciprocity basis according to the international agreements , laws and orders in force.

 

 

 

Article 100

 

a) The goods exempted under Article (99) herein may not be disposed of  or abandoned for a purpose other than that for which they have been exempted ,unless after notifying the Administration of the payment of the due customs taxes “ duties “ .

b) Customs taxes” duties”  are not to be levied if the beneficiary has disposed of the goods, exempted under Article (99) herein, after three years from the date  released  by     the  customs  office  provided  that     reciprocity  basis  is available.

c) Exempted vehicles “ cars “ may not be disposed of before the elapse of three years following the exemption date excluding the following cases:

 

 

•          Termination  of the  mission  of the diplomatic or consular  member benefiting from exemption in the country.

•          The occurrence of an accident to the exempted car which makes it unfit for the use of the diplomatic or consular member based on a joint

recommendation by both the Traffic Department and the Administration.

•    The  sale  by one diplomatic or consular  member to another member provided that the assignee shall be entitled to the right of exemption.

 

 

Article 101

 

The right of exemption for the individuals benefiting from it under Article (99) herein shall  begin  from the  date of commencing their jobs at their official places of work in the country.

 

 

Chapter III

 

 

Military exemptions Article 102

 

Imports for all sectors of the military forces and internal security forces, such as  ammunitions,  arms,  equipment,  military  means  of  transport  and  parts thereof  and  any  other  materials,  shall  be  exempted  from  customs  taxes “duties” by a resolution of the Council of Ministers or the authorized authority in each State.

 

 

 

 

Chapter IV

 

Personal effects and household items

 

 

Article 103

 

(a). To be  exempted from customs taxes “ duties” are  the personal effects and used household items brought into the country by the nationals residing abroad or the foreigners coming for the first time for residence in the country, subject to the conditions and controls prescribed  by the director general.

(b) To be exempted from customs taxes “duties” are the personal effects and gifts  in  possession  of  passengers  provided  that  such  items  are  not  of  a

 

commercial  nature  and  shall  be  conforming to the  conditions  and  controls prescribed by the Rules of Implementation.

 

 

Chapter V

 

Imports of the Philanthropic Societies “Charities”

 

 

Article 104

 

Imports  of  the  Philanthropic  Societies  “Charities”  shall  be  exempted  from customs taxes “duties” according to the conditions and controls prescribed by the Rules of Implementation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter VI

 

Returned goods

 

 

Article 105

 

The following goods shall be exempted from customs taxes and duties:

 

1.         Returned goods of national origin that were previously exported.

2.         Returned foreign goods that are proved to have been previously re- exported to the outside the country, if returned within one year from the date of re-exportation.

3. Goods that have been temporarily exported for finishing or repair shall be subject to the customs taxes “duties” in an amount equivalent to the addition resulting from such finishing or repair according to the decision of the director general.

 

The minister or the competent authority shall prescribe the conditions to be satisfied for benefiting from the provisions of this article.

 

 

Chapter VII

 

Common provisions

 

 

Article 106

 

 

(a) The  provisions of the exemptions set forth  in this chapter apply to the goods covered by exemption, whether directly or indirectly imported or bought from the customs warehouses and free zones subject to the requirements prescribed by the Administration.

 

(b) Should a dispute arise on whether the goods provided for in this chapter are  subject  to  or  exempted  from  customs  taxes  and  duties,  the  director general shall settle such dispute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section IX

 

Service charges

 

 

Article 107

 

 

a.  Goods  placed  in  the  yards  and  warehouses  of  the  customs  office  are subject to the storage, handling and insurance charges and the other services required  for  the  storage  and  inspection  of  goods  at  the  applicable  rates. However, storage charges shall not, in any way, exceed 50 per cent of the estimated value of the goods. In the event such warehouses are administered by other entities, they may collect such charges according to the provisions and rates specified in this connection.

 

b. Goods may be subject to the charges of stowage, sealing, analysis and all services rendered.

c. The services and charges mentioned in this Article and the levying

conditions shall be determined by a resolution issued by the minister or the competent authority.

 

 

 

 

Section X

 

Customs brokers

 

 

Article 108

 

 

A customs broker is any legal or natural person engaged in the preparation of the customs declarations, signing them, submitting them to the customs office and  completion  of  the  customs  procedures  for  clearing  the  goods  for  the others’ account.

 

 

 

Article 109

 

 

Citizens of the GCC Arab States (natural or legal) have the right to exercise the  profession  of  customs  clearance   upon  obtaining  a   license  from  the Administration.

 

 

 

 

Article 110

 

 

Declaration of the goods at the customs office and the completion of their customs procedures, whether for importation, exportation or transit, shall be accepted from:

 

1. The owners of the goods or their authorized representatives satisfying the requirements  prescribed  by  the director general  including the authorization conditions.

2. Licensed customs brokers.

 

 

 

Article 111

 

 

Endorsement of the delivery order for the name of the customs broker or the representatives  of  the  owners  of  the  goods  shall   be  deemed  as  an

 

authorization for finalization of the customs procedures without any liability on the part of the customs office for delivering the goods to the endorsee.

 

 

 

 

 

Article 112

 

 

The customs broker shall be held responsible for his acts and those of his employees vis-à-vis the importers, exporters and the Administration under the provisions herein.

 

 

Article 113

The director general may issue the directions concerning the following:

1. Licensing requirements for customs brokers,

2. Licensing requirements for the representative of the customs broker,

3. Licensing procedures for customs procedures and their representatives,

4. Obligations of the customs broker and his representative,

5. Requirements for opening the customs clearance offices,

6. The number of customs brokers and their representatives authorized to exercise the profession at the customs offices,

7. The customs office (s) wherein the customs brokers are authorized to work,

8. Procedures of dispensing with the customs brokers and their representatives,

9. Procedures of transfer (movement) of the representatives of customs brokers among the customs clearance offices,

10. Procedures of withdrawing the licenses of the customs brokers and their representatives,

11. Cases of deletion of the licence from the Administration’s register.

 

 

 

Article 114

 

 

Subject to the provision of Article 140 herein and without prejudice to any civil or penal liability set forth herein or in any other regulation (law),the director

 

general may impose on the customs broker and his representative any of the following penalties commensurable with the offence committed:

 

1.     Notice (warning).

2.    A fine not to exceed SR 5000 or its equivalent in the currencies of the other Council Member States.

3.    Suspension of activity for a period not to exceed two years.

4.    Cancellation  of  the  license  and  final  prevention  from  exercising  the profession.

 

An appeal against the imposition of these penalties may be made before the minister  or  the  competent  authority  within  thirty  y  days  from  the  date  of notification.  The  resolution  (judgment)  of  the   minister  or  the   competent authority shall be final.

 

 

 

 

Article 115

 

 

The customs broker shall keep a register wherein he records a summary of the  customs  transactions  he  has  completed  for  the  account  of  others according to the conditions stipulated by the customs office. This registershall contain the amount of duties paid to the customs office, the fees paid to the broker and any other expenses relating to the transactions. The director or his authorized representative s hall have absolute power to have access at any time to these registers (records) without objection by the broker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section XI

 

Rights and duties of the customs officers

 

Article 116

 

 

a.  The customs officers, when performing their duties, shall be deemed as judicial officers within the limits of their competencies.

 

b.  The customs officers, when appointed, are given identification cards

indicating the nature of their jobs, to be presented upon request.

c.  The customs officers shall put on the specified official uniform when performing their duties if the nature of their job so requires.

 

 

 

Article 117

 

Civil and military authorities and internal security forces shall render to the customs officers every assistance for the performance of their duties once requested and the customs officeshall cooperate with the other official

entities.

 

 

 

 

 

Article 118

 

Customs officers, whose nature of job so requires, are allowed to carry guns. Such officers are designated by a resolution of the minister or the competent authority.

 

 

Article 119

 

 

Any customs officer, whose services are terminated for any reason

whatsoever, shall return the items in his custody to his immediate supervisor.

 

 

 

 

Article 120

 

 

The incentives and allowances granted to the customs officers are determined by a decision of the minister or the competent authority based on a proposal    form the director general according to the nature of their jobs. Such incentives and allowances shall be effective once approved by the competent authorities.

 

Section XII

 

Customs zone

 

 

Article 120

Prohibited goods, restricted goods and goods subject to higher customs taxes “duties” as well as the other goods designated by a decision of the director

general shall be subject to the provisions of the customs zone. The Rules of Implementationshall specify the conditions of transportation within this zone and he necessary documents and procedures.

 

 

Section XIII

 

Customs matters

 

Chapter I: Investigation of smuggling

 

 

Article 122

a). Customs officers shall combat smuggling. To this effect, they are authorized to inspect he goods and the means of transport and to search persons under the

provisions herein and the other applicable regulations (laws).

b) The body search of women shall be conducted only by a female inspector.

c). In the event there are adequate evidences of the presence of contraband

and after obtaining permission from the competent authority, customs officers shall be entitled to inspect any house, store or shop according to the

applicable regulations (laws).

d). Customs officers shall not beheld responsible for the damages resulting from the proper performance of their jobs.

 

 

 

Article 123

 

Authorized  customs  officers  have  the  right  to  get  aboard  the  vessels anchoring in the local ports or those entering or leaving such ports and to stay aboard  until  the  cargo  is  unloaded  and  they  may  inspect  all  parts  of  the vessel.

 

 

 

Article 124

 

 

Authorized customs officers have the right to get aboard the vessels in the customs zone for inspection or presentation of the cargo manifest and the other required documents under the provisions herein; when refraining from producing such documents or in the absence of such documents and when contraband  or  prohibited  goods  are  suspected  to  be  concealed,  customs officers may take all necessary measures to seize such goods and shall lead the vessel to the nearest customs office.

 

 

Article 125

The Administration may take appropriate actions for investigating (detecting) smuggling inside and outside the customs office according to the rules laid    down by the minister or the competent authority.

 

 

Article 126

Investigation of smuggling, seizure of goods and proving customs offences may be conducted on all goods within the territories of the country in the     following cases:

1. in both   the land and maritime (sea) customs zones.

2. At the customs offices, seaports, airports and all the places subject to customs control.

3. Beyond the land and maritime (sea) zones when continuously tracking controlled deliveries of the goods that have been witnessed within the

zone in a situation that obviously indicates that they are intended to be smuggled.

 

 

 

 

 

Article 127

 

 

Customs  officers  are  entitled  to  have  access  to  the  papers,  documents, records, correspondence, commercial contracts and instruments  whatsoever , directly or indirectly relating to the customs operations, and to seize them when  offences  are found  out which  shall  be  done  at  the  premises  of  the shipping  and  transportation  companies  and  the  natural  and  legal  persons involved in customs operations.

 

Such companies and persons shall keep all the aforesaid documents for a period of five years from the date of completion of the customs operations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article 128

Customs officers may detain any person suspected to have committed or

attempted to commit an offence or involved in committing any of the following offences:

a). Smuggling

b). Transporting or acquisition of contraband.

 

 

 

Chapter II: Seizure report

 

 

Article 129

The seizure report of the offences and crimes of customs smuggling shall be made according to the practices set forth in this Regulation “Law” .

 

 

Article 130

 

When the offence/crime or smuggling is detected, a seizure reportshall be  promptly made by at least two customs officers and it may be made by one customs officer when necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

Article 131

 

The seizure reportshall contain the following details:

 

1. The place, date and hour (in letters and figures) it is prepared.

2. Names of the customs officers who had detected the offence and those who had prepared the seizure report, their signatures and the nature of their jobs.

 

3. Names of the offenders or those responsible for smuggling, their nationalities, characteristics, occupations and detail addresses.

4. Seized goods, kinds and quantities thereof, their value and tariff heading.

5. Detailed facts, statements of the offenders or the individuals

responsible for smuggling and statements of witnesses, if any.

6. An indication in the seizure report that it has been recited to the offenders or those involved in smuggling who had approved it by   signing it or refused to do so.

7. All the other useful documents and the presence or absence of the   offenders or those involved in smuggling when making inventory of the goods.

8. Referring samples of the seized contraband to the competent authorities for verification of prohibited materials.

9. Identifying the authority to which contraband has been delivered and taking an acknowledgement of receipt.

10. Identifying the security entity to which the smuggler(s) has been delivered and the hour and date of delivery.

 

 

 

Article 132

 

a). The seizure report prepared according to Articles 130 and 131 herein   is a proof of the material facts that have been seen by the customs officers who had prepared it, unless proved otherwise.

b) The formal deficiency in the seizure report does not cause it to be null and may not be returned to the customs officers who had prepared it unless such deficiency is relating to material facts.

 

 

Article 133

The Customs office may seize the goods subject of offence or smuggling and the  other  items  used  for  concealment  as  well  as  the  means  of  transport whatsoever (i.e. boats, vehicles and animals) excluding vessels, aircraft and public  buses  intended  for  the  transport  of  passengers,   unless  they  are specially designed for smuggling purposes.

 

 

 

Article 134

 

Smuggled goods or those attempted to be smuggled such as narcotic drugs     and the like shall be disposed of according to the regulations and laws in force in the State.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter III: Precautionary measures

 

Part I: Precautionary seizure

 

Article 135

 

a.  Customs officers executing the seizure report may seize the goods -

subject of smuggling or offence- and the means of concealment and

transport thereof and seize all documents in order to prove the offences or smuggling and to secure the duties, taxes and fines.

b. The director general may, when necessary, have an order issued by the competent authorities to effect provisional attachment on the properties of the offenders and smugglers as a security of the payment of the customs duties and taxes and fines and implementation of the final decisions and awards issued in this respect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article 136

The director general  may, when  necessary and as a guarantee the  public treasury’s rights, impose a customs security on the property of the tax (duties) payers or their partners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article 137

 

 

Arrest may be authorized only in the following cases:

1. Smuggling offences in the act.

2. Resistance to customs officers or security officers that impedes seizure of smuggling cases or customs offences or the persons involved therein.   3. When the persons are likely to escape in order to avoid the fines,

penalties or compensations that might be imposed.

 

The authorized customs officers or the security authorities shall issue the     arrest order. The arrested person shall be presented to the competent court within 24 from the time of arrest.

 

 

 

 

 

Part II: Preventing the offenders and the persons accused of smuggling

from leaving the country.

 

 

Article 138

 

The director general or his authorized representative may ask the competent   authorities to prevent the offenders or the persons accused of smuggling from leaving the country, if the value of the seized goods is not sufficient to cover    the taxes, duties and fines.

Such prevention order shall be cancelled if the offender or the person accused of smuggling has submitted a bail equivalent to the claimed amounts or if it is   found out thereafter that the value of the seized gods is sufficient to cover the  claimed amounts.

 

 

 

 

Chapter IV: Customs offences and penalties thereof

 

 

Article 139

 

The collected customs fines and seizures provided for herein are deemed as a civil compensation to the Administration and shall not be covered by the

provisions of amnesty.

 

 

 

 

Article 140

 

 

In the even of multiple offences, fines shall be imposed on each offence  separately and the severest fine will be sufficient to if the offences are so correlated and cannot be separated.

 

Article 141

Excluding the smuggling cases provided for in Article 142 herein and without prejudice to the international agreements in force, a fine shall be imposed on the following offences according to the rules of implementation of this

regulation (law):

1. Offences of importation and exportation.

2. Offences of customs declarations.

3. Offences of goods in transit.

4. Offences of warehouses.

5. Offences of zones under control of customs.

6. Offences of temporary admission.

7. Offences of re-exportation.

8. Any other offences.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter V: Smuggling and penalties thereof

 

Part I: Smuggling

 

Article 142

 

 

 

Smuggling is to bring or attempt to bring goods into or out of the country in contravention to the applicable laws without payment of the customs taxes “duties,  in  whole  or  in  part,  or  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  prohibition  or restriction provided for herein or in the other laws.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article 143

 

 

The following actions are particularly deemed as smuggling:

 

1. Not proceeding with the goods to the first port of entry (customs office).   2. Not following the routes specified forgetting the goods into or out of the country.

 

3. Unloading or loading the ships contrary to the regulations applicable at the customs office or unloading or loading the ships beyond the marine customs zone.

4. Illegal unloading or loading of aircraft cargo  outside official airports or dropping goods during flight, subject to the provisions of Article (40) herein.  5. Not declaring at customs office the incoming or outgoing goods without a manifest including the goods accompanied by passengers, which have a commercial character.

6. When the goods surpass the customs office at entry or exit without being declared.

7. Discovering goods, not declared to a customs office, concealed in places or cavities not usually designed for containing such goods.

8. Increase, shortage or alteration in the number of the packages or the contents  thereof  in  a  situation  suspending  the   duties   provided  for   in Chapter VII herein discovered after the goods have left the customs office. This provision applies to the goods that have illegally transited the country or without finalization of their customs procedures in which case the carrier

shall beheld responsible.

9.  Failure to  produce  the evidences  prescribed  by  the Administration to justify suspensions of the customs taxes “duties” .

10. Taking the goods out of the free zones and duty-free shops, customs warehouses, stores or customs zones without finalization of their customs procedures.

11. Producing false, fraudulent or fabricated documents or lists or affixing false marks intended to evade the customs taxes “duties”

, in whole or in part, or to avoid the provisions of prohibition and restriction.

 

12. Transporting  or  acquisition  of  prohibited  or  restricted  goods  without submitting evidences supporting their legal importation.

13. Transporting or acquisition of goods subject to customs authority within the customs zone without legal documents.

14. Not re-importation of the goods prohibited from exportation that were temporarily exported for any purpose whatsoever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 2: Penal responsibility Article 144

 

 

The penal responsibility for the smuggling offence requires the presence of intention. Determination of this responsibility takes into account the applicable

 

penal  provisions.  The  following  are  deemed  to  be  penally  responsible  in particular:

1.                   Principal perpetrators (offenders).

2.                   Partners in the offence.

3.                   Inciters and interferes.

4.  Possessors of contraband.

5. Owners of the means of transport used for smuggling, drivers and assistants who are proven to be involved in the contraband.

5.        Owners or tenants of the shops and places where contraband are     kept or the beneficiaries who are proved to be aware of the presence of contraband in their shops or places.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part 3: Penalties Article 145

 

Without prejudice to any higher penalty provided for in other regulations

applicable in the State, smuggling and like offences and the attempt to commit any of them shall be penalized as follows:

 

 

1.  If the smuggled goods are subject to high customs taxes “duties”, the penalty shall be a fine not less than double   the payable customs taxes “duties” and not more than     double the value of the goods and imprisonment for not   one month but not to exceed one year or either of them.

2.  As for the other goods, the penalty shall be a fine not less than double the payable customs taxes “duties” and not    more than the value of the goods and imprisonment for     not less than one month but not to exceed one year or

either of them.

3.  If smuggled goods are exempted from customs taxes

“duties”, the penalty shall be a fine of not less than ten

percent of the value of the goods and not more than their value and imprisonment for not less than one month but   not to exceed one year or either of them.

4.   If smuggled goods are prohibited ones, the penalty shall be a fine not less than the value of the goods but not

more than three times the value and imprisonment for not less than six months but not to exceed three years or

either of them.

 

5.  Confiscation of the smuggled goods or imposing a fine equivalent to the value thereof when the goods are not seized.

6. Confiscation of the means of transportation and the tools  and materials used in smuggling, excluding public means of transportation such as ships, aircraft, trains and public

vehicles, unless they are intended or hired for smuggling     purposes, or imposing a fine equivalent to their value when goods are not seized.

7. The penalty may be doubled if the offence is repeated.

 

 

Article 146

 

The director general may hold the goods and the seized means of transport in case  the  smugglers  have  escaped  or  could  not  be  caught  and  sell  them according to the provisions of Section 14 herein and the proceeds of saleshall revert to the government upon the expiry of one year form the date of sale with the smugglers  not  being  caught.  Should  the  smugglers  be  caught  or bought to court during this period and the goods have been ordered to be confiscated,the order of confiscationshall apply to the proceeds of sale.

 

 

 

Chapter VI: Prosecutions (Pursuits)

Part I: Administrative prosecutions (pursuits)

Article 147

a) The director general may issue the necessary orders for collection of the payable customs taxes “duties” and fines, which the payer has not   paid.

b) Objection to the collection orders may be made to the Administration

within fifteen days from notification date. Nevertheless, this shall not stay execution of the orders (Judgments) unless the claimed amounts are

paid under deposit through a bank guarantee or in cash.

 

 

 

Article 148

 

a) The fines provided for in chapter 5 of this sectionshall be imposed by a resolution of the director general or his authorized representative.

 

b) The offender or his representative shall be notified of the imposed fine by a written notice through the competent authority. The offendershall pay the fines within fifteen days from the date of notification.

 

 

 

Article 149

 

The penalization orders (judgments) referred to in the preceding Article may be appealed before the minister or the competent authority during the same period and the minister or the competent authority has the right to confirm,   amend or cancel the penalization order.

 

 

Part 2: Prosecution of the smuggling offences Article 150

 

The action of smuggling offences may be reconsidered only upon written request from the director general.

 

 

 

 

Part 3: Conciliatory settlement (compromise)

 

 

Article 151

a). The director general or his authorized representative may- upon  a written  request  by  the  person  concerned-  make  a compromise (conciliation), in the smuggling issues, whether prior to the bringing of the action or when the action is being tried and prior to the issuance of the first instant judgment which will be in lieu of all the customs penalties and fines provided for in article 145 herein.

 

 

b). The Manual (directory) of the conciliatory settlements is issued by a resolution of the minister or the competent

authority.

 

Article 152

 

Subject to the provisions of Article 150, the conciliatory settlement (Compromise)  shall be as follows:

1.        If  contraband  are  goods  that  are  subject  to  high  customs  taxes “duties” ,  the penalty shall be a  fine not less than  twice the amount of the customs taxes ‘ duties”  and not exceeding double the value of the goods.

2.        2. As regards the other commodities, the penalty shall be a  fine not less than the amount of the payable customs taxes ‘ duties”  and not exceeding 50% of  the value of the goods.

 

3.        If the  smuggled goods are  not subject to customs taxes  “duties” (exempted), the penalty shall be a fine not less than 10% of the value of the goods and not more than 50% of their value.

4.        If smuggled goods are prohibited ones, the penalty shall be a fine not less than the value of the goods and not more than three times their value.

5.        Confiscation,  release  or  re-exportation  (wholly  or  partially)  of the smuggled goods in question.

6.        Confiscation of the means of transport together with the tools and

Materials   used  for  smuggling  excluding  the   public   means   of transport  such  as  vessels,   aircraft  and  cars  unless  these   are designed or rented for this purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article 153

 

The actionshall be relinquished when a reconcilement is reached.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter VII: Liability and Joint liability

 

 

Article 154

 

a. The offence and the consequent civil liability in the smuggling offences arise when the material evidences thereof are available. Good faith or ignorance shall not betaken into account. However, the offendershall be exonerated from liability if he is proved to be a victim of a force majeure as well as he who proves that he has not committed any act of offence or smuggling or caused it to occur or be committed.

 

b. Civil liability shall include, in addition to the offenders and

smugglers, the partners, financiers, sponsors, beneficiaries, agents, clients, donators, carriers, possessors and consigners of the goods.

Article 155

Investors of private shops and premises wherein infringing or smuggled goods are  kept  shall  be  held  responsible.  Whereas  investors    and  employees  of public shops and premises as well as the  owners, drivers and assistants of public means of transport shall be   held responsible unless they prove their ignorance of the presence of such infringing or smuggled goods and that they have not a  direct or indirect interest  them.

 

 

 

Article 156

 

Guarantors   (sponsors)   shall   be   responsible,   within   the   limits   of   their guarantees, for the payment of customs taxes “duties”, fines and the other amounts payable to the Administration by the principal payers.

 

 

Article 157

 

Customs brokers shall be fully responsible for the offences and smuggling offences   they   or   their   authorized   employees   commit   in   the   customs declarations. But they will not be responsible for the undertakings     submitted in the customs declarations unless such undertakings are made by them or they have guaranteed the undertakers.

 

 

 

 

Article 158

 

Owners of the goods, employers and carriers of goods shall be responsible for the acts of their employees and all the persons working for their account in

 

respect to the duties and taxes collected by the customs office and the fines and confiscations provided for herein as a result of such acts.

 

 

Article 159

 

Heirs shall not be responsible for the payment- from their own shares of the heritage- of the fines  payable  by the dead offenders from  unless they are partners in smuggling. The action (suit) shall be relinquished upon the death of the offender.

 

Article 160

 

Payable customs duties, taxes and fines shall be jointly paid by the offenders or the persons liable for smuggling according to the applicable practices for    collecting the funds due to the State Treasury. The seized goods and means  of transport, if any, shall be a security for the payment of the payable

amounts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter VIII: Rules of Court Proceedings

 

 

Article 161

 

First instance customs courts may be established at both the Administration and the customs offices according to the legal instrument applicable in each state.

 

 

 

Article 162

 

The first instance customs court shall have the following jurisdictions:

 

1. Hearing all smuggling offences and the like.

2. Hearing all offences committed against the provisions of this regulation (law) and the Rules of Implementation thereof.

 

3. Hearing the objections to the collection orders under the provisions of Article 147 herein.

4. Considering the objections submitted against the penalization judgments under the provisions of Article 148 herein.

5. The court may request any person accused under this regulation (law)  to bring a sponsor to guarantee his appearance before the court or it may

decide to detain him until settlement of the issue.

 

 

 

Article 163

 

a). Judgments of the first instance  customs court may be appealed before an ad hoc appeal court formed under the legal instrument

applicable in each State.

 

b). this court shall try the actions brought to it and shall take its decisions by majority.

c) The period of appealshall be thirty days from the date of

notification of the first instance judgment by default and from the date of pronouncement of the judgment in presence of the

litigant.

 

 

Article 164

The judgments passed by the court of appealshall be final.

 

 

Article 165

Collection and penalization orders and the judgments passed in the customs matters shall be carried out by all means of execution, after having the final status, on the movable and unmovable property of the offenders.

The minister or the competent authority may have an order issued to attach a sufficient amount of such property to cover payment of the claimed amounts.

 

Section XIV

 

 

Sale of Goods

 

 

Article 166

a).The Administration has the right to sell the perishable seized goods and those subject to shortage or leakage or if the goods are in a condition that might endanger the safety of the other goods and the facilities therein.

 

 

 

 

 

 

b) Seized goods which are subject to a considerable depreciation may be sold by authorization from the director general or his representative. The sale of the goods shall be based on a report showing the condition of the goods and the justifications of sale without having to get an order from the competent court, provided that the owner of the goods shall be notified of such sale.

If a judgment (order) to return the goods to its owner is issued thereafter, then price of the sold goods shall be paid to the owner after deducting any payable duties or taxes.

 

Article 167

Upon expiry of the period specified by the minister or the competent authority, the Administration may sell the goods placed in the customs warehouses,

those existing in the yards or wharves or left out goods at the customs offices.

 

 

Article 168

The Administration shall sell the following:

 

1. The goods and means of transport that have become property of the

customs under a confiscation judgment, a compromise or a written waiver.

2. The goods not withdrawn from the customs warehouses within the legal period specified according to Article 75 herein.

3. The goods and items whose owners are unknown and which have not   been claimed within the storage period specified by the director general or

the competent authority.

 

 

 

 

Article 169

The Administration assumes no responsibility for any damage caused to the goods  being  sold  under  the  provisions  herein  unless  it  is  proved  that  the Administration had committed an obvious default in the procedures of the sale process.

 

 

Article 170

a. The sales provided for in this Section shall be effected in an auction according to the rules and conditions prescribed by the minister or the competent authority.

b. The goods, items and the modes of transport shall be sold without the customs taxes “duties” and other taxes excluding the commission that     shall be borne by the buyer during the sale procedures.

 

 

Article 171

a). The proceeds of saleshall be distributed as follows:

1. Customs taxes "duties” .

2. The costs of the sale process.

3. The expenses incurred by the Administration whatsoever.

4. Transportation charges, when necessary.

5. Any other charges.

 

b). The  balance  remaining from the  proceeds  of selling the goods, the importation of which is permitted on the day of sale,   after deducting  the sums  provided for  in  paragraph  (a)  herein,  shall  be  deposited  with the Administration  as  a  deposit.  The  persons  concerned  may  claim  refund within  one  year  from  the   sale  date  otherwise  such  balance  will   be transferred to the treasury.

c). As for the goods that are prohibited or not allowed to be imported on the day of  sale,the remaining  balance shall be property of the Treasury.

d).  As for the goods that are prohibited, restricted or not allowed  to be imported  and  those  sold  under  a  compromise,  penal  order  or  a  court judgment   (relating   to   smuggling),   the    remaining   balance   shall    be distributed according to the provisions of article 172 herein after deducting the taxes ,duties and costs.

 

Article 172

 

 

The share of the treasury from the proceeds (amounts) of the customs fines and the value of the seized or abandoned goods and means of transport are determined  at  50%  after  deducting  the  customs  duties  taxes  “duties”  and costs.  The  remaining  portion  of  the  balance  shall  be  deposited  with  the customs rewards fund or with any other account in favour of the customs, to be paid to the individuals who had discovered and seized the offences and their assistants. The rules for distributing such rewards shall be laid down by the  minister  or the  competent  authority  upon  a  proposal  from  the  director general.

 

 

 

 

Section XV

 

Privilege of the Customs Administration

 

 

Article 173

 

 

For the purpose of collecting the customs taxes “duties” and the other fees and taxes to be collected as well as the fines, compensations, confiscations and refunds, the Administration  shall   have  a  general   privilege  over  the   movable  and   unmovable property of the tax payers and offenders, even in the case of bankruptcy, and shall also have precedence over all debts except for the judicial expenses.

 

 

Section XVI Prescription

 

 

Article 174

Any claim or action for refunding the customs taxes “duties” paid since over three years shall not be accepted.

 

 

 

 

 

Article 175

The Administration  may  destroy  the  records,  receipts,  declarations  and  the  other customs documents upon the expiry of five years following finalization of the customs

 

procedures. The Administration shall not be bound to present such documents or give copy thereof to any entity upon the elapse of that period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article 176

 

 

Without prejudice to the other regulations and laws in force in the State, prescription period for the Customs Administration, if not prosecuted, shall be as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15 years for the following two cases:

a). Acts of smuggling and the like effective from the date of committing the offence.

b). Execution of the smuggling judgments and the like effective from the date of passing the judgment.

 

 

5 years for the following cases, if not claimed:

 

a). Investigation of the offences from the date occurred.

b). Collection of the fins and the confiscations imposed on the offences with effect from the issuance of the penalization order.

c). Collection of the customs taxes” duties”  and the other charges that have not been collected  due to a mistake by the customs office effective from the date of lodgment of the customs declaration .

 

Section XVII

 

Final Provisions

 

 

Article 177

 

 

a).   the   director   general    may   exclude    the   ministries,    government departments and the official public organizations from certain procedures to facilitate their duties.

b). The director general my sell the confiscated or abandoned  goods and materials  to the interested ministries, government departments and official public organizations, if they express their need for them,  at the prices he deems appropriate, or may abandon them free of charge  by  a resolution by the minister or the competent authority .

 

 

 

 

Article 178

The Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee of the GCC States shall approve the Rules of implementation of this regulation “law’ which will be

issued according to the legal instrument of each Sate.

 

 

Article 179

 

 

The Unified Customs Regulation (law) of the GCC States shall, when

implemented, supersede the customs regulations and laws in force in the Member States within the limits of the constitutional rules and regulations and the basic laws in force in each State without contradiction therewith.

 

 

______________

 

 

 

 

Rules of Implementation

of the  Unified Customs Regulation

“Law” of the Cooperation Council

for the Arab States of the Gulf

 

 

 

 

 

I. Value of goods for customs purposes

 

Based on the provisions of Article (26) of the Unified Customs Regulation    “Law” of the GCC States, the value of goods for customs purposes shall be according to the following rules and principles:

 

 

Article (1)

 

 

I. General Provisions:

1. The importer may clear his goods after payment of the customs

taxes “duties” under cash deposit, if the final determination of the value is prolonged.

2. The importer may obtain, upon a written request, a written

clarification of the method used in determining the customs value of his goods.

3. The importer or any person liable for payment of the customs taxes “duties” may appeal against the determined customs value, without  penalty.

4. The confidential information or the information provided on

confidential basis for valuation purposes shall be treated as top

confidential and may not be disclosed unless within the limit required for court procedures.

5. Freight, insurance and other relevant charges shall be added up to the customs value of the imported goods until arrival to the port of

destination in the GCC States.

6. The time of payment of the customs taxes “duties” shall be the time approved for currency exchange rate.

7. In determining the transaction value, no discounts or deductions of the payable or actually paid price shall be considered if such

discounts/deductions are made between the buyer and seller after the

 

date of importation of the goods. Also, no credit balances pertaining to previous consignments shall be considered when determining the

customs value of the goods being valued.

8. The Valuation Agreementshall be the reference for the interpretation and application of the present article.

 

 

ii. Bases of Customs Valuation:

Imported goods are valued according to the following bases:

1. The first basis for determining the value for customs purposes is the transaction value of the imported goods.

2. If the customs value can not be determined according to the first basis above, it shall be determined by the sequential application of the

following alternative methods:

a. Transaction value of identical goods b. Transaction value of similar goods    c. Deductive value

d. Computed value

3. If the customs value cannot be determined under the above methods,  it shall be determined by application of reasonable methods that conform to the general principles and provisions of the Valuation Agreement, but   with more flexibility.

4. The importer may request that “Deductive value” and “Computed value” be applied in reverse sequence.

 

 

 

First Method: Transaction Value of the Goods Being Valued.

Transaction value is the price actually paid or to be paid against the sale of the goods for export to GCC States, mutatis mutandis.

I: Conditions of the transaction value:

 

The transaction must satisfy the following conditions:

1. that there are no restrictions applicable to the disposition or use of the imported goods by the buyer, other than the restrictions

imposed by law in  the GCC States, or those which specify the

geographical area within which the goods may be resold, or those which do not substantially affect the value of the goods;

2. The sales price is not subject to any condition or compensation whose value can not be determined;

3. that the seller is not entitled to any part of the proceeds of the resale, disposition or use of the goods by the importer as a

 

subsequent stage, directly or indirectly, unless a proper adjustment, based on objective and quantitative data , can be made; and

4. that  no relationship , if any, shall exist between the seller and buyer which  affects the transaction value  according to the

provisions of paragraph (23) of Article (2) of this regulation “law” .

 

 

 

 

 

II: Adjustments to the transaction value:

When necessary, the following shall be added to the price actually paid or to be paid:

1. The costs borne by the buyer to the extent they are not included in the price actually paid or to be paid;

a. amounts of commission and brokerage, excluding the purchasing commission,

b. cost of the containers that are treated for customs purposes as one unit along with the goods under assessment, and

c. packing cost, whether for labor or material

2. An appropriate percentage of the costs of the following goods and services provided by the buyer, directly or indirectly, free or at a

reduced cost, against its use in production of the imported goods, if it was not included in the price paid or to be paid, as per the following:

a. materials, parts, components and similar items used in production of the imported goods,

b. tools, dies,molds and similar items used in production of the imported goods,

c. materials consumed in production of the imported goods, and

d. engineering works, designs, studies, graphs, drawings and

similar items necessary for production of the imported goods and done in a country other than the GCC States.

3. license and royalty fees relating to the imported goods under   assessment that must be paid by the importer (buyer),directly or indirectly, as a condition of sale of the goods being valued if not   included in the price actually paid or payable, and

 

4. Value of any part of the proceeds from any subsequent sale, disposition or use of the imported goods, payable to the seller   directly or indirectly.

III. The amounts related to the items mentioned in paragraphs 1 and 2 above shall be included based on objective and quantifiable data.

 

 

Second Method:  Transaction Value of Identical Goods

Transaction value of the identical goods sold for export to the GCC

States and exported at or about the same time as the export of the goods     being valued.  At the time of its application, the transaction value of identical goods in a sale at the same commercial level and quantity shall be used.

In case such a transaction is not found, the transaction value of

identical goods sold at a different commercial level or different quantity,

adjusted for the difference, shall be used.  In case such a transaction is not   found, the transaction value of identical goods sold at a different commercial level or different quantity adjusted for the differenceshall be used.

If more than one transaction value for identical goods is found, the    lowest of such values shall be used for determining the customs value for the imported goods.

 

 

Third Method:  Transaction Value of Similar Goods

Transaction value of the similar goods sold for export to the GCC

States and exported at or about the same time as the export of the goods  being valued.  At the time of its application, the transaction value of similar goods in a sale at the same commercial level and quantity shall be used.

In case such a transaction is not found, the transaction value of similar goods sold at a different commercial level or different quantity, adjusted for  the difference, shall be used

When there is more than one transaction value of similar goods, the lowest value will be used as the customs value of the imported goods.

Fourth Method: Deductive Value

The customs value will be determined according to the unit price at which  the goods being were sold , or identical goods, or similar goods (in the same condition as

imported), in the earliest sale in the Kingdom, in the local market, at the greatest

aggregate (wholesale) quantity at or about the time the goods being valued are imported but before the elapse of 90 days from importation of the goods being valued, to non-

related persons, provided that the following costs and expenses, incurred after arrival of the goods at the port of destination  in the GCC States,  shall be deducted:

1. Commissions usually paid or payable or additions usually  added to allow for profit and general expenses in connection

 

with the imported goods of the same class or kindsold in the Kingdom;

2. Local transportation and insurance costs and other related costs;

3. Customs taxes (duties).

If the imported goods, identical goods or similar goods,  are not sold in the local market in the same condition as imported, the customs valueshall  be based, if requested by the importer, on the unit price at which the

imported goods are sold, after processing and finishing,  at the greatest

aggregate quantity to non-related persons in the GCC States, along with

making the appropriate deductions for the added value for such  processing in addition to the deductions provided for in paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) of     this method.

 

Fifth Method: Computed Value

Computed value is the sum of the various costs incurred in the country of origin of the goods which includes the following:

1. Cost or value of materials and fabrication or other processing employed in producing the imported goods;

2. an amount for profit and general expenses equal to that

usually reflected in the sales of goods of the same class or kind as the goods being valued which are made by producers in the  country of exportation for export to the GCC States;

3. The costs listed in II b. of the first method, if not included in (1) or (2) above,and the cost of packing.

 

 

 

 

 

Flexible Valuation Methods

If the customs value of the imported goods cannot be determined under the foregoing    methods, the customs valueshall be determined by reasonable methods that are in line with the general principles and provisions of the Valuation Agreement by referring once  again to those five methods, but with more reasonable flexibility of application.

Imported goods may not be valued on the basis of:

1. The selling price in the GCC States of goods produced in the GCC States;

2. The selling price of the goods in the local market of the country of exportation;

 

3. Minimum, arbitrary or fictitious values;

4. Production costs different from the computed value defined in the fifth method

5. The price of goods for export to a country other than the GCC States; or

6. A system which provides for the acceptance, for customs purposes, of the higher of two alternative values.

 

 

II. Temporary Admission

 

 

Based on the provisions of Articles (89 – 94) of the Unified Customs Regulation “Law” of the GCC States, temporary admissionshall be   subject to the following conditions and procedures:

 

 

Article (2):

(a). the goods mentioned in Articles (89) and (90) herein shall be    allowed to be placed under temporary admission for six renewable months with the suspension of the levied customs taxes “duties’ as stated in the Rules of implementation.

(b). the customs taxes “duties’ and other taxes “duties” , if any, shall be secured by a bank or cash guarantee as circumstances may

require and at the discretion of the director general.

( c).  Temporary admission status shall be terminated by re-

exporting  the admitted goods to outside of the state or depositing them into the free zones or customs warehouses or stores or

placing them for home consumption and payment of payable

customs taxes “duties” according to the procedures prescribed by the director general.

 

 

Temporary admission of heavy machinery and equipment

 

 

Article (3):

 

a). Temporary admission of the heavy machinery and equipment, which are not available in the markets and are required for the

completion of projects or the conducting of practical and scientific  tests relating to those projects, shall be granted for a period of six  months renewable for similar periods which shall not exceed three

 

years at the most unless the completion of a project requires a longer period.

b). for the project to benefit from temporary admission under these rules , it shall be one of the projects completed for favour of the

government or an investment project the completion of which

requires the admission of such machinery and equipment for this purpose.

 

 

 

Article (4):

a). Temporary admissionshall not be granted to the spare parts, tyres, batteries and other materials that can be consumed in the  projects.

b). the type and description of the admitted piece of machinery or equipment may not be changed unless after obtaining approval    from the Customs Administration.

c). the use of the machinery and equipment shall be limited to the completion of project for which they have been admitted.

 

 

Article (5):

The entity applying for the temporary admission of the machinery and equipment required for the completion of its projects shall:

 

1.  submit a copy of the contract or agreement  made with the governmental body for the account of which the

projects being completed; and

2.  make a customs declaration according the form approved for temporary admission and state all information and

attach the documents required under this regulation   “Law” . The declaration shall be subject to all customs procedures; and

3.  submit a bank guarantee or cash deposit equivalent to

the amount of the customs taxes “duties” payable on the   registration date of   customs declaration for placing them

under the temporary admission  procedure.

 

Temporary admission of goods for finishing and re-exportation Article (6):

Foreign goods shall be temporarily admitted into the State with the suspension of the customs taxes “duties” levied on them for the

purpose of finishing and re-exportation within a time period not to exceed a year.

 

 

Article (7):

The director general shall give instructions specifying the conditions  to be satisfied for granting temporary admission to the other types     of goods mentioned in Article (90) of this Regulation “Law”, provided that the period of temporary admissionshall not exceed six months.

 

Temporary admission of foreign vehicles

 

 

Article (8):

Foreign tourist vehicles (other than those registered in a GCC

member state) shall be granted a temporary admission as follows:

 

1.  Six months for the vehicles covered by an International Passage Carnet (IPC); and

2.  Three months for the vehicles not covered by an

International Passage carnet to be renewed for a similar period if the person concerned submits bank guarantees or cash deposit equivalent to the amount of the payable  customs taxes ‘duties” .

 

Article (9):

A). for a vehicle to benefit from the provisions of temporary admission, the following conditions shall be satisfied:

1.  The vehicleshall be officially registered in the country licensed in under a document proving the same; and

2.  The vehicle’s licenceshall be valid and shall not have export plates; and

3.  Production of an insurance from an insurance company approved in the State covering its territories during the   period of temporary admission; and

 

4.  The production of an accredited IPC to secure the customs taxes “duties” .

 

B). In order to benefit from the provisions of these Rules, the following shall be satisfied by the person wishing to obtain     temporary admission for his vehicle:

 

1.  He shall be the owner of the vehicle or authorized to drive it under a special authorization issued from the country of registration and duly certified; and

2.  He shall have a valid residence in the country where the vehicle is registered unless he’ is a national of that

country; and

3.  He shall have a valid driving licence.

Article (10):

a.        To benefit from the provisions of these Rules, the IPC shall be accepted by the customs administration and its   validity shall cover the period of temporary admission of   the vehicle.

b.        The following procedures shall be followed when a vehicle is admitted under the IPC:

 

1.  The number, date and period of the temporary admission permit shall be recorded on the IPC.

2.  The relevant coupon shall be cut out from the carnet at entry and exit.

 

Article (11):

 

Students and those on scholarships (other than the GCC nationals) studying   at one of the universities and institutes in the State shall be allowed to renew  the period of temporary admission for their vehicles during the period of study or scholarship, provided that the vehicleshall be guaranteed by a valid IPC.

 

 

Article (12):

 

The customs officeshall grant temporary admission to vehicles according to the provisions herein.

 

Article (13):

 

a.  The temporary admission permitshall contain all the information relating to the vehicle and the person concerned (i.e. plates No., chassis No., engine No., make and colour of vehicle a well as     the name of the person concerned, his nationality and passport  number).

b.  The procedure of the temporary admission of foreign vehicles shall     terminate when the vehicle leaves the country via one of the customs offices or when it is placed  in the free zone or when it is cleared for    home use with the payment of the due customs taxes “duties” subject to the approval of Customs.

 

 

 

 

III. Re-exportation of the Goods

 

Pursuant to the provisions of Article (91) of the GCC Unified Customs Law,   procedures, conditions and guarantees when re-exporting the foreign goods entering the country shall be as follows:

 

 

Article (14):

Foreign goods, imported into the country without payment of the customs taxes “duties”, may be re-exported. Such goods include the following:

1.  Imported goods that were not withdrawn from the customs stores.

 

2.  Imported goods, intended to be re-exported, which have been temporarily released against cash or bank

guarantees covering the customs taxes “duties” to be   submitted within a period not to exceed six month from the date released.

 

3.  Goods imported into the country under the temporary admission procedure whose owners wish to re-export

them.

4.  Goods deposited at warehouses which is one of the

situations for suspension of the customs taxes “duties” .

 

Article (15):

 

a)  Re-exportation of the goods shall be under re-export

declarations containing all the distinctive elements of the goods; such declarations are made at the discretion of    the director general.

b)  The goods may be re-exported by a person other than the importer subject to the approval of the customs office.

c)  The number of the customs declaration under which the goods have been imported shall be affixed on the re-

export declaration.

d)  The goods shall be subject to the customs inspection and procedures prescribed by the Unified Customs regulation “Law’ .

 

 

Article (16):

 

Pursuant to the provisions of Article (97) of the Unified Customs Regulation “Law” of the GCC States, the customs taxes “duties” levied on the foreign    goods re-exported to outside of the GCC States shall be refunded (drawn    back) according to the following controls:

1.  The exporter “re-exporter” shall be the person in whose name the foreign goods were imported or any other person who can definitely prove to the customs administration that he has

purchased the goods.

2.  The value of the re-exported foreign goods for which the

customs taxes “duties” are to be refunded shall not be less than five thousand US dollars (or its equivalent in the local currency).

3.  A) The foreign goods “commodity” shall be re-exported within one Gregorian year from the date of payment of the customs  taxes “duties”

B) The claim for drawbackshall be made within six Gregorian months from the date of re-exportation.

4.  The foreign goods to be re-exported shall be of a single

consignment for ease of identification and matching with the

importation documents; however, a single consignment may be re-exported in part shipments once it is definitely proven for the customs administration that such shipments constitute a part of the same consignment.

5.  The claim for drawbackshall be for foreign goods that were not locally used after importation from outside of the GCC States    and at the same condition when imported.

6.  Drawback shall be limited to the customs taxes “duties” that were actually paid on the imported foreign goods.

 

7.  The customs taxes “duties” shall be refunded after re-

exportation of the foreign goods and verification of all the documents required for re-exportation.

8.  The approved unified “single” customs declaration shall be used for re-exportation of the goods, whose customs taxes “duties”    are to be refunded,   to outside of the GCC states.

9.  These controls shall be implemented immediately upon the

application of the single point of entry and the common

collection and allotment of the customs taxes “duties” levied on the foreign goods.

10. These controls shall be reviewed after three years of application or whenever necessary at the request of a member State, and    the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee has the

right to interpret and amend these controls.

11. These controls shall have priority of application upon

contradiction with the regulations, procedures and laws in force in any member State.

 

 

 

Article (17):

a)  Means of land transport carrying re-exported goods shall be

subject to the provisions relating to the customs sealing and

security of covering (canvas),  ropes and the other provisions applicable to transit.

b)  Goods shall b re-exported within the prescribed period.

c)  Customs taxes “duties” levied on the goods to be re-exported shall be secured by cash or bank

guarantees.

 

 

Article (18):

Re-export declarations shall be discharged and settled and their guarantees shall be released upon submission of one of the following evidences:

1.  a copy of the  re-export declaration sealed and signed  by the competent customs officer at the customs office of exit proving that the goods have left the country.

2.  a copy of the  re-export declaration sealed and signed  by the competent  customs  officer  indicating  that  the  goods   have entered he free zone.

 

3.  a discharge certificate approved by the competent authorities at the country of destination certifying that the re-exported goods have been imported into it.

 

 

 

 

IV. Exemption of personal effects and gifts accompanying the passengers.

 

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 103(b) of the GCC Unified Customs Law, the conditions and controls for exempting the personal effects and gifts

accompanying the passengers shall be as follows:

 

 

Article (19):

Personal effects and gifts accompanying the passengers whose value does  not exceed 3000 Saudi riyals or its equivalent value in one of the other GCC currencies shall be exempted from the customs taxes “duties” .

Article (20):

The following requirements shall be satisfied to qualify to this exemption:

1.  Effects and gifts shall be of a personal nature and in non-commercial quantities.

2.  The passenger shall not be a frequent traveler through the customs office or a trafficker of the items in his possession.

3.  The number of cigarettes subject to exemptionshall not exceed 400 (four hundred) cigarettes.

Article (21):

Personal effects and gifts benefiting from the exemption referred to in Articles 18 and 19 of these Rules shall be subject to the provisions of prohibition and  restriction set forth in the GCC Unified Customs Law and the national

legislation of each Member State.

V. Exempting the imports of the philanthropic societies (charities) from he customs taxes “duties” .

 

 

According to the provisions of Article (140) of the Unified Customs Regulation “Law” of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf , the

conditions and controls for exempting the imports of the charities from the customs taxes “duties”  shall be as follows:

 

 

Article (22):

a)  The charity benefiting from exemptionshall be registered with the

competent authority in the State and the purpose for establishing it

shall be to provide services in the humane, social, educational,

scientific or religious   fields or any other charitable purpose not being a profitable one.

b)  Societies with political purposes shall not benefit from exemption from the customs taxes ‘duties’ .

Article (23):

To benefit from exemption from the customs taxes “duties”, imports of the charities shall:

1.  be of a nature suitable for the purposes and activity it performs according to its Articles of Incorporation; and

2.  the volume and quantity of the  imports to be exempted shall be

proportional to the actual needs that enable it to perform its charitable activity; and

3.  Such imports shall be directly imported in the name of the charity.

 

 

Article (24):

 

a)  the charity may not dispose of the exempted imports for

purposes other than those for which they have been exempted   and the management of the charity shall beheld responsible for that vis-à-vis customs.

b)  Should the charity wish to sell the consumed or used materials   and supplies that were exempted from customs taxes “duties”,   the charity shall apply in writing to the customs administration to obtain approval of the sale after conducting the necessary

inspection thereof.

 

 

 

 

 

Article (25):

The competent government authority shall address the customs

administration for exempting the imports of charities from the customs taxes “duties” on a case by case basis.

 

VI. Goods subject to the provisions of the customs zone and the conditions of transport therein.

 

 

Pursuant to the provisions of the GCC unified Customs Regulation “Law”,    goods subject to the provisions of customs zone shall be treated as follows:

 

 

Article (26):

Goods subject to the provisions of the customs zone shall be accompanied with a transport authorization issued by the customs office indicating the

following:

1.  name of the person concerned

2.  The distinguishing elements of the goods such as type, number, weight, origin and value.

3.  Name, type and number of the means of transport and the name of its driver.

 

Article (27):

 

A)  Possession of goods within the customs zone shall be prohibited except at the places specified by the customs office.

B)  Normal requirements of goods which can be possessed within the customs zone for consumption purposes shall be specified by a decision of the customs administration.

Article (28):

The illegal transportation of the goods that are subject to the provisions of  customs zone or possession or circulation thereof within the customs zone shall be deemed as smuggling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

VII. Fines imposed on the customs offences.

 

 

Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 142, 143, 144 and pursuant to    the provision of Article 141 of the Unified Customs Regulation “Law”,the rules for imposing fines on the customs offences shall be as follows:

 

Article (29):

 

A fine not exceeding twice the amount of the customs taxes “duties’ and not less than their equivalent amount on the following offences:

 

1.  The customs declaration (exportation, re-exportation) that could lead to benefiting from drawback or finalization of the temporary admission

procedure for temporarily admitted goods without a legal ground.

2.  The unjustified increase/decrease of the goods compared to that stated in the manifest.

3.  The use of the materials subject to exemption or to reduced customs   tariff for purposes other than those for which they have been imported or replacing, selling or disposing hem without the approval of the

customs administration and the payment of the customs taxes “duties” imposed under Articles 99, 100 and 104 of the Customs Regulation

“Law” and the provisions of these Rules.

4.  Disposing the goods on which the customs taxes “duties” have been suspended for purposes other than hose for which hey have been     imported or replacing them without the approval of the customs

administration and the payment of the customs taxes “duties” .

5.  Redemption of or the attempt to redeem the customs taxes "duties” .

 

 

Article (30):

 

A fine not less than five hundred  Saudi riyals (SR 500) and not exceeding five thousand riyals (SR 5000) or its equivalent in the other currencies of the GCC  States on the following offences:

 

1.  improper customs declarations that may lead to evading any condition or restriction relating to import or export.

2.  improper customs declaration in respect to value, type, number, weight , measurement or origin that may lead to the loss of the customs taxes  ‘duties’ through misdeclaration according to the provisions of Article

(47) of the Regulation “Law” .

3.  Alteration of the routes specified in the transit declaration without the     consent of the Administration according to the provisions of Article (710 of the regulation “Law” .

4.  The lack of the manifest of the goods or the availability of more than  one manifest for the goods according to the provisions of Articles 30/ (a), 36 (a) and (38) of the Regulation “Law” .

5.  Submission of the required certificates for the discharge and settlement of the transit, temporary admission or re-export declarations in

contravention to the conditions prescribed by the director general under the provisions of Article (68) of the regulation “Law” .

 

6.  Contravention of the rules and conditions prescribed by the director  general for depositing the goods at the warehouses according to the provisions of Articles (74, 75) of the regulation “Law” .

7.  Anchorage of vessels, landing of aircrafts or stopping of other means of transport at places other than those prescribed by the Administration

according to the provisions of Articles (20, 21, 22, 37) of the regulation” law” .

8.  Departure of vessels, aircrafts and other means of transport from the ports or the customs boundary without authorization by the customs  administration according to the provisions of Article (41) of the

regulation “Law” .

9.  Transfer of goods from one means of transport to another without the consent of the Administration according to the provisions of Articles    (32, 45) of the Regulation “Law” .

10. Unloading of goods from vessels and other means of transport or

withdrawing the goods without authorization from the Customs

Administration or in the absence of the customs officers or outside the office hours prescribed according to the provisions of Articles (32, 40,

45) of the regulation” Law” .

11. Impeding the customs officers from carrying out their duties and

exercising their right of inspection, auditing and reviewing according to  the provisions of Section XIII of the Regulation “Law” . This fine shall be imposed on every individual involved in the offence.

12. Not keeping records, documents and the like for the period prescribed in Articles (115, 127) of the Regulation “Law” .

13. Breaking the sealing or removing the customs seals from goods.

 

 

Article (31):

 

A fine not less than five hundred  Saudi riyals (SR 500) and not exceeding    one thousand riyals (SR 1000) or its equivalent in the other currencies of the GCC States on the following offences:

 

1.  Non-submission of the manifest or the other documents at importation  or exportation as well as delaying the submission of the manifest or he other documents beyond the prescribed time according to the

provisions of Articles (30, 36, 39, and 40) of the Regulation “Law” .

2.  Not having the manifest endorsed by the customs authorities at the port of shipping in the cases so requiring according to the provisions of

Article (31) of the Regulation “Law” .

3.  Declaring several sealed packages combined in any way in the

manifest or the like document as being  a single package according to the provisions of Article (44) of the Regulation (Law) subject to the

instructions given by the director general in respect of the containers, pallets and trailers.

4.  Neglecting to mention some necessary information in the manifest or the like document.

 

5.  The postal import of closed parcels or boxes not bearing the approved labels which is contrary to the provisions of the Arab and international  postal agreements and the national legislations according to the

provisions of Article (40) of the Regulation “Law” .

6.  Any other contravention to the provisions of the ministerial resolutions and the instructions issued under the Regulation “Law” .

 

 

Article (32):

A fine amounting to two hundred Saudi riyals (SR 200) or its equivalent in the currencies of the other GCC States for each day of delay provided that the

fine shall not exceed half the price of the goods; this applies to the offences of delaying the production of the transit goods or re-exportation to the customs    office through which the goods will leave or to the customs office to which the  goods are dispatched after expiry of the period prescribed in the customs

declarations.

Article (33):

A fine amounting to two hundred Saudi riyals (SR 200) or its equivalent in the currencies of the other GCC States for each day of delay of the public

transport vehicles and taxis entering the country provided that such fine shall not exceed one thousand Saudi riyals (SR 1000) or its equivalent in the

currencies of the other GCC States.

 

 

Article (34):

 

A fine amounting to one thousand Saudi riyals (SR 1000) or its equivalent in   the currencies of the other GCC States for each week of delay or a fraction of

the week provided that the fine shall not exceed twenty percent (20%) of the value of the goods, for the offences of delaying re-exportation of the

temporarily admitted goods beyond the period prescribed in the customs

declarations. In respect of the tourist cars, these shall be subject to a fine of twenty Saudi riyals (SR 20) or its equivalent in the currencies of the other     GCC States for each day of delay provided that he fine shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the price of the tourist car after expiry of the period

prescribed in the temporary admission licence.

 

Explanatory Notes

To the Unified Customs Regulation “Law”

Of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf

 

 

 

The GCC Unified Customs Regulation “Law” ,which was prepared by a

technical committee of the GCC member States, has been laid down to meet the provisions relating to the customs affairs and regulate the relationship

between customs and the public. The Regulation “Law” contains provisions  and procedures for the importation, exportation and transit of goods through the territories of the GCC States.  This Regulation “Law” also clarifies the

rights of the employees of those administrations.

This Regulation “Law” aims at protecting the society through the control of the entry and exit of individuals, goods and means of transport.

This Regulation “Law” falls into 17 sections comprising 179 articles and is

deemed the legal instrument regulating the duties of the customs offices and specifying the areas subject to customs control, the nature of the customs

procedures at the land, marine and air ports and the postal customs offices as well applied to the various customs transactions such as importation,

exportation,temporary admission, re-exportation and transit. It is the

instrument by which the customs tariff is applied and the customs taxes

“duties” are levied on the imported goods. All these regulations support the

trend to make the GCC States an international market, encourage their

national industries and projects and extend the scope of their transactions and increase their exports.

This Regulation “Law” also  contains provisions specifying  the stages of the   clearance of the goods, exemption from customs taxes “duties”,conditions of the temporary admission of the goods without payment of the customs taxes  “duties”, the documents to be produced to customs for the clearance of the

goods in addition to the provisions governing the establishment of the free

zones and duty-free shops and controlling the activity of the customs clearing  agents (brokers) and the conditions of obtaining the licences for practising the customs clearance job and treatment of the customs offences and smuggling  matters.

 

This regulation “Law” employs the latest customs regulations and laws of the GCC Sates and the Arab States in addition to the privacy of the GCC States  and the nature of the role of customs therein, and the WTO Agreement  as    well as the WCO Conventions.

 

The Unified Customs Regulation “Law’ of the GCC states was adopted in the   20th Session of the Supreme Council held in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in December 1999 and was agreed to implement it as a reference Regulation

 

“Law’ for one year from the date adopted and that it would be reviewed in the light of the comments received by the Secretariat General from the member   Sates in an attempt to have it obligatory implemented by all customs

administrations of the member States by 2000.

Due o the completion of the requirements of implementation and the review of the comments of the member States and finalizing the preparation of the

explanatory notes and Rules of Implementation thereof, the Secretariat

General proposed in the 21st  Session of the Supreme Council that the

reference implementation should be extended for one more year and the

Supreme Council, in its 21st  Session held in Manama, Bahrain in December

2000, decided to extend the reference implementation for one more year provided that it would be obligatory implemented by all customs

administrations of the GCC States in January 2002.

The objective of having a unified customs regulation “Law” of the GCC States is to unify customs procedures in all customs administrations of the GCC

States and contribute to the enhancement of cooperation in the customs field and regulate the relationship between these administrations and the

community of traders in the GCC States so as to ensure unification of the

customs procedures in all the GCC States. This regulation “Law” regulates the relationship between the customs administrations and the other governmental  administrations in the member States and supports the trade exchange

between them and the other foreign countries which is one of the bases of the customs union of the GCC States.

 

 

 

 

Section (I)

 

Definitions and General Provisions

This Section deals with the definition of this regulation as the “Unified

Customs Regulation “Law” of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of   the Gulf” and contains definitions of the terms provided for therein. It provides that the provisions of this regulation “ Law” shall apply to the territories subject to the sovereignty of the State and its territorial waters and allows the

establishment of free zones thereon and that all goods entering or leaving the State shall be subject to the provisions of this regulation “Law” .

Article (5) entitles the customs administration to exercise its powers in the    customs offices and the customs zone and within the extent of its lands and territorial waters subject to the conditions set forth in this regulation “Law” .

As regards the setting up and the cancellation of the customs offices, this

shall be issued by a decision of the competent minister to whom the customs administration reports, and the same applies to the designation of the

competences and office hours of the customs offices.

 

Article (8) provides that customs procedures shall be carried out only in the    customs offices; these procedures mean those applied when the goods enter the customs office. This Article excludes the cases prescribed by the director general through application of the provision of Article (53) of the unified

Regulation “Law” .

 

Section (II)

 

Provisions for Application of the Customs tariff

 

 

This Section contains the principles of application of the customs tariff as follows:

 

Article (9) provides that goods entering the State shall be subject to the taxes “duties” stated in the customs tariff and to the other taxes and fees excluding  those goods excluded under the provisions of this Regulation “Law” or under  the GCC Unified Economic Agreement or any other international agreement   through mutual coordination among the GCC States.

The objective of limiting the exclusion from the customs Taxes “duties” to the   cases covered by this Article is the setting up of the customs union among the GCC States which is based on a single point of entry and the common

collection of the customs Taxes “duties” vis-à-vis the external world.

Article (10) provides for the bases for levying the taxes “duties” which could be advalorem (a percentage of the value of the goods for customs purposes) or   specific (a lump sum for each unit of the goods such as weight, number,

volume, measurement or the other specifications of the goods).

This Article also provides that the customs taxes “duties” could bead valorem and specific at one time which is based on combining both the advalorem and specific categories for one type of goods.

Article (11) provides that the imposition, amendment or cancellation of the    customs taxes “duties” shall be made according to the legal instrument and  the legal and constitutional practices of each State subject to the resolutions issued by the Council in this connection and to the provisions of the

international agreements in force.

The other Articles of this Section deal with the subjection of the goods to the customs taxes “duties” from the registration date of the customs declaration  and the provisions of the customs taxes “duties” relating to the clearance of  the goods whose deposit period at the warehouses has elapsed and taking   out these goods from the free zones and duty-free shops and the tariff to be applied to the smuggled goods or those damaged.

 

 

 

Section III

 

Prohibition and Restriction

 

 

This Section requires the importers to submit a customs declaration for any

goods imported into or exported from the country. This declaration shall be the official document produced to the customs along with all the other documents  relating to the goods provided that the declared goods shall be presented to     the nearest customs office at the point of entry (land, sea or air). The Section   also provides that anchorage of the marine means of carriageshall be

according to the conditions and situations set forth in Articles (20, 21).

Article (22) deals with the arriving and departing aircrafts and the conditions of landing and takeoff according to the provisions of this Article.

Article (23) limits the entry or exit of the land means of transport to those

areas within the country where customs offices exist, and Article (24)

stipulates that the customs administration shall apply the conditions and

procedures prohibiting the entry, exit or passage of the prohibited goods or   the goods contravening this Regulation “Law” or any other Regulation “Law” or resolution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section IV

 

 

The Distinguishing Elements of the Goods

 

 

This Section provides clarification and description of the distinguishing

elements of the goods (origin, value, type) and stipulates that imported goods shall be subject to the proof of origin according to the rules agreed on within   the framework of the international and regional economic organizations. The   provision of Article (26) of the regulation “Law” and the provision of Article (1) of the Rules of Implementation are in line with the provisions of the WTO

Valuation Agreement where calculation of the value of goods for customs

purposes is determined according to the provisions and principles prescribed in detail in the Rules of Implementation of the Regulation “Law” .

 

Article (27) specifies the documents to be attached with the customs

declaration and the nature of these documents and the treatment of the cases where the importer fails to submit such documents to customs, whereas

Article (28) provides that the value of the exported goods shall be their value    prevailing at the time of registering the customs declaration plus all charges     incurred until arrival of the goods to the customs office. Article (29) provides     that the goods that are not mentioned in the customs tariff nomenclature and   the explanatory notes thereof shall be classified according to the classification advice issued by the World Customs Organization which the approved body in respect to the international classification. However, goods falling under

national subheadings of the customs tariff beyond six digits are classified

within the framework of the GCC as the unified Customs Tariff for the     Classification and Coding of Commodities is in line with the Harmonized System in force.

 

 

Section (V)

 

Importation and Exportation

 

 

This Section covers the Articles (30 to 46 ) of the Regulation “Law” which

contain provisions of importation and exportation such as the rules, practices   and procedures to be followed- at importation and exportation-  by the carriers of the goods through the air, land and sea means of transportation or by post,  and the documents to be produced to the customs authorities and the times of producing and the details to be contained in these documents and the controls to be observed by carriers at loading and unloading and the extent of their

responsibility for the goods they carry when such goods traverse the borders of the State.

Article (46) of this Section provides an important element of facilitation of the customs operations which is the use of the modern technology media in the  Electronic Data Interchange for the clearance of the goods according to the   rules prescribed by the minister or the competent authority.

 

Section (VI)

 

Stages of the Customs Clearance

 

 

This Section elucidates in detail the stages of the customs clearance

beginning with the lodgment of the customs declaration according to the forms approved within the frame of the Council and that the director general is

empowered to specify the documents to be attached with the customs

declarations and the details to be contained therein and the clearance cases without production of such documents gains cash o bank guarantees or

undertakings according to the conditions prescribed by the director general.  The regulation “Law” permits the owners of goods or their representatives to examine heir goods prior to the lodgment of the customs declaration and to

have access to the customs declarations and documents to which no other persons can have access except the competent judicial and official

authorities.

 

Articles (52 to 59) deal with the right of the competent customs officer to

inspect the goods wholly or partially on a case-by-case basis according to

practices in force, the inspection procedures, the movement of goods and the presence of the owner of the goods   during the inspection and the right of the administration to open the packages and  make analysis (tests) of the goods,  the discrepancy cases and the missing (incomplete) documents stating the

description and specifications of the goods and the right of the administration to re-inspect the goods and the other relevant matters.

Article (60) tackles the declaration and inspection, at the customs offices, of the passengers accompanied luggage and belongings according to the

practices an rules prescribed by the director general.

Article (61) discusses the formation of valuation committee composed of the administration’s employees under a resolution issued by the director general. Such committee is specialized in the settlement of the disputes arising

between the customs office and the importers concerning the valuation of the imported goods and the committee may seek assistance of experts according to the measures and procedures provided for in Article (26) of this regulation   “Law” without prejudice of the importer’s right to appeal before the court.

Article (62) deals with the disputes between the customs officer and the owner of the goods concerning the valuation of the goods and provides that the

disputeshall be referred to the director general for settlement or to the

Valuation Settlement Committee. This article also provides for the right of the   director to release the goods against the guarantees provided for in this Article and the conditions thereof.

 

Articles (63 to 66) deal with the payment of the customs taxes “duties” and the other charges and the release of the goods according to the rules and

conditions prescribed by the director general.

 

 

 

 

Section VII

 

The cases where the customs taxes “duties” are suspended and Drawback

 

 

This Section deals with cases where the goods could be released and moved  from one place o another in the country without payment of the customs taxes “duties”; these are known as the cases where the customs taxes “duties” are   suspended. The Section also deals with the Drawback (a system under which the paid the customs taxes “duties” can be refunded when the goods leave

the country according to the following provisions and rules:

 

1.  The release of the goods against submitting cash or bank guarantees  in an amount equivalent to the customs taxes “duties” according to the instructions of the director general. Such guarantees shall be released upon presentation of the discharge certificates.

2.  When the goods transit the territories of the GCC States according to   the provisions of the international regulations and agreements in force  such as the Transit Agreement of the Arab States and according to the specified routes and at the responsibility of the carrier as instructed by  the director general. The routes and conditions of transport shall be

prescribed by a resolution of the minister or the competent authority.

3.  The placement of the goods inside the warehouses of the customs     office according to the conditions and rules prescribed by the director general.

4.  The free zones and duty-free shops set up by the legal instrument of  each State; the rules, conditions and customs procedures thereof are to be prescribed under a resolution by the minister or the competent   authority subject to the enhanced control thereof.

 

Article (80) designates the goods prohibited from entering the free zones and  duty-free shops and Article (83) provides that goods may not be moved from   one free zone to another unless in accordance with the regulations in force,    whereas Article (85) provides that the goods taken out from the free zone into the country shall be treated as foreign goods.

Article (87) holds the Administration of the free zone responsible for the offences committed by its employees.

 

Articles (89 to 94) deals with the cases where the goods not imported for     home markets can be temporarily admitted and then re-exported from the   country upon completion of the purposes and expiry of the legal duration of time for their stay in the country.

These Articles also refer to the temporary admission of tourist vehicles under the Temporary Admission System subject to the international agreements

made in this connection.

Article (97) deals with the cases where the customs taxes “duties” levied on     the foreign goods are wholly or partially refunded (drawback) at re-exportation according to the conditions set forth in the Rules of Implementation.

 

 

Section VIII   Exemptions

This Section contains provisions for the exemption from the customs taxes

“duties” (Articles 98 to 106). Exemption covers the following commodities and items:

1.  The commodities exempted in the Unified Customs Tariff of the GCC States.

2.  The commodities imported for the diplomatic and consular bodies and the international organizations, the heads and members of the

diplomatic and consular missions approved by the country according to the international agreements, laws and practices in force subject to the reciprocity principle and subject to the provisions of Article (100)

concerning the conditions and procedures relating to the goods exempted under Article (99) of this Regulation “Law” .

3.  Imports by all sectors of the Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces such as ammunition, arms,…etc.

4.  The personal effects and used household appliances belonging to the citizens residing abroad or those brought with the foreigners

(expatriates) upon their first arrival for residence in the country according to the conditions prescribed by the director general.

5.  Personal effects and gifts brought by passengers according to the conditions of the Rules of Implementation.

6.  Imports of the philanthropic societies (Charities) according to the

conditions set forth in the Rules of Implementation of this Regulation “Law” .

7.  The cases provided for in Article (105) exempted from the customs

taxes “duties”  such as the returned goods of national origin that were exported to outside of the country as well as  the foreign goods

returned to the country which are proved to have been previously re-   exported to outside of the country and the goods temporarily exported for completion of processing or repair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section IX

 

Service Charges

 

 

Article (107) provides that the goods placed in the yards and warehouses

belonging to he customs officeshall be subject to the storage, handling and

insurance charges and the fees of the other services required for the storage   and inspection of the goods according to the specified rates. However,  In no   case shall the storage charge exceed half the estimated value of the goods, in the event  such warehouses  are managed by other entities, these fees shall    be collected according to the provisions and rates prescribed in this respect.    This Article permits the collection of charges for the sealing and analysis

(testing) of the goods and all the other rendered services and that the services mentioned in this Article and the conditions of collectionshall be prescribed by a resolution to be issued by the minister or the competent authority.

 

 

 

 

Section X

Customs Brokers

 

 

This section defines the customs broker and his capacity (Article 108) and

Article (109) entitles the natural and legal nationals of the GCC States the

right to exercise this profession (activity) after obtaining the necessary licence from the Administration.

 

Section XI

 

The rights and duties of the Customs officers of the Administration

 

 

This section outlines two important aspects of the nature of the job of the

customs officers; the security aspect which is to prevent the entry of the

smuggled goods and contraband into the country via the customs ports and  the economic aspect being to collect the customs taxes “duties” . The section regulates the rights and duties of the officers of the Administration and the

incentives given to them and this Regulation “Law” entitles them the power of  judicial arrest. The section does also permit the customs officers to carry guns provided that such officers shall be nominated by a resolution of the minister    or the competent authority and it requires the civil and military authorities and  the Internal Security Forces to help them carry out the duties assigned to

them when so requested.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section XII

 

Customs Zone (Boundary)

 

 

This section contains provisions of the Customs zone (boundary):

 

Article (121) states that there are provisions of the customs boundary as

provided for in para. 9 of Article (2) of this Regulation (Law) which states that   the marine customs boundary covers the area of the sea located between the  seashores and the ending of the territorial waters. The land customs boundary covers the lands located between the shores or the land borders on the one     hand and an internal line to be specified by a resolution by the minister or the   competent authority on the other. This provision provides that prohibited and    restricted goods as well goods subject to high customs taxes “duties” shall be  subject to the provisions of the customs zone. So the presence of such goods  within these areas requires their subjection to the provisions of the customs

zone and the movement of such goods is usually subject to special provisions in order to avoid their smuggling into the country.

 

 

 

Section XIII

 

Customs Matters

 

 

This section deals with the customs matters which are an important aspect of the provisions of this Regulation “Law” .

Articles (122 to 128) relate to the investigation of smuggling according to the controls and powers set forth in these Articles such as the inspection of the   goods and the means of transport and the search of persons, seizure of the  goods, examining the documents, records, correspondence and other

documents and the right to detain any suspect according to the rules

prescribed by a resolution issued by the minister or the competent authority. Para (3) of Article (126) states that the exercise of work outside of the two    customs zones shall be within the borders of the State.

Articles (129 to 134) deal with the seizure report and the main elements to be contained therein. This report is deemed as a pretext (proof) of the material    facts and the incompleteness of the reportshall not render it null.

Those Articles allow the customs office to seize the contravening or smuggled goods and the items used for concealing them as well as the various means    of transport excluding those intended for the transport of persons unless such means are specially designed for the purpose of smuggling. The

Administration has the right to dispose the goods smuggled or being

smuggled if such goods are narcotics and the like according to the regulations and laws in force in the country.

Articles (135 to 137) deal with the provisional seizure of the smuggled goods and the things used for concealment thereof and the mean of transport and   the seizure of all documents to ensure the customs taxes “duties” . These

Articles also authorize the director general – when necessary- to obtain an

order from the competent authorities to effect the provisional attachment of

the properties of the offenders and those involved in smuggling. The director general may, when necessary to ensure the rights of the public treasury,

impose a customs security on the properties of the tax “duty” payers or their    partners. The Articles have specified the arrest cases in the smuggling crimes in the act, the resistance of the customs officers or the security officers and     the other matters regulating the arrest process provided that the arrested

persons shall be brought to the competent court within 24 hours following the time of arrest.

Article (138) provides that the offenders and the persons accused of

smuggling shall be prevented from travel by a decision of the director general   in the event the value of the seized items is not sufficient to cover the customs taxes “duties” and fines. This decision can be cancelled if the offender submits

 

a guarantee in an amount equivalent to the claimed amounts or if the value of the seize items turn to be sufficient to cover the claimed amounts.

Articles (139 to 141) deal with the customs offences and the penalties thereof  and regard the collected customs fines and confiscations provided for in the     Regulation “Law” as a civil compensation to the Administration and not subject to amnesty. These Articles also provide that a penalty shall be imposed on

each offence separately provided that the higher (sterner) penalty shall be sufficient if the penalties are inseparable.

Except for the cases deemed as smuggling which are provided for in Article  (143) of the Regulation “Law” and without prejudice to the provision of the     international agreements in force, a fine shall be imposed on the offences     referred to in Article (141) of this Regulation “Law” according to the rules set forth in the Rules of Implementation.

 

Articles (142, 143) deal in detail with the subject of smuggling, its definition    and the cases deemed as smuggling. Para. “ 14” of Article (143) defines such case as those goods prohibited fro exportation to outside of the country, but   were exceptionally  allowed to be exported provided that they shall be re-

imported into the country and the  non-compliance with this requirementshall be deemed as smuggling, while Article (144) defines the penal liability and

those deemed penally liable.

 

Article (145) provides for the penalties imposed on the customs smuggling or attempted smuggling (the fines provided for in Article 145).

Articles (147 to 149) deal with the administrative prosecution “pursuit” and

entitle the director general to issue the necessary decisions for the collection of the taxes “duties” and the measures of such collection and allow for the     complaint before the minister or the competent authority against the

penalization judgments. Within a specified period and that the minister or the competent authority may confirm, amend or cancel such judgments.

Article (151) provides that smuggling cases (actions) can only be activated by a written request from the director general.

Article (151) provides for the rules of reconciliatory settlement  and entitles the director general or his representative to make a reconcilement (compromise)   of the smuggling actions whether prior to bringing out the actions  or during

trial and before the issuance of the first instance judgment which shall be in   lieu of the penalties and fines provided for in Article (145) of this Regulation   “Law” provided that a manual of reconciliatory settlements shall be issued by a resolution of the minister or the competent authority.

Article (152) provides in detail for the amount of reconcilement subject to the provisions of Article (151).

 

Article (153) provides that the action (claim) shall be settled after

reconcilement and Articles (154 to 160) deal with the subject of  liability and joinder in the smuggling matters and the rules thereof, while Article (155)

holds the investors of the private shops  and premises where the goods

,subject of the offence or smuggling, are stored responsible for such

premises; whereas the investors of the public shops and premises and the employees, the owners of the means of transport and drivers and their

assistants shall beheld responsible unless they prove their ignorance of the presence of such infringing goods or contraband and that they have got no   direct or indirect good in them.

Article (156) provides that sponsors “guarantors” shall beheld responsible within the extent of their guarantees upon payment of the customs taxes    “duties” an fines while Article (157) provides that customs brokers shall be responsible for the offences and smuggling crimes they commit in the

customs declarations and Article (158) holds the owners of the goods,

employers and the carriers responsible for the acts of their employees and those working for them.

With respect to the customs taxes “duties”, fines and confiscations, Article

(159) provides that heirs shall not be responsible for the payment of the fines imposed on the deceased unless they are partners in the smuggling.

Article (160) provides that the applicable customs taxes “duties” and fines

shall be jointly paid by the offenders or smugglers according to the practices    adopted for the collection of the property of the Government Treasury and that the seized goods and means of transport, if any, shall be a security for the

payment of the claimed amounts.

Articles (161 to 165) provide for the formation of first instance customs courts   at the Administration and the customs offices according to the legal instrument applicable in each State. The competences and judgments’ finality of such

first instance customs courts and appeal courts as well as the collection of

fines and the methods and means of executing attachment on the movable

and unmovable property of the offenders have been set forth in these Articles. Article (165) empowers the minister or the competent authority to order that a  sufficient amount of such property shall be retained for the payment of the

claimed amounts.

 

 

Section XIV

 

The Sale of Goods

 

 

This section contains provisions relating to the sale of the goods in

possession of the Administration provided for in Articles (166 o 172) and the  rules to be followed for the sale of goods as set forth in Article (166) whereas

 

Article (167) entitles the Administration, after expiry of the period specified by   the minister or the competent authority, the right to sell the goods stored in the customs warehouses or placed in the yards and wharves or the goods left out  in the customs offices.

Article (168) provided for the goods to be sold by the Administration and

Article (169) provides that the Administration shall not be responsible for any damage caused to the goods sold by the Administration under the provisions of this Regulation “Law” unless it is proven that the Administration had

committed an obvious error in the sale process. Article (170) contains some provisions relating to the sale process described in detail in this Article.

Article (171) deals with the controls under which the disposition of the proceeds of the sale of the permitted, prohibited and restricted goods.

Article (172) provides that the portion due to the Government Treasury of the   proceeds of the customs fines and the value of the confiscated or abandoned  goods and means of transport shall be 50% after deducting the customs taxes “duties” and charges and contains provisions for the disposition of the

remaining portion.

 

 

Section XV

 

Privilege of the Customs Administration

 

 

This section grants the customs administration a general privilege over the

movable and unmovable property of the taxes “duties” payers in case of

bankruptcy through precedence over all debts excluding the legal expenses in order to collect the customs taxes “duties” and other charges and the fines,

compensations, confiscations and redemptions.

 

 

Section XVI Prescription

 

This section contains provisions of prescription. Article (174) provides that any claim or action for the refund of the customs taxes “duties” that have been

paid since more than three years shall not be accepted, and Article (175)

empowers the administration to destroy the records, receipts , customs

declarations and the other documents after five years following the finalization  of the customs procedures thereof and the administration shall not be required to produce them to any entity or give copies or duplicates thereof after the

expiry of that period.

 

Article (176) provides that, without prejudice to the other regulations and laws   applicable in the State, specifies the prescription time, in respect to customs, if no pursuit “prosecution” has been initiated.

 

 

 

 

 

Section XVII

 

Final Provisions

 

 

This section contains final provisions as follows: Article (177) empowers the director general to:

1.  exclude the ministries, governmental departments and official and public institutions from certain procedures for facilitation of their     business, and

2.  sell the confiscated goods to the ministries and official departments and public institutions belonging to the government at the price he deems     appropriate if they indicate their need of such goods, or to abandon

such goods free of charge by a resolution of the minister or the competent authority.

 

Article (178) entitles the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee of the GCC States the right to adopt the Rules of Implementation of this

Regulation “Law” and Article (179) provides that this Regulation “Law” shall,   after implementation, supersede the customs regulations and laws in force in the member states subject to and without contradiction to the regulations and constitutional rules in each State.