Abu Dhabi Customs launches economic stimulus package to support importers

Importers in Abu Dhabi will now benefit from seven new incentives including the postponing of payment of custom duties and pre-clearance services prior to the arrival of shipments.

The stimulus package announced by the General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs on Tuesday is aimed at supporting the vital sectors and companies, especially small and medium entities, to help them cope with the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The package allows for postponing the payment of customs duties of importers for 90 days by opening facilities accounts for clients of Abu Dhabi Customs. Accordingly, the payment of customs duties due on goods entered into the country is postponed for three months from the date of the customs statement.

Also, bank guarantees will be returned and replaced with corporate guarantees following a request and letter of guarantee issued by a company that wants to avail of this benefit.

@abudhabicustoms launches a package of 7 economic incentives to support importers in #abudhabi and mitigate to consequences of the current circumstances. These incentives are to support vital sectors and companies, small and medium ones in particular.#abudhabicustoms pic.twitter.com/h4CnMaEsQv

— Abu Dhabi Customs جمارك أبوظبي (@AbuDhabiCustoms) May 5, 2020

The customs body is now offering pre-clearance services ahead of the shipment arrival. By clearing goods before they arrive, the authority said that it would save companies time and costs associated with the process.

A self-clearance service will also allow companies to clear shipments themselves without resorting to customs brokers.

Companies can now issue a customs warehouses licence without paying any fees. It can organise deposit and exit details from warehouses without service payments.

The transit period has been extended from three to five days. Companies can transfer their shipments according to the custom transit status within a period of five days for the purposes of the arrival of goods.

The temporary admission insurance fee has also been cancelled. There will only be a collection of Dhs50 service fee for insurance reimbursement service of re-export of entered goods under the temporary admission status.

Rashed Bin Lahej Al Mansoori, director-general of the General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs, added according to media reports that these incentives are designed under the framework of the Abu Dhabi government’s efforts to enhance the competitiveness of the emirate and ensure business continuity for companies across all sectors.