Dubai Customs reports 95% increase in business registration applications during January-May 2020

Dubai Customs completed 107,000 business registration requests during January to May 2020, recording a 95 per cent increase compared to 55,000 in the first five months of 2019, official news agency WAM reported.

There were 358,700 refund requests, 220,700 certificate/report requests, and 146,900 inspection date booking requests in the first five months of this year.

Meanwhile, Dubai Customs witnessed a 36 per cent increase in the number of customs transactions completed in the first five months of 2020 to reach 5.9 million compared to 4.4 million transactions in the corresponding period of 2019.

In May alone, Dubai Customs completed 1.1 million transactions compared to 994,000 in May 2019, growing 10.6 per cent, reflecting the emirate’s economic resilience and response to the Covid-19 pandemic and Dubai Customs’ infrastructure, stimulus packages and smart services.

Customs declarations rose 42 per cent in the first five months of this year to reach 5 million compared to 3.5 million in the corresponding period last year. Of the 5 million declarations, one million were completed in January, almost the same for February, 1.3 million in March, 691,000 in April, and a million declarations in May.

Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, director-general of Dubai Customs, said, “Our wise leadership supports business and trade sector in these challenging circumstances. A number of initiatives launched by the government have helped the business sector keep going, enhanced liquidity and reduced the impact of the current global economic situation. This is clearly manifested in the growing number of customs transactions handled by Dubai Customs in the first five months of this year.”

Dubai Customs has heavily invested in advanced technologies to facilitate trade and support the global supply chain. It completed 3.51 million (99.2 per cent) transactions through smart and online channels, with only 0.8 per cent done through service counters.

Earlier this year, Dubai Customs introduced a new cross border, blockchain-based platform to encourage e-commerce companies to set up shop in the emirate.

Read: Dubai Customs launches e-commerce platform