Customs regulations in Dubai, UAE

Customs regulations in Dubai, UAE - Makebiz

Importing or exporting goods in any country involves going through customs clearance procedures. Certain export-import documents will be required, as well as payment of duties, taxes and some other fees related to storage and testing of goods. 

The main ones include:

  • Duty is levied by the country on all imported goods. It is calculated as a percentage of the value of the goods and is determined by their classification and duty rate.
  • VAT is levied on the value of the goods, delivery and duty. The tax rate varies from country to country.
  • Anti-dumping is applied to some goods, most often to protect the local production of a product and, as a result, discourage imports at a lower price than the supplier’s local market rate.

FCA (Federal Customs Administration) is responsible for implementing customs policy, overseeing the enforcement of customs related legislation and regulations.

The Federal Customs Administration is responsible for developing customs regulations and represents the UAE nationally and internationally.

According to the GCC (General Customs Law of the Commonwealth of the Gulf States) customs legislation, local authorities perform administrative tasks and develop customs policies for each emirate.

To import the following goods into the UAE, you need authorization from the authorities responsible for customs clearance:

  • Pharmaceutical goods;
  • weapons;
  • cigarettes / beverages / alcohol;
  • promotional products;
  • radio transmitters and equipment;
  • live animals and pets;
  • fertilizers, seeds;
  •  products prepared from meat, beef and poultry
  • and other groups of goods. The list may change depending on changes in the law. 

Some medicines are available for free import for personal use. Most often these are allergy medications and antiviral drugs. However, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the list of drugs that are prohibited for import on the UAE Ministry of Health website.

Tobacco products have import restrictions for each person of legal age. One thing is allowed: up to 400 cigarettes, up to 50 cigars, up to 500 grams of pipe tobacco. To smuggle e-cigarettes, you will have to go through a declaration procedure. 

Each emirate puts forward its own requirements for the importation of alcohol. For example, in Dubai it is allowed to transport no more than four liters of strong alcoholic beverages. Light drinks in quantities of up to 24 cans of no more than 355 ml.  

It is important to remember that valuable items are allowed to be imported without customs clearance if they do not exceed the amount of AED 3,000. Cash and jewelry in value — no more than AED 60,000. Otherwise, it is worth making a declaration to avoid problems at customs.

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