Arab Opportunities in the security solutions market Cu… · Nuctech’s operations provides a...

In the face of increasing security risks and threats, governments and the security indus-try are highly focused on technical solutions to security challenges. The focus has been on de-veloping devices for advanced inspection and testing and the detection of radioactive hazard materials, explosives, dual-use materials, pro-hibited substances such as drugs to a high level of accuracy. Since the September 11 attacks in the United States the global security market has witnessed a steady growth in the demand for both techni-cal solutions and testing devices. This has been compounded in by increasing and changing waves of terrorism that hit the world in recent years. There is a wide range of demand for these solutions from airports, railways, shippers, border management, and Customs departments leading to a boom in development in the ICT sector.This development has enabled security agencies and regulatory authorities in many countries to introduce highly effective security solutions that have to assist in reducing threats to, and their negative impact on, the trade supply chain and individuals.Current global estimates anticipate the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) increase of 10.9% in the global transportation security market, between 2015 and 2021. This brings the market to US $ 74.50 billion by the end of 2021, compared to US $ 36.40 billion in 2014. This significant growth in the market for security solutions begs the questions ‘Where is the role of the Arab countries in this market?’ What is the role of Arab capital invest-ments in this promising industry?Reviewing the activity in Arab countries shows the existence of ambitious plans to develop and modernize detection and inspection devices. Currently countries such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, are implementing contracts to purchase equipment worth many millions of dol-lars stimulated by the increasing awareness of governments to the security role of Customs institutions. This high Arab demand provides a stimulant for development of an Arab industry capable of meeting this demand.An InsightIn early May 2017, I headed the delegation of the Federal Customs Author-ity to visit the headquarters of Nuctech company in China. Nuctech spe-cializes in the development of security solutions and applications and the manufacture of testing and inspection devices. During the visit, we saw the tremendous level of development in this industry and the extent of interest by the Chinese government, in the possibility of attracting and improving this industry in the Arab world.Nuctech’s operations provides a model of collaboration between research institutions, universities and governments. The company is established the University of Tsinghua, and currently sells its products in more than 130 countries and spanning five continents. It covers security solutions in the areas of civil aviation, customs, underground metro stations, railways, roads, main ports, buildings and facilities. This has given them a worldwide reputa-tion and they occupy significant portion of the world market.Questions now are:Can the Nuctech model be repeated in the Arab world? How can Arab uni-versities enter this field in cooperation with the private sector? A call for ac-tion !!Given the importance of security solution technologies and the need to ex-ploit the growing demand in the Arab world, I call upon the Arab universities and public and private sector institutions in the Arab world to study the op-portunities available in the security solutions sector and the testing and in-spection industry. To take advantage of the expertise and international insti-tutions specialized in this field and seek to exploit the growing Arab demand. Furthermore, as an aim it should not limit ambition at the borders of the Arab countries, but plan, like other Arab industries, to invade the world markets.

Arab Opportunities in thesecurity solutions market

Mohamed Juma BuosaibaThe published articles express the opinion of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the

opinion of the Federal Customs Authority

General Supervisor: H.E Ali Bin Subaih AlKaabi

Commissioner of Customs - Chairman of FCA

Advisory body:

H.H Sheikh Mohamed Bin Abdullah Al NoaimiChairman of Ports & Customs Department - Ajman

H.H Khalid Bin Rashid Al Mu’allaChairman of ports, customs and Free Zone Corpo-

ration - Umm Al Quwain

H.E Mohammed Khadem Al HameliDeputy Director General of General Administration

Customs – Abu Dhabi

H.E Mohammed Meer Abdul Rahman Al SarrahDirector of the Department of Seaports and Cus-

toms- Sharjah

H.E Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al MehreziDirector General of Customs Department - RAK

H.E Rashid Mohammed HammadDirector General of Customs - Fujairah

Editor -in-chief: Mohamed Juma BuosaibaDeputy Editor-in-chief: Ahmad A bdulla Bin Lahej

Executive Editor-in-chief: Hassan El Kamhawi Legal Consultant: Ahmed Mohamed Albakr

Financial administration: Mohamed AlmarzooqiMarketing and Communication:

Amira Al Serkal - Asmaa AlawadhiDesigner: Sameer MabroukTranslation: Ala’ Abu Rezeq

Copyeditor: Joe Kelly

Correspondence:Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates,

P.O.Box 35000 – TEL: +9712-6979700E-mail: [email protected]

A quarterly magazine specializedin customs affairs,

published by the (FCA) UAE

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Distribution: Printing:

Manifest

244.3billion AED Direct gold trade reachesin 2016

34Reports

BrexitImplications for the UKand opportunities for GCC

38Free Zone

Cooperationis The Secret Word inCombating TraffickingNetworks

16Interview

VATBirth of new Tax Systemin GCC Countries

44Free Zone

The FileCustoms Forum discusses the repercussions of security shifts on the ports

“Federal Customs” and “Emirates Steel” are looking to strengthen cooperation

Plan to support the country borders and entries

Jebel AliCustoms Center

Innovation methodologyin the Government

e-commercecompanies

06

08

10

16

17

42

The Meeting is renewed 48

UAEis the world’s firstin the Customs Authorities Effectiveness Index

28Reports

1.6Trillion DirhamsTotal Trade Volume of Gen-eral Non – Oil Trade 2016

30Reports

22Arab Customs

Many changesintroduces to allow electronic documents,simplify procedures and prevent smuggling

Laws

2 3Emirates CustomsEmirates Customs July 2017July 2017

Contents

HH Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed AL Nahayan, deputy prime min-ister and minister of presidential affairs, take-in FCA delegation headed by HE Ali Al Kaabi, FCA commissioner.

During the meeting, HH briefed the initiatives and development projectors which implemented by the authority, and listened to a presentation about the fields and roles played by them in promoting

and protecting the security of the society, facilitating trade and sup-porting the national economy.HH focused on the vital and im-portant role of the FCA to main-tain the safety and security of the

community, praising the efforts of the authority in order to upgrade the customs work in the country.HH stressed on the necessity for coordination and integration among all stakeholders in the cus-toms sector. In addition, raise the level of customs efficiency in the country to the highest internation-al rankings in order to keep pace with the comprehensive develop-ment witnessed by the country in all fields

For his part, HE Ali Al Kaabi ex-pressed his thanks and apprecia-tion for the patronage and sup-port of His Highness for customs. He pointed out that this support contributes to strengthening the capabilities of the customs sec-tor in the country, raising control levels at border crossings points and supporting the capabilities of the competencies of UAE nation-als, inspectors and administrators working in the customs sector in

the country.The meeting attended by HE Ahmad Jomaa Al Zaabi, deputy minister of presidential affairs, HE Obaid Bin Hameed Al Tayer cabinet member and minister of state for financial affairs and HE Rashid Saeed Al Ameri, Under-secretary of the Ministry of Presi-dential Affairs for the Government Coordination Sector.

In May, H.H Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, at-tended the graduation ceremony of 26th group stu-dents achieving the Higher Colleges Technology (HCT) Diplomas. Overall the graduation included 535 students from various scientific and technical disciplines. For the first time this included 19 gradu-ates from Abu Dhabi Customs in the new Customs Diploma.After the UAE National Anthem, Mohammad Omran Al Shamsi, Chairman of the HCT’s Board of Trust-ees, expressed his gratitude to Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed for attending the graduation ceremony.

H.H. Sheikh Hamed was briefed on the HCT’s “Sec-ond Generation”, vision based on its new strategy for 2017-2021 and approved by the Council of Ministers. ‘Second Generation’ is fully in line with the ambitious national vision to plan and prepare Emirati workers to face future challenges and to actively participate in building a local knowledge based economy. Mohammad Al Shamsi also emphasized the devel-opment of the hybrid education model in its colleges creating a generation capable of dealing with future employment through linking academic certificates with professional qualifications and functional skills This approach fully supports the overall Emiratiza-

tion policy, especially in the private sector. On behalf of the 26th graduation group, a graduate thanked the leadership for their support in provid-ing science, knowledge and education, creating op-portunities for the youth of the country. This enables them to reach the highest level of education and contribute to the building of national institutions. This harnessed potential and will build a bright future.At the end of the ceremony, the HCT graduates took the oath of loyalty to the country and its leadership. His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed con-gratulated the twenty-sixth graduation group and awarded the individual graduation certificates.

HH is briefed on the national initiatives and developmentprojects which implemented by the authority

Mansour Bin Zayed confirms the roleof the “FCA” in protecting society and supporting the national economy

Hamed Bin Zayed first graduation for new CustomsDiploma Students

Mansour Bin Zayed presides the Meeting Mansour Bin Zayed, Al Za’abi and Al Kaabi during the meeting


90’s Day of Customs

Dubai customs develops a smart valuation system�� Dubai (Emirates Customs)

Dubai Customs updated its valuation system. The new “Smart Customs Valuation Project” will deliver more advanced services to clients to serve the vision of Dubai turning into the smartest city in the world. With this in mind Dubai Customs regu-larly updates and automates its processes and applica-tions delivering an added value to its clients and reaf-firming Dubai’s position as a preferred hub for investment and trade. The updated smart valua-tion system will provide the most accurate valuation for imported goods using smart applications and artificial intelligence. Fareeda Fadhil, Director - Customs Valuation Depart-ment pointed out that Dubai Customs always keeps abreast of the latest tech-nologies to regularly update its systems and processes. Striking the balance be-tween facilitation of trade and compliance to regula-tions and restrictions is key, she added. The new project provides an automated data base of pric-es for all imported goods instead of relying on older data. This makes it easier to determine the customs value of imported goods and tariffs to be levied.Fareeda added: “For import-ers, the process of estimat-ing the value of a product at customs presents certain problems that can be just as serious as the actual duty rate charged. Our valuation system is fair, uniform and neutral”.

�� Abu Dhabi (Emirates Customs)

In May, under the patronage of His Excellency Ali bin Sabeeh Al Kaabi, Chairman of the Author-ity, the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) held the first seminar of the Emirates Customs Forum. This focused on the security develop-ments internationally and region-ally and their repercussions for the Customs points of entry within the UAE.Dr. Mohammad Abdul-Salam, Director of Future for Advanced Research and Studies Center (FARAS), hosted the forum; a number of executive directors, from both from the FCA and the lo-cal Customs Authorities attended.His Excellency Commissioner Ali bin Sabeeh Al Kaabi emphasized that ‘the protection of the security

of the community comes is at heart of the strategies and operational objectives of the FCA and the lo-cal Customs Authorities. Stressing the important role played by the Customs sector in protecting the people of the UAE from harmful commercial practices and smug-gling of prohibited and dangerous materials through the borders.He praised the level of perfor-mance of customs inspectors at the border crossing points, em-phasizing that their vigilance and dedication to work to protect the sovereignty and borders of the country, in cooperation with the relevant security authorities, con-tributed significantly to the securi-ty and stability currently witnessed by the UAE. He stressed, however, that in-creased risks require the develop-

ment of new strategies and meth-odologies to manage security and Customs risks. This includes build-ing strong partnerships between Federal and local institutions and Administrations.During the opening address of the forum, Mohamed Jumaa Busaiba, General Manager said that the FCA and local Customs Adminis-trations stand in the front line, to-gether with the security authorities and related parties. They are key to counter organized crime, terror-ist gangs and unsound commer-cial practices that exploit UAE’s borders to smuggle weapons and dangerous materials. Their aim being to destabilize society, threat-en its security, intimidate individu-als and disrupt the development process.He added “With the increasing

threats and Customs risks that prevail in the region and the world, it was important to continuously analyze security developments and understand their implications for Customs Points of Entry to the UAE.”For his part, Dr. Mohammed Ab-dul Salam said that in addition to their traditional roles the security dimensions of the work of agen-cies working at the border cross-ings across the world, including the UAE, has been rising sharply in recent years. This was due to the large-scale cross-border secu-rity risks with acute impact that are developing in the current period.He said that the security role of the Customs sector in all countries of the world has seen increasing interest in recent years. It is likely to rise further in the coming years in light of the security changes sweeping the world. Pointing out that the analysis of risks for border security in countries related to the national character of the state and the surrounding strategic environ-ment.Dr. Abdul Salam praised the level

of performance and progress in work at border points of entry in the UAE. He pointed out that this high level of performance con-tributed to protecting the security of the society from the dangers it faced, resulting in the so-called “customs deterrent,” This made all those who think of harming the se-curity of society think twice before doing so for fear of the high risk of falling into the grip of the state.He pointed out that the institutions that work at the border crossing points, including the Customs sec-tor, represent the first line of de-fense of the country against any risks or threats. It also represents the last line of defense of the coun-try in protecting it from the exit of its wealth, artifacts and treasures or affect the state economy by smuggling activities abroad.FARAS’s director explained that the risks related to border secu-rity currently related to a series of sharp security shifts taking place in the region and the world,. This constitutes the so-called “strategic environment”. Among these risks are:The spread of failed countries in the region, with the emergence of concepts such as “neighborli-ness”, the expansion of “extremist foci” within developed countries. The worsening economic condi-tions within some labor-exporting countries. The expansion of terrorist activi-ties in the region, in addition to the escalation of hostility between some countries or axes of the re-gion, The expansion of the scope of organized criminal acts, in all its forms, across the world. The proliferation of weapons, ex-plosives, hazardous materials and dual use goodsThe rapid spread of modern devic-es, the recurrence of old epidem-ics, The emergence of recent epidem-ics that pose a health problem, The transformation of illegal mi-gration or asylum requests into acute problems.

High level of Customs performance increases deterrence

Customs Forum discusses the repercus-sions of security shifts on the ports

Part of the seminar



HE Ali Al Kaabi visits the company headquarters in Mussafah

“Federal Customs” and “Emirates Steel”are looking to strengthen cooperation and support the national industry�� Abu Dhabi (Emirates Customs)

The Federal Customs Authority (FCA) and the UAE Steel Com-pany (Emirates Steel) discussed how to enhance cooperation and mechanisms to support this sector of national industry, to enhance its competitiveness and provide pro-tection against improper commer-cial practices, including dumping.This came during a visit by HE the Commissioner Ali Mohammed Bin Sabeeh Al Kaabi, Chairman of the FCA, to the company’s headquar-ters in Mussafah, Abu Dhabi. HE Ahmad Bin Lahej, Executive Di-rector of Customs Affairs dep and Ali Al Dhanhani, acting Legal Af-fairs Director, attended this meet-ing. During the visit, they were received by HE Engineer Saeed Gumran Al

Rmeithi, Chief Executive Officer and a number of officials at the company.HE Ali Al Kaabi expressed his pleasure to visit the company’s headquarters in Mussafah and learn about the process of devel-opment, the expansion that has been completed passed, and the future development plans. He pointed out that Emirates Steel Industries is a national industrial

bastion which reflects the eco-nomic and industrial progress of the UAE. It is also one of the ma-jor contributors to the UAE’s GDP and is an important pillar of the national economic diversification policy.HE stressed the determination of the FCA and the local Customs Administrations to support na-tional industries, enhance their competitiveness, in both national and international markets. He un-derlined the need to remove Cus-toms obstacles and to rigorously enforce the anti-dumping policies of the UAE to provide protection form illicit imported products.He stressed the readiness of the Customs sector in the UAE to contribute to the implementation of any initiatives that contribute to the development of national indus-

tries within the framework of the national, regional and internation-al conventions regulating the work of Customs. He underlined the policy that FCA and the local Customs Adminis-trations work continuously to sim-plify Customs procedures, reduce clearance time and to maximize the use of digitalized operations to facilitate import and export proce-dures.The meeting dealt with the issue of the export of scrap iron and its impact on the national steel facto-ries. In this context, HE Ali Al Kaabi stressed the determination of the FCA to provide maximum support to national factories and protect them from the negative impact of the export of scrap iron. This the FCA will carry out in cooperation with the relevant authorities in the country, including the Ministry of Economy.HE Saeed Al Rumaithi, reviewed the progress of Emirates Steel Company and the expansions completed to date by the com-pany’s factories and the range products produced by them ; from direct-reduced iron, to iron rein-forcement, retaining walls and

heavy structural sections.HE explained the company’s strat-egy and five-year plan. He pointed out that the company has identi-fied 18 strategic initiatives to be implemented during 2016 and 2017. These will allow the Compa-ny to achieve it’s strategic vision, to maximize growth, improve effi-ciency both of procedures and hu-man resources, and reduce costs. Taking into account the economic climate in the country and devel-opments in world markets this will also improve the company’s status locally and globally .HE Al Rumaithi stressed that the productivity of the employees of Emirates Steel Industries is supe-rior to that of its competitors and exceeds the average global pro-ductivity rate for the steel industry, He pointed out that the operational capacity of Emirates Steel Com-pany is one of the highest in the world. Noting that the operating capacity of the company’s facto-ries reached about 95% during the year 2015 compared to the aver-age rate of operating capacity of the global steel industry of 78%.He mentioned that Emirates Iron Company contributes to support

the non-oil GDP of the UAE with annual sales of AED 6.7 billion. This underlines the company’s leading role as an economic driver with in the UAE and fulfilling the national policy on economic diver-sification.He indicated that the issue of Emi-ratization is a central focus of the work of Emirates Steel Industries, despite the special nature of the industry. Noting that the company currently employs 536 UAE na-tionals, including 485 in operation-al jobs, 51 trainees and students. Localization in the company is cur-rently 21%, up to 70% in executive jobs. Emirates Steel aims to raise the Emiratizations rate to 30% by the end of 2020.HE said that, over the last 5 years, UAE Steel products have received full international acceptance. This has allowed it to sell its products in 34 countries around the world. He further indicated that the com-pany is currently working on de-veloping alternative markets and adding value-added products to achieve productive capacity for its factories of factories and raise the company’s revenues.

HE Ali Al Kaabi, Bin Lahej and HE Saeed Al Rumaithi during the meeting Part of the meeting

Emirates Steel Industries is a national industrial bastion that reflects the economic and industrial progress of the country



The Federal Customs Authority, with the sup-port of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, has initiated the first phase of its plan to support the Customs ports at the state level. In line with national Policy this is aimed at enhanc-ing their role in main-taining security and protecting society. The first phase includes supply of specialist equipment to detect drugs and explosives. To this end 11 points of entry in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah have been equipped with Ion-scan 500 DT scanners, manufactured by Smith International. This equipment can detect quantities of drugs and explosives of nano-gramme size within 8 seconds.

latest equipment is the second im-portant development in the field of strengthening the controls. In a previous step The FCA ap-pointed inspectors at customs borders in all Emirates, to en-hance levels of control to protect-ing the community against security breaches.He pointed out that over the next 2 years the FCA plan will be provid-ing a total of 552 new mobile and static scanning devices which will enhance the ability of Customs to inspect vehicles containers, bag-gage and mail, and detect drugs and explosives. HE Ali Al Kaabi explained that the new devices represent the latest technology in the field of radia-tion testing, detection of prohibited materials, weapons, explosives and drugs.He further pointed out that the FCA was keen to coordinate with the local Customs Administrations to determine the needs and require-ments in each emirate. A team of specialists in Customs needs

analysis has been formed with staff from the FCA and Customs Administrations. The team has already visited a number borders to identify needs and priorities on the ground.With regard to the technical speci-fications of the devices distribut-ed in the first phase of the plan, Mohammed Jumaa Buosaiba , Director General of the Authority, said that the Ionscan 500D is a highly sensitive detection device for explosives, drugs and con-trolled substances. It can detect 25 different prohibited items within eight second. It has the ability to monitor narcotics and explosives to nanogramme level (1 billionth of a gram), providing clear results on a large color touch screen.He added that the equipment in-cludes a set of key applications related to the safety examination, this includes passengers, bag-gage, and air cargo. He pointed out that the equipment can de-tect explosives of all kinds and controlled drugs such as amphet-


In the first week of April, as part of the implementation of the first phase of the plan, the FCA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the General Adminis-tration of Customs in Abu Dhabi. The MoU covers the delivery of the detection equipment to the Customs border crossings in the Emirate. It was signed by Mr. Mohammed Jumaa Buosaiba, Director Gen-eral of the Authority, and Moham-med Khadem Al Hamili, Acting Director General of Abu Dhabi Customs, in the presence of His Excellency the Commissioner Ali Al Kaabi, Chairman of the Author-ity, Ahmed Abdullah Bin Lahej, Ex-ecutive Director of Customs Affairs Sector, Matar Mubarak Al Neadi,

Executive Director of the Opera-tional Affairs and Saeed Salem Al Rumaithi, Executive Director of the Technical Affairs Sector at Abu Dhabi Customs. A number of De-partment directors from both par-ties also attended.HE Al-Kaabi said that the plan to support the customs borders in the country comes in implementa-tion of the leadership and direction

of the Cabinet to strengthen the control over border crossings to protect the security of the home-land and its citizens in light of the increasing security threats in the region. The Federal Law No. (8) for the year 2015, has strength-ened the Authority’s powers and capacity in the field of supervision and inspection.In this regard, His Excellency thanked His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Min-ister of Presidential Affairs for his support to the Federal Customs Authority and providing the nec-essary funding to implement the plan.HE the Commissioner said that under the new legislation the plan to support the Customs points of entry through the supply of the

Ali al-Kaabi:The plan strengthens border control capac-ity to protect the security of the homeland and it’s citizens in light of the increasing security threats.

Over the next 2 years the FCA will be pro-viding a total of 552 new mobile and static scanning devices which will enhance the ability of Customs to inspect vehicles and containers and detect drugs and explosives.

“Ionscan 500DT scanners to detect drugs and explosives of the delivered to 11 ports in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.

FCA launches the first phase of the planto support the country borders and entries

Buosaiba and Al Hamili during the signing of the agreement In the presence of H.H. Ali Al Kaabi and Bin Lahej



During the signing of the agreement Buosaiba and Musabih during the signing of the agreement

Al Kaabi listens to the explanation of a new device

Mohammed Buosaiba:Ionscan 500 detects 25 items within 8 seconds and has the ability to detect quantities of drugs and explosives of nanogramme size

Mohammed Al-Hamli:We continue to maximize our effort to provide a distinctive and effective Customs Service to cope with the international developments and maintain comprehensive and sustainable progress.

amine, buprenorphine, cocaine, heroin, tramadol etc.The equipment is widely used in-ternationally by Customs Agencies and airports including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Sin-gapore, Canada, America, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. Glob-ally there are more than 7,000 de-vices in use.The MoU with the General Admin-istration of Customs - Abu Dhabi, aims to enhance cooperation in the use of the equipment. It in-cludes an ongoing plan to support the Customs operations, and iden-tifies the obligations of each party in the field of maintenance and training and sharing experiences.Acting Director General of the Abu Dhabi Customs, Mohammed Kha-dem Al Hamili said: “Abu Dhabi Customs is keen to integrate ef-forts and exchange expertise with Federal and local institutions to support its objectives of provid-

ing a high level of service to the public. This is an integral part of Abu Dhabi Customs strategy. This integration is a natural re-sult of continuous communication and coordination with the Federal Customs Authority, and is one of the strategic principles adopted by Abu Dhabi Customs to achieve its vision and future aspirations.He further emphasized that Abu Dhabi Customs is always striving to improve its performance and carry out its mission to provide a unique customs service that complies with international stan-dards and best practice. It also fulfills the requirement to provide comprehensive and sustainable progress. The progress achieved by Abu Dhabi Customs to date is reflected by the signing of agree-ments and implementation of pilot projects which enhance its con-tribution to the country’s customs procedures. This is in line with

the WCO frameworks, and adopt international best practice in cus-toms work.Al Hamli expressed his thanks and appreciation to His Excel-lency Commissioner Ali Al Kaabi, Chairman of the Federal Customs Authority for his great efforts and constructive support for the local customs administration.

Dubai Customs Mohammad Juma Nasser Buosai-ba, Director-General of the UAE Federal Customs Authority and Ahmed Mahbooh Musabih signed a memorandum of understanding last Wednesday at Dubai Cus-toms’ building. The MoU relates to delivery of inspection devices to Dubai Customs in its quest to implement the latest and best in-spection and control standards. The Federal Customs Authority will also provide training for Dubai Customs staff on how to use the

new devices, plus the regular maintenance. The MoU was signed in the pres-ence of Ahmed bin Lahej, Execu-tive Director for Customs Affairs at Federal Customs Authority, Abdullah Mohammed Al Khaja, Executive Director of Clients Man-agement Division, Farid Hassan Al Marzouqi, Executive Director, Human Resources, Finance and Administration Division at Dubai Customs, plus a number of direc-tors from both sides. The signing of this MoU is part of Federal Customs Authority’s strat-egy to enhance borders and en-tries following the directives of our wise leadership. Boussaiba said. He added:” It’s also part of the new responsibilities in control and inspection given to the Authority under law (8) in 2015”. Boussaiba pointed out that sup-porting all local customs depart-ments is a priority and to help them

integrate will help sustain security and facilitate trade further. Borders and entries worldwide, and in the Arab World in particular are facing increasing challenges. Smugglers are innovating new ways and this puts customs appa-ratuses in front of big challenges, he added. “Part of our plan is to furnish all customs entries with the latest and most advanced scanning and inspection devices throughout 2017 and 2018. This will include mobile and fixed devices that will be used to check containers and vehicles, plus drug and explosives detection devices, vehicles, lug-gage and body scanning devices. The package will include Ionscan 500DTwhich fills the growing need of security professionals to have the ability to detect a wide range of substances and to be able to adapt as threats and their needs change.” Boussaiba explained.

On his part, Ahmed Mahboob Mus-abih thanked the Federal Customs Authority for their continual sup-port which will help upgrade and advance customs standards and practices. “This complies to the directives and vision of our wise leader-ship to achieve the highest global ranks. The new devices will sus-tain security further at all national customs entries, with the region witnessing more turbulences and challenges. Advanced technology can help maintain security and protect its valued assets” Musabih said. Musabih applauded the role the Federal Customs Authority plays in advancing customs procedures and processes in the UAE.“Dubai Customs implements the latest practices and innovations to support legitimate trade and enhance its control” Musabih ex-plained.



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The Federal Customs Authority has handed over 200 DOSIME-TER devices to monitor the ra-diation exposure of inspectors in a number of local customs de-partments. This is the first stage in the FCA plan to hand over 500 dosimeters to the inspectors of customs border crossings.Mohammed Juma Bouossaiba , Director General of the FCA, said that the delivery of the devices falls within the framework of the Authority’s plan to support cus-

toms at the borders and points of entry with modern ‘state of the art’ equipment. The radiation testing equipment will enhance inspec-tion capabilities. Emphasizing the major role of customs has in

the security of the UAE.He added that DOSIMETER provides protection to customs inspectors, especially the in-spectors who work on X-ray and gamma-ray scanning equip-ment, against the radiation risk by measuring the level of X-rays and gamma rays, whether emit-ted from screening devices or the imported goods It will issue an alert to the customs inspector in the event that radiation exceeds the level approved by the Federal Authority of Nuclear Regulation . He pointed out the determination of the FCA and the local Customs

Administrations to constantly update inspection equipment to ensure the highest stan-dards of security and safety at the country’s border cross-ings. This involves constantly reviewing the global techno-logical developments in cargo and personal inspection.Ahmed Abdullah bin Lahej, Executive Director of the Cus-toms Affairs Sector, said that the FCA considers the secu-rity and safety of inspectors, customs officials and border users at the land crossing points and points of entry of the highest importance in the framework of the security and safety agenda. It focuses, therefore on implementing Global security and safety standards.DOSIMETER uses the most effective dosimetry standards and is designed to protect customs inspector from ex-cessive exposure to gamma rays and x-rays. The device is widely used by security agencies, scientists, doctors, hospital staff and airports to protect Workers at risk from exposure to hazardous and radioactive materials.The device operates by moni-toring the level of radiation dose against the equivalent external optical radiation, and the rate of accumulation of the dose. The device emits an audible –visual warning when the user exceeded the approved radiation rate. It contains a memory which pro-vides a reading of about 1000 measurements of the level of radiation. The DOSIMETERs are lightweight and small in size, to avoid any burden or inconvenience for the inspec-tors when carrying out their duties.

Delivery of 200 radioactivities Measurement Device to the local authorities

Dosimeter devices

plan to support the security of the border crossings

Bouossaiba:Dosimiter provides protection to customs inspectors from the risk of radiation to ensure the highest standards of safety and security

Bin Lahej:The FCA attaches great significance to the security and safety of inspectors, customs and passengers at customs borders.

�� Dubai (Emirates Customs)

Dubai Customs carried out 2.329 customs transactions during the first quarter of 2017 compared to 2.241 customs transactions in the same period in 2016. This reflects a healthy continuity of growth and a better performance of external non-oil trade sectors. The growth supports the diverse national economy and helps the UAE bet-ter advance towards a post-oil stage. Dubai Customs carried out 9.1 mil-lion customs transactions in 2016 compared to 9 million transactions in 2015, and 8.6 million transac-tions in 2014. Customs transactions include 19 major services delivered by Dubai Customs to its clients through 23 land, sea and air customs centres and entry points in the UAE.Commenting on this, Abdullah Mohammed Al Khaja, Executive Director of Clients Management Division said:” Dubai Customs is enhancing its efficiency in handling transactions through the adoption of the latest smart technologies and tools. We aim at making cli-ents happier following the vision of His Highness Sheikh Moham-med bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai in support of the national economy”.Al Khaja added:” We prepare our-

selves to host Expo 2020 in the best possible way in coordination with the federal and local govern-ment departments following the guidelines of Dubai 10X which puts the city 10 years ahead of other cities in the world. This all serves the UAE Centennial Plan 2071 which the wise leadership launched to draw the lines and specify the future plans of the country”. Eman Badr Al Suwaidi, Director of Customs Declaration Department pointed out that the rise in cus-toms transactions means a better performance and happier clients. “This couldn’t have happened without good training and adoption of smart applications and services. We at Dubai Customs have an in-tegrated strategy that serves the client in the best possible way. In 2016 we launched the Authorized Economic Program (AEO) to give certain advantages to trusted cli-ents, thus saving time and effort” Al Suwaidi concluded.

Mohammed Al KhajaEman Al Suwaidi

Dubai Customs carries out 2.33m transactions in 1st Q 2017



AAA

WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya, con-firmed that, it is not possible for member states, to effectively combat smuggling and customs crime networks, as the multiplicity and com-plexity of threats posed by the organized crime and global illegal internet networks, making it very difficult to address unilaterally. In an exclusive interview for the Emirates Cus-toms Magazine, Mikuriya , stressed the need for a close cooperation and information exchange mechanisms, between all the executive agen-cies concerned with customs work at both local and global levels, as it is the secret word in fac-ing the organized crime networks, to ensure the objective and integrated work, to combat crime networks around the world.He said that, e-trade is witnessing a significant increase in the number of individual trans-actions and faceless traders, representing a threat to the revenue and supply chain security.Mikuriya, called to look beyond cooperation be-tween two customs authorities, to activate co-operation at the national level as well, adding that, police is one of the most important agen-cies, customs authorities must cooperate with.He pointed that, traffickers are seeking zones where everything is negotiable, and corrup-tion and bribery prevail. They also infiltrate le-

gitimate trade channels by burying their illegal activities under the daily whirlwind of transac-tions, making it extremely difficult to unravel the tangle of legal and illegal operations.He urged WCO members, to activate their par-ticipation in the executive customs Network (information network concerning customs seizures and keeping track of the World Cus-toms Organization), and to exert more efforts to make sure that, any seizure of illicit trade, is registered in customs executive network, and data received is of high quality. The Secretary General, called customs admin-istrations in the Member States, to have a set of procedures, frameworks, and practical, legal, and regulatory practices, such as specialized customs intelligence unit, in order to combat il-licit trade.He stressed that, customs administrations in the world, need to develop risk assessment practices, through increasing exchange of in-formation and use of sophisticated mecha-nisms to gather information, and to promote the potentialities to conduct or support investi-gations, as well as to apply latest investigation techniques, in addition to improve inter-agency cooperation at the domestic level.

Partnership and Exchange of Information Between Executive Managements locally and Internationally,is a Pillar of Integration for facing Customs Crime

UAE Vision for Facilitation of Trade through Investing in Infrastructure and Technology is a Global Model

Interviewed by: Hassan El Kamhawi

The WCO Secretary General,Kunio Mikuriya, for “Emirates Customs”

Cooperationis The Secret Word in

Combating Trafficking Networks

16 Emirates Customs July 2017 17Emirates CustomsJuly 2017

Interview

aaaa

Police Agencies are very Importantfor Customs Authorities to Achievea better Boarders Management

Acceleration of Individual Transactionsfor E-Trade and Faceless Traders,is Posing a Threat for Supply Chains

X What is the role that modern technology plays when it comes to combating illicit trade?

The use of modern technologies is a key prerequisite to a successful Customs administration. It ensures that Customs is in a strong position to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities pre-sented by the 21st century border and trade environment. Therefore, it is critical for Customs adminis-trations to understand which tech-nologies will matter to them, and prepare accordingly.The WCO recommends the imple-mentation of techniques, enabling advanced and high speed data analysis, ensuring container integ-rity and for supervising and moni-toring maritime and air container transport, as well as the use of detection and radiation equipment. In terms of guidelines, we have developed some for the procure-ment and deployment of scanning and non-intrusive inspection equip-ment.While the WCO invites Members to present their experiences in these topics during various WCO committee meetings, including at events such as the IT Conference & Exhibition and the Technology & Innovation Forum which it orga-nizes once a year, it does not sup-port any specific practices. During these events, the newest insights, latest developments and most re-cent trends are demonstrated and discussed by leading experts and technology providers, providing an ideal platform for Customs officials to network with one another and expand their know-how.Actually, Dubai Customs hosted the 2013 edition of the IT Confer-

ence and Exhibition, reflecting the pioneering role of the UAE in the use of modern technologies and systems. I remember that during the conference, Dr. Anwar Moham-med Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at the time, shared his country›s vision of trade facilitation through investment in in-frastructure and technology.Given the importance now attached to data analysis by many Mem-bers across the globe, the WCO is dedicating the year 2017 to the theme “Data Analysis for Effective Border Management.” We will be using this opportunity to especially emphasize the role and power of data, and the new tools that have the potential to help Customs ad-ministrations leverage data in new and powerful ways.Traditional methods for detecting and managing risk have served many Members well, but there are now new opportunities to use more advanced methods to get the most value from the information available. Thus, more and more Customs administrations have, for example, turned to data min-ing and analytics, i.e. the pursuit of extracting meaning from “raw data” using specialized computer systems. Data, used in conjunction with analytics and other emerging technologies, may provide us with new opportunities to advance mis-sion-critical objectives.

X What about the smuggling methods implemented by smugglers?

The criminal underworld is not stat-ic. Organized criminal groups use many different sophisticated meth-ods, including human and techno-logical resources, to generate their ill-gotten profit. If governments do

not stay ahead of the curve, en-forcement strategies will prove incapable of containing the threat posed by illegal trade. Therefore, information exchange, analysis of trends and patterns, and hands-on instruction are paramount in tack-ling the challenges.Again, I encourage all Customs enforcement officers to access the CEN as a global depository of enforcement-related information to get acquainted with smugglers’ methods. The internet is also a great source of information, and to facilitate the follow-up of Customs-related news published in the me-dia, on blogs or in research paper accessible on the web, the WCO has developed an information tool called IRIS that collects this in-formation together, and makes it available in one location.Moreover, E-commerce is wit-nessing enormous increase in the number of individual transactions and new faceless traders, posing threats to revenue and to the secu-rity of the supply chain. The ease of online direct sale/purchases has thrown up many emerging chal-lenges like sale of drugs, counter-feited and pirated goods as well as smuggling of restricted / prohib-ited goods and high-value dutiable items through this channel.Many countries have set up spe-cialized units to combat Internet-linked crime known as e-crime, due to its exponential growth across the globe. These specialized teams of-ten provide information support to other services within Customs, by for instance gathering evidence for investigation units that could in-clude collecting information about a particular person, finding more information relating to a specific

case, trawling the Web for infor-mation which might be of use in preventing, detecting, investigating and prosecuting a Customs-related offence.At the WCO level, we set up in 2001, the Electronic Crime Experts Group (ECEG) for experts to meet and provide advice on aspects of electronic crime which affect Cus-toms administrations. The ECEG has already produced a number of documents which are regu-larly updated and made available to WCO Members on the WCO website. Such examples include: Cargo Status Tracking, Data Min-ing in the Risk Management Pro-cess, Best practice Guidance for Online Investigations, Intellectual Property Rights Infringements on the Internet and the Basic Model for a Centralized Unit for Fighting Cybercrime.

X How important is coordina-tion between Customs ad-

ministrations when it comes to combating illicit trade and what others things could be done in that respect?

No State acting in isolation can ef-fectively counter criminal networks that ignore border laws and regula-tions with impunity, as the multiplic-ity of threats posed by organized crime and illicit global networks is too large, complex and sophisti-cated to be addressed unilaterally. Traffickers are seeking zones where everything is negotiable, including illegal operations, and have no qualms about changing the routing or means of transport, or using intermediate reloading to distract attention. They also infil-trate legitimate trade channels by burying their illegal activities under the daily whirlwind of transactions, making it extremely difficult to un-ravel the tangle of legal and illegal operations.Against this background, it is of

the utmost importance to develop closer cooperation and information exchange mechanisms between all enforcement agencies at the national and international level to ensure a well-targeted and cohe-sive approach to dealing effectively with criminal networks around the world.We must make the most of the unique ability of law enforcement and Customs officials to reach across the border to their coun-terparts in another country – and move beyond dialogue to true col-laborationThere are many examples of coun-tries working together to dismantle smuggling networks and at our lev-el we are trying to develop concrete cooperation mechanisms through notably two projects: the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)-WCO Container Con-trol Programme (CCP) and Project AIRCOP. These programmes aim to develop closer cooperation and information exchange mechanisms between participating administra-tions.Port Control Units (PCUs) estab-lished under the CCP are, at pres-ent, fully operational in 55 ports in 30 countries, and funding for the in-tegration of another 24 WCO Mem-bers into the CCP is now available. Launched in 2010 to build drug enforcement capacities at interna-tional airports, Project AIRCOP has been responsible for the setting up of Joint Airport Interdiction Task Forces (JAITFs) in 16 countries to date.Information exchange among PCUs has proved to be very effective in facilitating investigations and has even led to seizures. In 2012, the PCU based in Guayaquil was, for example, the source of intelligence and information resulting in three seizures of cocaine at the Port of Antwerp (Belgium), one in Valencia (Spain) and one in Panama. Pana-ma itself, and more specifically the PCU based at the Port of Balboa, were behind the seizure of 201 kg of cocaine made in Antwerp.Cooperation is also at utmost im-


Interview

The private sector can also be a great ally to Customs administrations. The transport and logistics sector, especially, can serve as the eyes and ears of enforcement agencies, and can be valuable partners in Customs’ efforts to eliminate trafficking from supply chains. This is why the WCO has continued to engage and cooperate with the private sector with a view to strengthening Customs-business partnerships.

Smugglers Prefer Areas of Corruption to Infiltrate the Legitimate Trade Channels, making it Difficult to Discover their Activities

Departments are Required to Establish IntelligenceUnits and including Fighting of Illicit Trade withinthe Organizational Priorities

portance when fighting internet crime. The Internet poses indeed a unique Customs enforcement chal-lenge. In contrast to brick-and-mor-tar businesses, websites cannot be padlocked and owners may be lo-cated anywhere in the world. When investigators encounter a website whose host is based outside their national territory, it is very difficult to carry out appropriate operations if there is no agreement on mutual legal assistance with the country where the provider is based. However, we must see beyond Customs to Customs cooperation. It is imperative to ensure that co-operation at the national level is also effective. Lack of coopera-tion mechanisms and inter-insti-tutional coordination can hamper enforcement activities. Both the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme and Project AIRCOP aim to develop enforcement ca-pacities at specific ports and air-ports through the establishment of multi-agency teams. Inter-agency cooperation is at the heart of these initiatives. The idea is to bring together several law en-forcement agencies into one single unit for more direct and real-time exchange of operational informa-tion, in addition to strengthening the mix of skills and powers.Among the agencies that Customs must cooperate with is the Police. Key components of such coopera-tion have been discussed widely at different meetings over the last few months. This has led to agreement that broad-ranging Customs-Police cooperation is a precondition for better coordinated border manage-ment (CBM) and that as the two agencies often share overlapping mandates, there is no alternative

but to cooperate in these areas.Communicating information is one thing, but we also need to obtain more sophisticated knowledge on current smuggling and cross-border criminal activities to better target evolving and emerging risks. The quantification and mapping of illicit markets is critical, as this will enable a fuller understanding of the connections between different forms of trafficking. Here, I would like to highlight the importance of the WCO Customs Enforcement Network (CEN), the tool we devel-oped to record Customs seizures worldwide, allowing the latest trends and patterns linked to illicit trade to be tracked and analysed.I would urge WCO Members to actively participate in the CEN. All Customs services should do their utmost to ensure that every seizure

related to illicit trade, be it drug traf-ficking, tobacco smuggling or the illegal trade in counterfeit goods, fake medicines, precursor chemi-cals, stolen artifacts, environmen-tally-sensitive goods and endan-gered wildlife, among others, is inputted into the CEN, and that the data reported is of a high quality.

X Could you shed light on some of the successful experiences of Customs ad-ministrations in combating illicit trade?

The WCO is a unique forum for the global Customs community to share experiences, and a valuable platform for WCO Members to ac-cess experts that can support their needs, including the provision of various forms of operational as-sistance around the scourge of illicit trade. There is the Enforce-

ment Committee, of course, the Electronic Crime Expert Group (ECEG), and also the many events the WCO organizes each year – all contributing to strengthening Cus-toms’ enforcement capacity.Moreover, over the years many ar-ticles touching on this subject have been published in our WCO News magazine covering, amongst oth-ers, drugs, tobacco, ivory, counter-feiting, cash and dual-use goods, and some lesser known illicit trade issues such as cultural goods, small arms, fisheries crime, and illicit pes-ticides. The magazine provides the WCO with a platform to share prag-matic ideas and ways that can help the global Customs community to devise strategies in which to con-front these existing menaces.All information suggests that Cus-toms administrations with the

necessary will to fight illegal trade would need to:• ensure that a robust legal frame-work to combat all forms of illicit trade is in place, including the legal capacity to conduct investigations, and, if needed, launch;• have the necessary institutional and organizational framework in place to enforce regulations, such as a dedicated intelligence unit, and embed the fight against illicit trade in their organizational priorities and within their human resource struc-ture, among other things;• improve their risk assessment practices by increasing exchange of information, and the use of intel-ligence;• enhance their capacity to con-duct or support investigations, and implement the latest investigation techniques;

• improve inter-agency cooperation at the national level;• enhance cooperation with other Customs administrations, and with other concerned players and part-ners at the international level;• have at their disposal modern equipment, including the required hardware and software, to facilitate effective enforcement.

X What is your opinion on the training provided in the MENA region in this do-main?

There were many training sessions and workshops organized for Cus-toms administrations in the MENA region in the last twelve months, with a view to improving their en-forcement capacities. Of special importance is the regional work-shop on how to combat smuggling which took place last May in Tunis. All countries from the MENA region were invited to be part of this impor-tant event and share their national experiences and learn on existing WCO tools and instruments to help combat smuggling.This is vital proof of the region’s efforts to strengthen its capacity through professional training based on WCO standards, thereby raising Customs’ competence at the reginal level. MENA region training is devel-oped by regional experts who know the dynamics of the region. Through this training they enrich and raise the level of competence of Cus-toms, both nationally and regionally, in addition to ensuring the sustain-ability of this region-specific training. It also takes into account the differ-ent levels of development and ad-vancement of WCO Members in the MENA region, ensuring that they all benefit equitably from region-wide and tailor-made training.


Interview

Is 2017 the beginning of the Arab Customs spring? .. The ques-tion is strongly suggested when one looks at the of the numerous changes proposed in the Arab world in the field of Arab customs work in light of the wave of change and in the area of Customs laws and general legislative frameworks that impact on customs work . The changes range from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to Morocco, through Jordan, Egypt and Algeria.Among the amendments to the Arab customs legislation the ap-proval of parliament has been given in Algeria, Morocco and Jor-dan, while some, as Egypt and the Gulf States, which are still at the discussion stage and have not yet entered the legislative adoption process.There are many reasons for this wave of legislative changes, but their goal remains the same. The proposed amendments in-tend to cope with developments caused by the scientific and IT revolution. Some allow for the adoption electronic documents in customs clearance, activating pre-clearance procedures and meeting international conventions. In others countries the inten-tion is to restrict bureaucracy, simplify customs procedures and add more powers to the customs authorities. These will help to confront smuggling, fraud and counterfeit goods, to protect eco-nomic development and society.Integrated with these changes is the desire to maximize or in-crease customs revenues in light of the increasing financial defi-cits experienced by the budgets of most Arab countries.Although the reasons may vary from one country to another, the agreed objective to support the economic reform process re-mains common to all. In this respect the changes will provide a stimulating and attractive business environment in parallel with the protection of the society and its security.Whilst everyone agrees on the importance of the proposed amendment and their role to supporting the economic develop-ment process; the changes do not satisfy a significant number of businesses and members of the private sector. This is under-standable given the apparent conflict of interests between the parties.In this article Emirates Customs outline the main reasons for the Arab Customs Spring and explore the main features of the de-sired change in the Arab Customs Laws.

Gamal Fadel (Cairo) - Muwaydi Al-Mutairi (Riyadh)Haydar Al-Qamaz (Amman) - Hassan Ayet Sous (Rabat)

Arab Customs

Many changesintroduces to allow electronicdocuments, simplify procedures and prevent smuggling

Laws

22 Emirates Customs July 2017 July 2017 Emirates Customs 23

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Saudi ArabiaAn official at the Saudi General Customs Authority told Emirates Customs that the amendments proposed by Saudi Arabia to the unified Gulf Customs law include tightening the penalties for smug-gling and ensure the maintenance of Customs revenues.Faisal Al-Majish, Director of Pub-lic Relations and Information at Saudi Customs, said that it has been a long time since the imple-mentation of the GCC Common Customs Law, its Executive Regu-lations and its explanatory memo-randum and the world has moved on. There are several proposed amendments to the unified Gulf Customs law. The most important of these is to enable customs departments in the GCC countries to benefit from modern technologies for exchang-ing information and customs docu-ments electronically. These would provide more effective manage-ment of customs clearance, ex-emption of parcels and personal mail, exemption of imports related to persons with special needs and relief from customs duties under approved conditions. It would also enhance anti-smuggling by pro-viding access images of customs smuggling such fake and counter-feit goods.Three main axesDr. Ahmed Mohammed Al-Bakr, Legal Advisor to the President of the Federal Customs Authority of the United Arab Emirates, pointed out that the GCC countries have

been working on preparing a draft amendment to the unified cus-toms law for several years. This will provide a unified customs law capable of handling current trade and enforcement developments and is based on three main axes.The first is to review the legal drafting of the articles and to re-move any ambiguity in their inter-pretation due to inaccuracy and lack of clarity in the wording. This is a natural result of the negotiat-ing sessions when preparing the initial law The second aims to modify the methodologies or customs prin-ciples found in the articles of law to add new Customs procedures or shorten their timescales to cope

with the necessary speed of mod-ern trade movement and inspec-tion. In this context there are four ideas for amendment to the cur-rent draft GCC Customs Law:• To extend the period of objection to the administrative decisions is-sued by the Director General from fifteen days to thirty days. • To extend the rights of traders • To provide a longer period for payment of customs violations up to 30 days (previously 15) from the date of notifying the offender.Dr. Al-Bakr pointed out that the proposals include the possibility of permitting the Directors-General in Customs departments to delegate the power of initiating criminal ac-tion in cases of smuggling includ-

ing the person authorized to keep the seizure reports in the customs smuggling and dispose of the smuggled goods, (not exceeding 1000 Saudi riyals or the equivalent national currency). It is currently limited personally according to ad-ministrative position. It is also pro-posed to deal with some crimes by giving powers to the executive au-thority to fully deal with them and prevent their accumulation in the courtsThis will facilitate the procedure of Customs litigation and enhance the speed of finalizing the criminal case and ensure the judiciary are not overloaded with simple smug-gling issues.The third axis of the includes the

creation of new procedures and methodologies do not currently ex-ist in the applicable law. Again this is aimed at addressing the global developments to improve speed and efficiency in the Customs field.Dr Al-Bakr said that the analysis of the proposed amendments to the unified Gulf customs law shows that there are issues or new and innovative procedures proposed. This shows an important intellec-tual shift in the approach to Cus-toms work in the GCC countries. The proposals are:• The protection of intellectual property rights.• The criminalization of the impor-tation of counterfeit or fraudulent goods.

• The pre-clearance of goods.• The acceptance of electronic documents, • New Customs exemptions • Accession to international con-ventions.The draft amendment includes two new smuggling offences. • The removal of lead seals or oth-ers official seals or locks.• The importation or exportation of counterfeit or fraudulent goods.

EgyptSpeaking to the ‘UAE Customs’ magazine the Egyptian Deputy-Minister of Finance for Tax and Customs Policies, Amr Al-Munir, stressed that the most important features of the new Egyptian Cus-toms Law are: • The integration of customs legis-lation, including the Customs Ex-emptions Law, into a unified law. • The inclusion of definitions of the terms and authority contained therein in order to achieve trans-parency. • The legal acceptance of ex-change of customs data, officially required documents and records by secure electronic means, both operationally and evidentially.He pointed out that the new draft law includes: The protection of intellectual prop-erty rights and trademarks. The legalization of the internation-al mechanisms designed for sim-plification of Customs procedures and practices that contribute to secure trade facilitation, including the granting of new customs facili-

Amendments to the Gulf law that legalize electronic transac-tions and the elec-tronic documents necessary for clear-ance

GCC amendments include the new of-fences -the removal of seals and the im-portation of counter-feit goods


The File

ties to investors and timely release of The draft also: • Deals with the negative aspects of the temporary permit system• Creates an independent organi-zation for free markets. • Introduces a customs duty ex-emption for vehicles for people with full disabilities or blindness in recognition of their special needs • Allows prior inquiry on Customs procedures and systems to enable trade to prepare feasibility studies.• Provides a definition of ‘dry ports’ and subjects them to the same customs procedures and provi-sions as those for sea, air and land ports. The draft law stresses that cus-toms exemptions should not be affected and not allowed the cus-toms tax payments due for agri-cultural, industrial and productive projects. Risk management approach.

JordanIn March of this year the Jordani-an Council of Ministers approved amendments to the Customs Law of 1998. These amendments sim-plify Customs procedures in line with modern methodologies and are consistent with the interna-tional conventions that Jordan has acceded to. These includes, Customs clearance documenta-tion, completion of customs data, clearance of imported goods, sim-plification of inspection, inspection procedures, and the development of a legislative framework for pre-

shipment inspection prior to ex-portation.The amendments also:• Permit the use of intelligence based risk management in carry-ing out the duties entrusted to the General Customs Department and implementing • Fulfill Jordan’s the international obligations to control the dual-use goods, including those that transit through its territory or are shipped from land, air and sea ports.• Allow for the disposal of hazard-ous materials.

The project aims to allow goods to transit through the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) in a man-ner consistent with it’s role and ac-

tivity as an economic zone. This is to maintain investment in the free zones and increase their competi-tiveness.The amendments give the Cus-toms Court special jurisdiction over smuggling offenses, and empowers the prosecutor general to investigate money laundering crimes arising from smuggling of-fenses. This will allow the compe-tent judicial authorities to complete the judicial proceedings following the Customs investigations. The arrests in smuggling cases will be carried out by the Public Prosecu-tor and not by the Director of the General Customs Department.In this context, the Director Gen-eral of Jordanian Customs, Major

General Fadel Al-Hamoud, con-firmed that the amendments to the Jordanian Customs Law No. 20 of 1998 are aimed at keeping up with the new technological devel-opments.Al-Hammond further explained in his statement to the ‘UAE Cus-toms’ magazine that the draft amendments now permit the ac-ceptance of electronic documents attached to the customs declara-tion, giving these documents the same legal status as the traditional paper documents both operation-ally and evidentially. He added that the amendments cancel the requirement for the au-thentication of the necessary com-mercial documents by the cham-

bers of commerce and consular missions, and the fees involved. This brings Jordan into line with the WTO Agreements and the WTO accession protocol. Al-Hamoud pointed out that the amendments will contribute to the control of dangerous goods for both peaceful and non-peaceful use in compliance with internation-al obligations under UN Security Council resolutions and include goods received by the Kingdom for transit through its territory or for transshipment at land, air and sea ports

The Moroccan lawFigures and data related to the

new Financial Law No. 73.16 of 2017, recently approved by the Moroccan Parliament, show that customs duties, which under the old law amounted to 9.07 billion Moroccan Dirhams in 2016, are expected to rise in light of the amendments to 8.93 billion Mo-roccan dirhams in 2017.Among the measures included the Finance Act of 2017 relating to the promotion of private and entrepre-neurial investment are exemptions from VAT for imports of commodi-ties necessary for the completion of projects related to current in-vestment agreements. The new law stipulates that the exemption will beo36 months (starting from the date of the first import), and with the possibility of extending this period by a further 24 months.In addition, the Finance Act of 2017 introduces import duty of 10% on all transport vehicles. VAT exemption was also issued in the case of importation for all aircraft without specifying the number of places used for regular air trans-port.With regard to the measures to support environmental protection and sustainable development the law:• Applies the minimum import duty of 25% on imports used in the so-lar panel industry• Introduces the exemption of electric motor vehicles or double-engine vehicles (electric and ther-mal) from the special tax on cars.

New Egyptian law in-creases the customs revenues، protects national industry and the health and safety of citizens

Jordan introduce pre-clearance of goods and simplifi-cation of procedures for testing and data entry


The File

is the world’s firstin the Customs Authorities

Effectiveness Index


The United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked first in the index of the effectiveness of customs bod-ies according to the Interna-tional Institute for Administrative Development’s annual book on competitiveness, 2017, based in Lausanne, Switzerland.The index measures the effective-ness of global customs bodies through a questionnaire that asks business and business people about the facilitation procedures and facilities offered by customs authorities in 63 countries around the world in the field of transporting goods to and from the State. The report assesses countries accord-ing to their efficiency in managing their resources for the prosperity of their people. Its methodology is based on the views of business-men (33.3%) and statistical data (66.7%) serving 346 indicators.HE Ali Bin Sabeeh Al Kaabi, Cus-toms Commissioner and Chair-man of the Federal Customs Au-thority, said that the UAE is the world’s first place in the Customs Effectiveness Index, a major inter-national achievement, in addition to the UAE’s record of economic performance, efficiency of govern-ment institutions and the creation of an environment, ideal and stim-ulating for investment and busi-ness.He added that these achieve-

ments, which are increasing and changing day by day in all eco-nomic sectors reflect the future vision and the high ability to plan and formulate the future vision and initiatives of our wise leader-ship, and reflects the ambition of the Federal Customs Authority and local customs departments to rise to the top ranks in the world The field of customs work.His Excellency the Customs Com-missioner confirmed that this achievement represents the result of a long and sincere national ef-forts provided by the Federal Cus-toms Authority and the local cus-toms departments over the years in the field of trade facilitation, simplification of customs proce-dures and automation of customs operations.

On this occasion, HE praised the efforts of all employees in the country’s customs sector, including leaders, employees and inspectors at the federal and lo-cal levels, and all strategic part-ners from government and local authorities, private sector institu-tions, traders, exporters, importers and customs agents. And the ap-plication of global best practices.His Excellency stressed the keen-ness of the Authority and the local customs departments to remove the obstacles and customs restric-tions that hinder the movement of trade between the United Arab

Emirates and the countries of the world by working on a number of axes including automation of cus-toms operations, development of customs clearance systems, im-plementation of the approved eco-nomic operator system, Customs clearance time.HE Ali Al Kaabi said: “The Author-ity and the local customs depart-ments are keen to participate ef-fectively in the local, regional and international customs committees, signing memorandums of under-standing and bilateral and inter-national agreements with many countries in the world and the re-gion. and participation in the Arab and Gulf customs meetings , and the meetings of the International Customs Organization. In addition to the Gulf technical visits to the customs borders and entries in the GCC countries to follow up the implementation of the requirements of the Gulf Cus-toms Union and to identify the ob-

stacles that hinder the movement of intra-trade and the development and implementation of corrective initiatives.. His Excellency said that the local customs departments have dem-onstrated a world-class excel-lence in the field of innovation in customs work, which has contrib-uted to improving the efficiency of the customs procedures and the performance of the customs de-partments in the country. It also contributed to reducing costs and raising the level of happiness of both customers and employees. Customs innovation is one of the most prominent global experienc-es currently.HE Mohammed Jumaa Buosaiba , Director General of the Author-ity, said that the Authority and the local customs departments seek to raise the level of the country’s competitiveness globally by raising the customs level of the country in the indicators related to customs

work, including logistic support and customs efficiency indica-tors, Customs Authorities In this regard, the FCA operates within the “Global Competitiveness Indi-cators “, which monitors the global reports on competitiveness indi-cators and works to improve the country’s ranking in these indica-tors. At the beginning of 2016, the Panel adopted the work plan that was implemented during the year.He pointed out that the UAE is the world leader in the Customs Effec-tiveness Index, which is a direct result of the Government’s plans to move from eGovernment to Smart Government, adopting the National Innovation Strategy in the UAE and the directives of Vi-sion 2021. Indicating that this achievement launches a new stage of the de-velopment efforts and customs excellence in the country, through moving to a higher stage of the use of the latest smart applica-

tions for information technology, and provide smart customs servic-es around the clock, seven days a week, and support the customs borders and entries with the latest technologies and devices In the field of inspection and control of the movement of goods and pas-sengers. “The customs facilities provided by the Authority and the local customs departments have contributed to the growth of the UAE’s foreign trade. The value of the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade has quadrupled in ten years to 1.6 trillion dirhams in 2016, compared to 413 billion dir-hams in the year 2006. In line with the customs procedures applied by the local customs departments, the UAE was ranked third in the world and the first in the MENA re-gion in the efficiency index of cus-toms procedures according to the competitiveness report issued by the World Economic Forum May 2015 “.

According to a report of the International Institute for Administrative Development (IMD) in Switzerland

Ali al-Kaabi:Customs achievements reflect the future vision and the ability to plan and foresee the future of our wise leadership

Mohammed Buosaiba:the achievement launches a new phase of customs development in the country through the transition to a higher level of smart applications.


Reports

1.6 Trillion DirhamsTotal Trade Volume of GeneralNon – Oil Trade 2016

5%RATE OF GROWTH DURING 2016

969 195 400Billion Dirhams Imports

Billion Exports Billion Re-Exports

Exports Growth with rate greater then Imports, reflectsthe gradual improvement in trade balance of UAE with the world

Trade Volume and wide Patch of Trade Partners emphasizes the importance of UAE as regional trade gateway

consequences on markets activity and the ability of the comparative-ness of national products.H.H added :foreign trade volume and the wide patch of trade part-ners reflects the importance of U.A.E as a trade gateway in the area and the world, pointing out to the contribution of the services of logistics & infrastructural in tele-communication , land ,see and air transportation and trade, in addi-tion to service provided by Finan-cial sector and facilitated proce-

dures in all ports which contribute to develop trade movement during last few years.Ali Al Kabbai stated that the main feature of growth curve of the non-oil foreign trade is the growing with balanced rates that reflects presence of vision, methodology and successful and sustainable policies applied to achieve this growth.The statistics data shows that the U.A.E imports value grows in nar-row limits not exceeding 2% dur-

ing 2016.as import value 969 bil-lion AED .against 952.3 billion in the previous year .While exports grow by 5% reaches 195billion against 185.4 in the last year and re-exports reaches 400.4 billion .The Non-oil total foreign trade weight wise amount reached around 232.7 billion . 101.3 billion of it is import weight and 112.9 bil-lion tons exports weight and 18.6 billion ton re exports weight .H.H Ali Alkaabi pointed out that


UAE Non-oil trade continues its growth demonstration in 2016 comparing to 2015,to reach 1.6 trillion dirham’s, overcoming the negative effects of the challenges that result from the slowdown of international trade movement and Retreat of international economic growth rates, in addition to the negative effects of security disor-ders in the region.The Non –oil foreign trade

achieved 1% of growth during 2016, comparing to the previous year, the thing that reflects conti-nuity of growth and economic de-velopment of the country in spite of the Commercial and economic challenges that the a foresaid year witnessed.Statistical Data of FCA revealed the increase of Non-oil general trade volume (direct trade and free zones) during 2016 .compar-ing with previous year, from 1.556 trillion AED in 2015 to 1.564 trillion

AED in 2016.H.H the commissioner of FCA chairman said that the primary statistics of U.A.E General Non-Oil Trade volume in 2016 is regarded as important economic indicators of the national economy wellbe-ing and the increase of competi-tiveness of national products in the world markets, and reflects the wise leadership success in transforming the economic diver-sification policy to a tangible re-ality. Resulted in several positive

31Emirates CustomsJuly 201730 Emirates Customs July 2017

Reports

the slowdown of import growth beside increase of export growth in a high rate pointed out to the gradual improvement in U.A.E trade balance with world countries during this year, U.A.E exports growth revealed the high level of the competitiveness of the nation-al industries in the world market and the increase of confidence in this industries externally.H.H mentioned that the U.A.E partners trade map doesn’t show any change in the ranking of geographic regions .the stability of partners’ structure reflects the strong commercial relations of U.A.E and its position as a main component of the world trade map.FCA stated that the structure of trade partners’ as geographic re-gion remain stable during 2016. Asia & Pacific region comes at the top of the trade partners in the Non –oil foreign trade. its to-tal trade reached 624.7 AED with 42% from the total trade volume. Europe region follows with 339.6 billion with 23% of the total .then North Africa and Middle East with 275.5 billion with 19% then Amer-ica & Caribbean with 147 billion and 10%.In the sixth rank Came East &South Africa region with share 47.4 billion & 3.2%. Finally came West and Central Africa re-gion with 45.5 billion and 3.1 of the total Non –oil trade volume.H.H. Al Kaabi praised the efforts of all workers of all customs de-partments, exits and ports in cus-toms inspection, dispatches re-

lease and reducing clearance time to approach international rates. Pointing out that release of many dispatches takes only few minutes because of the developed meth-ods of inspection & examination adopted in local customs depart-ments.H.H said that G.C.C countries con-sidered as commercial partners of U.A.E, their share during 2016 in-

creased to 11% of total trade.In this regard, FCA statistic data revealed an increment in the value of non-oil general trade with GCC countries to reach 166.7 Billion Aed in 2016. Saudi Arabia ranked first of GCC countries with trade volume 71.6 billion Aed and 43%, next came Oman with value of 31.9 billion and 19%. Then Kuwait with 25.6 and 15%, Qatar with val-

ue of 21.3 and 13%. Finally Bah-rain with 10% share equals 16 bil-lion Aed.H.H. Ali Al Kaabi noted to the ad-vanced position of Arab Countries in the map of UAE Non-oil foreign trade, pointing to the big share of Arab Countries which reached 18% of total volume of Non- oil general trade. Arab countries represent the main destination of

UAE Exports & Reexports.FCA data stated that trade with Arab Countries reached 281.2 bil-lion Aed by the end of 2016. Out of which 87.7 billion is imports & 63 billion is exports , while reexports amounted to 130.5 billion Aed.As regarding top commodities dealt with during 2016, FCA pri-mary data shows that Shaped and Semi shaped Gold ranked first of

the top commodities exported dur-ing 2016, with value of 124.4 rated 15% , then Phone Cells with value of 89 rated 10% , then Cars with value of 51.2 rated 6% , Diamond with value of 47.9 rated 5.6% , and Oil lubricants with value of 13.7 rated 4% of total imports value.As Non oil exports data, Raw Gold occupied the first rank among top exported commodities with value of 57.2 and 29% of total export value, then Jewelry and Precious Metals with value of 19.1 and 10% , then Raw aluminum with value 16.5 billion and 8% , Pollymers of Ethane with value of 12 billion and 6% , Cigarettes exports reached 9.4 with rate 5% of total volume of exports. Phone Cells came at the top of reexportd goods during 2016, val-ued 61.7 and rate of 15% of the total reexport value, then came diamond with 49 billion value and 12% rate, jewelry and precious metals valued 27.4 and rated 6.9% of the total, then cars by 6.5% and value of 26.1 . then raw and semi shaped gold with value of 16.4 and 4% of the total reexport value.

Stability of Partners structure indicates the strong trade relations and position of the state on world trade map

%29

57.2Billion AEDRaw Gold

%10

19.1Billion AED

Jewelry andPrecious Metals

%08

16.5Billion AED

Rawaluminum

%06

12Billion AED

Pollymers ofEthane

%05

9.4Billion AEDCigarettes

Billion AEDPhone Cells

Billion AED Diamond

Billion AED jewelry and

precious metals

Billion AEDCars

Billion AED Raw and semi

shaped gold

%15

61.7

%12

49

%6.9

27.4

%6.5

26.1

%04

16.4

Non oil exports

%29

57.2Billion AEDRaw Gold

%10

19.1Billion AED

Jewelry andPrecious Metals

%08

16.5Billion AED

Rawaluminum

%06

12Billion AED

Pollymers ofEthane

%05

9.4Billion AEDCigarettes

Billion AEDPhone Cells

Billion AED Diamond

Billion AED jewelry and

precious metals

Billion AEDCars

Billion AED Raw and semi

shaped gold

%15

61.7

%12

49

%6.9

27.4

%6.5

26.1

%04

16.4

Reexportd goods

281.2

87.763

130.5

billion.. trade with Arab Countries

billion.. imports

billion.. exports

billion.. reexports


Reports

Direct gold trade reaches in 2016

244.3billion AED

The volume of gold trade, for the UAE increased to 244.3 Bil-lion (AED) last year compared with 217 Billion - a growth of 13%.According to FCA data for for-eign direct trade on gold dur-ing 2016, the value of imports of gold was 142.4 Billion, the export value was 75.9 Billion and the re-export value 26 Bil-lion. Emphasizing the commercial significance, HE Ali Al Kaabi said that UAE trade in gold represented 14% of the vol-ume of the global market. This underlines the country’s sta-tus as a leading global center His Excellency explained there four are types of gold that are key to the UAE’s gold trade. These are:• non- cash gold as a powder,

including gold plated with platinum• gold bullion,• gold in part made format in-cluding gold plated with plati-num,• Jewelry fully or in part manu-factured from gold.He added that that under the Unified Customs Tariff (UCT) of the Gulf Cooperation Coun-cil (GCC) the first three types are exempt from tariffs whilst the forth type is liable to a duty of 5%. According to the FCA, data the value of the first three types is about 178.6 billion dir-hams representing 73% of the country’s total gold trade dur-ing 2017. The later type was valued at 65.6 billion repre-senting 27%. The UAE is fully committed to

the application of the GCC’s Customs Union, with the adop-tion of the unified Customs law and the UCT (2003) He pointed out that the FCA and the individual Customs Ad-ministrations are committed to collect the customs duties as stipulated tariff in January 2003 as part of the UAEs Gulf Regional responsibilities.He explained that the imposi-tion of any new Customs du-ties or exemptions would be in consultation at two levels. Firstly, nationally, between the FCA, local Customs Admin-istrations and important eco-nomic entities such as Minis-tries of Economy and Finance. Secondly between the UAE and the GCC countries. He pointed out that the UAE was recognized as a country with security stable security,

economic diversification and competitiveness in the gold trade. This increases its com-parative advantage and in view of the global expectation of future higher prices is driv-ing both individual investors and institutions to gold invest-ment.His Excellency Ali Al Kaabi emphasized that, in applying the legal and tariff require-ments, it was essential that the Customs fulfilled its role to facilitate trade movement and increase the competitiveness of the country. In line with the progressive di-rectives of the national leader-ship the Federal Customs Au-thority and the local Customs Administrations will endeavor to provide all facilities to trad-ers, exporters and importers in the field. A key goal is to

expand, grow and facilitate business, and meet all the requirements of the National economic diversification poli-cy.HE Ali Al-Kaabi said that the provision of facilities to trad-ers, exporters and importers should not mean dilution of the rights of the UAE Govern-ment or reduction in meeting obligations under the Cus-toms Union or international trade and security conven-tions.

UAE highly competitive forproduction and trading of gold

27% of gold trade liable to duty

Subject Name

34 Emirates Customs July 2017 35Emirates CustomsJuly 2017

Reports

Since the founding of the UAE, the UAE government has been keen to foster innovation as an important approach to achieving growth and continuous development. As HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said.“Innovation in governments is not an intellectual luxury or administra-tive improvement or propaganda. Innovation in government is the se-cret of their survival and renewal; it is the secret of the renaissance of peoples and the progress of na-tions”, Innovation, therefore, is at the heart of successful government adminis-tration, Innovation in the government sec-tor is based on the development, testing and implementation of new ideas to deliver important benefits. This may be in the form of a new product or service, updating exist-ing processes, proposing a policy, thinking about a challenge in a dif-ferent way, or discontinuing a par-ticular practice that has not proven successful.Some people tend to associate innovation with creativity and in-spiration, but the fact is that most innovations come because of well-thought-out plans, organized and well managed. This means that innovation has a methodology similar to that used in any project. It is necessary therefore to define goals and stages, set a timetable for achieving innovation and mea-suring its effectiveness. Innovation also requires the allocation of re-sources for implementation, both

human and financial.There are processes and mecha-nisms for innovation, and when we look at the meaning of innovation, we see that it is much more than just new ideas. Creating something new, needs different type of activi-ties, especially when dealing with several steps related to each other, where multiple trials must be con-duct in parallel to achieve success.In addition, innovation brings to-gether a group of individuals with different skills, abilities and qualifi-cations. New ideas are a key part of the innovation process and their creation is the most important part of it. Ideas are everywhere and very easy to invent and borrow, or even to modify or change an exist-ing idea, but the best way is to put many ideas and then to exclude useless. Therefore, the challenge is to monitor ideas that have high potentials and to research how they can be developed and trans-formed from mere ideas into con-

crete projects.The process of effective innovation in the government sector based on the principle of continuous develop-ment, which looks at government services from the point of view of the beneficiaries or user. Where the success of innovation lies in integrating these new ideas with other existing systems and processes, monitoring the long term results to find the right solu-tions, .Innovation is also linked to individuals, resources and sys-tems, it is an activity that can be managed and promoted at all lev-els of government, given the ability of each person to innovate.There are different ways to achieve innovation in the public sector, in-novation in services and innovation in operations, by providing a new service or by significantly improv-ing the concept of service in terms of practice and application, or inno-vation in policies and regulations.Innovation is often achieved through seven stages: research of opportunities and challenges, intro-duction of new ideas, development and testing, validation and effec-tiveness of new ideas, introduction and implementation, promotion and development of innovation and widespread dissemination, and re-gime change.Which has already clarified the truth; this means that innovation is similar to the methodology used in any project. It is necessary to de-fine goals and stages, set a time-table for innovation, measure its effectiveness, and allocate the hu-man or financial resources needed to implement it.

�� Dubai (Emirates Customs)

Jebel Ali Customs Center, the modern facility and one of the major cus-toms centers in Dubai, boasted a number of quality achievements dur-ing 2016. The center recorded 348 seizures of restricted, fake and pro-hibited materials. This means a 24% increase compared to 2015 which recorded 281 seizures. The center, which includes a client center and seven inspection units, also inspected 237,716 containers and carried out 605,000 customs transactions last year. Yousuf Al Hashemi, Director of Jebel Ali Customs Center pointed out that the seizures contained more than 700,000 tramadol narcotic pills, and quantities of Naswar tobacco derivative, silica powder, smuggled ciga-rettes, fake goods, and endangered sandal wood in coordination with local and global security authorities. He added:” Thanks to the use of the latest technologies and devices we had a much better performance compared to previous years following the vision and directives of our wise leadership. The figures of the first quar-ter of 2017 are promising: Around 729,000 customs transactions carried out so far using the latest systems including Mirsal 2 system which en-ables clients fulfill their requirements and fill out their applications online without the need of personal attendance”.“We have a number of plans for the future which will help develop Jebel Ali Operations room including a radioactive vehicle and container scan-ning unit. The inclusion of sophisticated inspection tools has raised com-mitment and performance levels in Jebel Ali from 42% in 2010 to 91.7% in 2013. In 2016, client satisfaction went up to 87%, and employee satis-faction reached 88% “ he added. Naser Al Jumairi, Director of Jebel Ali and TECOM Customs Centre ex-plained that a Dubai Customs unit was opened at gate 11 for more con-venience and client satisfaction. On his part, Ahmed Al Jamri, Director of Jebel Ali Inspection Center said the center has five advanced container scanning devices and five cargo scanning devices.

Innovation methodologyin the Government

Abu Dhabi Customs handle 1.3 million transactions last yearThe General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs handled and man-aged 1.330 million Customs transac-tions in 2016 and for the first quarter of 2016 while the figure is 324.7 thousand. This reflects the ever in-creasing requirement from Customs in Abu Dhabi, to effectively manage its contribution to the UAE’s foreign trade and security.According to the confirmed data for 2016, collected from Abu Dhabi General Administration of Customs, the volume of customs transac-tions related to importation reached 481,000, non-oil exports amounted to 322,600, re-exports 395,000 and transit 130,400. In addition, tempo-rary input transactions were 821.As for the start of 2017, the number of import-related transactions to-taled 117.100, compared with 78,000 for non-oil exports, 92.400 for re-exports and 36.400 for transit.The General Administration of Customs in Abu Dhabi said that the technical development and the initiatives which they have taken to improve the secure facilitation of trade had enabled them to manage an increased volume of transac-tions. This had led to the provision of more efficient secure customs processing whilst increasing the level of service and facilitation to traders, importers and exporters. It also allowed a greater number of transaction to be dealt with in the shortest possible time. These efforts have significantly con-tributed the high level of competi-tiveness of Abu Dhabi Customs, the economy of the Emirate and UAE.The Abu Dhabi General Administra-tion of Customs said that it provides a range of advanced services to customers and strategic partners, notably the e-clearance platform, which includes e-clearance, e-payment and e-archiving. The Department also provides clients and partners with clear cus-toms policies for free zones, public and private customs warehouses, transit and other customs services, including the protection of intellec-tual property rights and trademark. It also provides training and qualifi-cation of customs agents.Furthermore, the Department explained that it provides a broad range of facilities to assist export-ers, importers and partners. This includes, electronic connectivity with strategic partners in the public sector, and electronic access to the approvals given from other regula-tory bodies.

Jebel AliCustoms Center

237.716containers inspected, 348 seizures recorded in 2016

By/ Tariq BurehimmahDirector of federal customs affairs Diploma in government innovation

FCA


Reports Free Zone

Almost a year after the British exit referendum on June 23, 2016 and the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States In-ternational trade faces many risks and challenges that undermine global growth and increase the risk to financial markets. This is also compounded by the potential increasing right wing dominance in Europe as evidenced by possibility of Marine Le Pen win-ning in the French elections; end-ing with the victory of the liberal Emmanuel Macron, Added to this the global slowdown, the risk of credit-related economic difficulties or crises in China, increasing geo-political risks, the rise of protection-ist concerns trade, and the possibil-ity of continued high interest rates in the United States are of great concern to trade.These economic and political de-velopments and other transforma-tions require the need to anticipate the future development of inter-national trade. Here the important question is how the British econo-

my (the second largest economy in Europe and the fifth in the world) will face the challenges of the exit from the EU (Brexit), and how will the UK government redraw its trade policy map?It is, of course, difficult to measure the overall impact of the Brexit within the context of in light of the

other global events with a signifi-cant impact on trade and the global economy. The implementation, however, of Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon in March 2017 and the commencement of difficult formal negotiations on exit from the Euro-pean Union, cast a shadow on the global economy and that of Europe in particular. These negotiations themselves will last at least 2 years before the separation - expected in the spring of 2019.The UK government is currently to redirect its trade policy for the com-ing years. It is seeking agreements with Canada, Singapore, Switzer-land and Australia as well as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) coun-tries. In the light of the complexity of Brexit negotiations, however, the EU stresses that the UK is unable negotiate trade agreements with other countries before leaving the EU.

Fee-free CorridorThe UK economy is currently sur-rounded by an atmosphere of fear

and uncertainty. It is seeking to agree its future partnership with the EU, but nothing remains agreed until everything is agreed. Accord-ing to the current statements, the European Commission, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as the newly-elected French Presi-dent Macron the exit of Britain from the European Union will not be easy. It will not happen without ex-pensive consequences for Britain to prevent other European coun-tries seeking to exit from the EU. The UK, therefore, faces significant consequences and challenges af-ter the exit from Single Market and the Customs Union with the poten-tial application of customs restric-tions and tariffs on British imports and exports to and from the EU countries.After the exit, Britain will lose all membership benefits from the world’s largest market - about 500 million people and a total output of 18 trillion dollars. It will also sit out-side the benefits of 53 countries that have free trade agreements

with the EU, in addition to Canada, Singapore, South Korea and Mex-ico. The UK will, therefore, need to conclude bilateral agreements with each individual country to obtain the same trade privileges. Any future partnership agreement between the UK and the EU can-not not be less stringent than the existing agreements with Switzer-land and Norway; the two major economic entities outside the Eu-ropean Union.

Job TransitionAs Scotland seeks to stay in the European Union, the UK could face more tensions if Scotland dis-engages from it. This could lead to the transfer of many service jobs from London and increase the pressure on the British economy.In light of these expected reper-cussions on the UK economy, the UK’s priorities are now focused on securing a duty-free corridor to the European Single Market. Accord-ing to the BI Consulting Advisory Group report, for example, after

By: Radwa RadwanEconomist

Implications for the UKand opportunities for GCC

BrexitThe United Kingdom (UK) is withdrawing from membership in the world’s larg-est Single Market-Currently 500 million people and a total output of 18 trillion dollars.

Restructuring the UK’s trade policy in light of the inter-related but differ-ing priorities of the various countries of the world will be dif-ficult.


Free Zone

exit the cost of manufacturing cars in Britain for export to European countries will be 10% higher than currently - threatening the future of the automotive industry. Cars rep-resent one of the most important British exports in recent years.The UK, therefore, must radically reform its approach to trade policy and renegotiate its trade relation-ship with the European countries. In addition it needs to conclude in-dependent trade deals with the rest of the world. This task will require considerable action from the UK Government.

New trade agreementsIt should be noted that the con-cluding of new trade agreements is not simple. According to many experts, the UK Government lacks experienced negotiators. UK Gov-ernment employees need to coop-erate with other businesses and stakeholders to develop their ex-pertise. The Government will also face a direct vote in parliament on any future trade deals before ratify-ing them.Regaining control of trade and reshaping trade policy in the con-text of the complex trade map and differing priorities of the various countries of the world is very dif-ficult. This continues to raise fears and uncertainty about the future of the UK economy, which has al-ready been deteriorating from June 2016 after the British exit referen-dum.The negative impact of the refer-endum was reflected by the rise in inflation to 2.7% from 0.8% prior to the referendum, the devaluation of Sterling which lost about 10% of its value, the decline in job and wage growth rates and the emigration of investments, threatening London’s status as one the most important financial hubs in the world.To sum up, the UK faces many un-certainties and challenges, threat-ening the future of its trade and in-vestment post Brexit. It will face a difficult road until the spring of 2019 in the search for alternatives to ex-ert its influence in the international

arena, politically, commercially, and economically.

Gulf States are a potential des-tinationIn light of the UK’s current quest to build independent trade relations with the outside world and expand its business activities in new mar-kets, there is substantial interest both by the UK Government and business to strengthen trade rela-tions, economic partnerships and investments with the GCC.The Gulf region is an important stra-tegic and historical trade ally for the UK. The Gulf market is one of the largest consumer markets for Brit-ish products. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the second larg-est trading partner with the United Kingdom outside Europe, bilateral trade reached about $ 37.5 billion in 2015. UK companies export more than 30 billion pounds worth of goods and services to the Gulf Cooperation Council States each year. More than Britain’s exports to China!

Twice the value of Britain’s exports to India! In addition, thousands of UK businesses operate in all Gulf States. The countries of the region export oil, gas and related products to the UK, while they import many goods and services from it.

Gulf capitalThe UK, equally, is seeking to at-tract Gulf capital. It has the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world and needs to compensate for the expected investment movement after withdrawal of many European companies. In this regard, statistics indicate that the total investment of individuals and investment funds in the Gulf amounted to about 250 bil-lion dollars in the UK 2015. The UK Government has recently indicated that there are a large number of untapped opportunities to expand and deepen the business relation-ship between Britain and the Gulf States.At the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit held in December 2016 in Manama, the UK Foreign

and Commonwealth Office an-nounced 30 billion Pounds will be allocated over the next five years to invest in 15 economic sectors in the six GCC countries - energy, in-frastructure, education, healthcare, transport, industry, tourism and construction.Deloitte Consulting Company es-timated the value of projects tar-geted by UK companies in the Gulf region up to 2030 is two trillion dollars. There are major interna-tional events hosted in the region. The most important is Expo 2020 in Dubai, where the British Prime Minister announced that the United Kingdom will be one of the 180 countries participating. Expo 2020 is expected to have around 25 mil-lion visitors. There is also the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, in which Brit-ish companies are currently playing a leading role in its preparations.The United Kingdom is in fact pav-ing the way to become a global model for open trade, The Gulf States are also currently imple-menting ambitious national visions

for 2021 and 2030. These provide a road map for the future of the region as a diversified economic base that will strengthen the sta-bility of the Gulf economies in the face of many economic and politi-cal challenges.The GCC States have a golden op-portunity to strengthen their part-nerships with a UK private sector, which has considerable experience in the business and finance needed by the Gulf economies. This would assist them to push forward efforts to expand the role and contribution of the private sector in the region, boost their vision and diversify their income streams, rehabilitate and train the national human resources to achieve the sustainable devel-opment in the post-oil era.From the above, it becomes clear that the UK Government will face many challenges and difficulties in the coming period, not only with re-gard to trade negotiations with EU countries, but also with regard to its ability to build new negotiating trade expertise and quickly con-clude new agreements.In order to achieve this goal, the UK Government needs to establish an independent body to advise on trade in the coming period. It needs to formulate a realistic strategy that

will refocus it’s trade priorities, to secure lucrative business deals and bring the UK economy out of recession.There is also a danger that Britain will misuse its current limited bar-gaining power to start trade negoti-ations with a large number of coun-tries, or stumble into lengthy talks that will not go anywhere.The current negotiations with Bra-zil, India and China are unlikely to bear fruit quickly, as are those with the United States, whose new president, Donald Trump, will not be willing or flexible to secure enough business deals for Britain in the light of his own tough rhetoric on trade.Although the UK potentially re-mains the biggest loser in the com-ing years BREXIT, the restructur-ing of a large economic entities such as the European Union and the UK economy will have impacts on other countries and regions of the world experiencing similar trade challenges and major political concerns. The future of world trade and capital markets will remain in a state of permanent uncertainty un-der any Euro-zone election in the coming years.It remains important that the GCC adopt a proactive perspective to turn these challenges into opportu-nities and opportunities to achieve-ments. The GCC countries should strengthen their efforts to conclude a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom by preparing the Gulf private sector and chambers of commerce and industry to ex-change the necessary expertise and deepen cooperation between GCC countries and the UK. In the coming years there is an opportuni-ty to achieve the greatest possible benefit from the large UK market, for Gulf products. This will enable the GCC countries to strengthen the role of the Gulfs private sector and help them take advantage of the opportunities provided by the United Kingdom’s influence politi-cally and in the international trade and economic markets.

It is of great importance to the UK Govern-ment and Business to strengthen partnership with and invest in the GCC countries.

The UK actively seeks to attract Gulf capital to compensate for the po-tential decline in invest-ments by European companies.

London


Free Zone

Regulatory compliance should beon the business agenda

e-commercecompanies

By James MayHead of GlobaleTrade Services

The surge in Internet and mobile phone adoptions in emerging markets will push the global B2C online retail sales to likely to reach $2.3 trillion by 2017. The increasing number of smartphone owners, improv-ing openness towards mobile shopping, emergence of innovative and secured shipping and payment platforms are causing the global B2C online retail to boom. For the very first time, Asia-Pacific will leap-frog North America to lead the consumer online retail spending, contributing $525.2 billion in 2014. Led by China, Indonesia, and India, several other develop-ing economies across Southeast Asia, growth in the Asia-Pacific e-commerce market is set to spearhead e-commerce growth in the near future as its penetra-tion approaches 50 percent.When e-commerce is growing at such rate, cross-border online retail brands are taking great pride in speed of service and delivery, more than traditional, brick-and-mortar retailers. The nature of the business simply does not allow trading issues such as Customs holds, late deliveries, or inefficient return procedures, lest losing credibility or putting their reputations at stake. For an e-commerce to be successful, the cost associated with fulfilling the order must be worthwhile for the customer. Therefore, striving to simplify, stan-dardise and harmonise customs procedures across operations around the world would greatly simplify trade and have a direct positive impact on costs. Cross-border challenges for online e-commerce com-paniesAn increasing number of e-commerce companies in the region – both big and small – are feeling the pres-sure of ensuring trade compliance, while at the same time, dealing with their e-business and cross-border expansion strategies. The physical flow of goods across borders resulting from e-commerce is unfor-

tunately none the simpler than the traditional flow of goods. In fact, they both face the same challenges in terms of cost and time of border formalities. However, complicated border clearance procedures can be an even greater obstacle for e-commerce companies. The high costs of determining import requirements and completing excessive paperwork from thousands of transactions daily hamper e-commerce. This is in addition to global regulatory issues like Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard for online pay-ments, regional compliance challenges like Advance Security Filing requirements in countries like the US, Canada, EU and Japan, and local regulations such as consumer rights, privacy and data protection laws, for the various countries in which they do business.On the other hand, ensuring compliance with Cus-tom procedures can act as an effective measure to combat smuggling, commercial frauds and counter-feit goods, key challenges that e-commerce platforms around the world face. Though there are government efforts to protect their borders from such illicit activi-ties, e-commerce may still present new challenges and concerns for custom agencies in the region. Large e-commerce companies like Alibaba, who is already spending more than $16 million annually to fight counterfeits, has been constantly under such scrutiny, especially since its record $25 billion Initial Public Offering in 2014.Putting in place trade compliance practices such as monitoring for Denied Parties can protect US export-ers from costly fines and penalties. This practice also additionally involves checking for controlled products and embargoed or sanctioned countries. Let us now look at some best-practices e-commerce companies can implement to overcome the bumps in the road to trade compliance in the digital age:

e-Commerce trade compliance tools: Regulatory trade rules are only going to become more complex. There are costs involved for e-commerce companies to meet complex customs regulations as well as costs incurred due to non-compliance in the form of hefty fines and lost sales. In order to reduce the risk of overwhelming profits from shipping small parcels, e-commerce companies can look at adopting automa-tion for submission of manifest and trade declaration data to Customs authorities. The amount of work re-quired to complete a Customs declaration for a $20 shipment is the same as the work required to clear a $1,000 shipment so automation and use of EDI is imperative to maintain margins in this business. A compliance team: Every e-commerce company should train up a compliance team, who will attend trade-related training in the markets where it oper-ates. The e-commerce business moves so quickly that it is essential to stay within the law at all times. If your company sells products or technology that can be sensitive when crossing borders, the compliance team must be equipped with the relevant knowledge.Collaboration for success: Internet-based e-com-merce technologies can be implemented by relevant companies to provide better integration among mem-bers of the trading ecosystem. For smaller e-com-merce companies who do not control their own logis-tics or supply chains, international trade specialists can come in to fill the gap as they have the network and expertise in dealing with all compliance related to trade.Streamlined warehousing, distribution and shipping processes: Selling online successfully requires time-ly delivery. After all, online trade is critically based on the consumer’s trust that the product will be de-livered intact and on time. Collection of information

aside, slow customs clearance, poor infrastructures, and inefficient transport services can also slow down the movement of goods sold online, especially in de-veloping countries. e-Commerce companies need to take a closer look at its trade ecosystem, local and regional distribution network and warehousing capa-bilities, and make sure that they are also optimised, leaving no room for error in the physical part of the trading process. To alleviate some of the challenges of the “last mile” delivery, some e-commerce companies are tapping on some “Uber”-like services like Lalamove and Gogo Van, which allow companies to tap on private vans, trucks and even motorbikes to deliver your cargo from point A to B. Scheduling a pick up is the same as using Uber where you can find a local driver using their app and arrange for the pick-up of your freight in minutes. These services can be used as part of your regular supply-chain or for when you have unsched-uled spikes in demand.

ConclusionWhile the use of electronic means and the Internet can make the process of initiating and doing trade a lot easier, faster and less expensive, collecting infor-mation can also be a costly activity especially when it involves acquiring information across national bor-ders. As illustrated above, these costs can some-times be so high that they can be considered a barrier to trade on its own. The Internet has an immense potential to promote international trade much as lifting other trade barri-ers would. However, e-commerce companies need to know how to leverage this inherent capability of theirs, turn it around and make it work for the busi-ness, particularly in the area of trade compliance.


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Compensation to Customs Fees loss

VAT Birth of new Tax System in GCC Countries

Political & Economic Fallout and Oil crisis push GCC Countries to apply Value Added Tax

Customs Fees represents a great importance in GCC Countries revenues system in the past years.

During its past up-to- the begin-ning of the last year, GCC Coun-tries did not apply any direct tax system, except customs fees. Economies of the GCC Coun-tries depends on Oil revenues as main source of income, with lim-ited non -oil resources, increased in the last years with the growing awareness of GCC governments to the danger of dependent on Oil returns, which are subject to mar-kets disorders and global politics changes.This historical financial and eco-

nomic changes in GCC countries orientation is due to a group of de-velopments, political and econom-ic fallouts witnessed by the GCC Countries and Arab Area during the period so called “Al rabee Al ararbi ”, in addition to the drop of global oil prices which leads to a huge deficit in most budgets of these countries. In the same time these budgets witness an increase in spending on infrastructure proj-ects, development , expansion in all economic sectors and the most important, is the increase of on military and security spending, as a result of the direct intervention of some countries and to encounter Iran greediness in the area and to protect the Gulf national security.This had accompanied with, or maybe before it, a rush of global economic slowdown and drop of

international trade rates, which has fallout on GCC Countries in the umbra of its openness to the global markets and expansion of its role in the global map.Under these economic and finan-cial developments as specific , GCC Countries take more firm strategic orientation towards im-plementation of economic diver-sification, to be ready for the post Oil stage, and they launched stra-tegic visions up to 2030, based on diversification of income resourc-es and increase of non- oil rev-enue contribution in the economy, so as to avoid expected fluctua-tion and risks. In this regard, come GCC Countries orientation to ap-ply Selective Commodity Tax on Tobacco products, energy drinks and soft drinks and then Value Added Tax.Customs Fees acquires great im-portance in revenue system of GCC Countries in the last years, it is regarded as indirect taxes, impose on imported and exported

goods when they cross the cus-toms boarders of one country so as to allow their entry to the customs domain of the other

country.The Application of customs fees achieves a set of economic objec-tives, first -of -all it is a government income resource, it used to pro-tect national goods and products and promote its competitiveness against imported goods, com-bat dumping policy, also it used to generate new careers and protect the existing.Customs fees of imports calculated on trade value of imported goods after adding shipping, transport and insurance fees on this goods till their entry to the customs do-main subject to customs fees. Now all exports of GCC Countries are exempt from customs fees to promote exportation and develop-ing of national industries and en-couraging their competiveness in global markets. But, there is one exception, since customs fees ap-plied on some goods like natural resources to stop their miss use.Customs fees:GCC Customs Union was estab-lished to face economic blocs that appear on the global map, and to increase the economic, po-litical and cultural efficiency, and to strengthen relations between the members. The GCC Customs Union f o rmed

of GCC Countries, which strong-ly tightened by “The Economic Agreement” between GCC Coun-tries.GCC Countries intent to work jointly to draw and apply the new public policies like “Unified Cus-toms Law” this cooperative meth-od considered as the best for the area, which is characterize as an important middle, strategic and commercial hub.

Customs fees imposed by the GCC Countries is considered very low in value as it is only (5%) , in addition it is affected by free trade agreements with countries and other economic entities, namely , European Union and other Trade Partners in Asia ( China , India) and Australia. Added to all that the slowdown of International Trade rates in the last few years, and the fixed rates of trade growth, if not its decline, under the recent economic recession that invade all world great Trade powers like china. All these factors nega-tively affected customs revenues in GCC Countries as the decline the imports volume, the thing that shows the urgent need to income diversification and adoption of new resources promoting the abil-ity of these countries to manage their expenditure and to meet the requirements of infrastructure de-velopment, beside that maintain-ing the Gulf citizen level of living. Why Value Added tax:It is of a great important to build direct taxes options basing on the expected proceed of tax revenue and how easy its management, and its impact on equal distribution on low income citizens, produc-tion efficiency and ability of com-petitiveness of GCC Countries.Under the recent circumstances and after studying tax application options , we find GCC Countries so much benefit of many countries experiences in applying sales tax-es on growth and retail trade, and applying tax on business. They found that these types of taxes are difficult to manage and contains

By: Samia MahgoubStatisticianStatistics & Analytical Studies Section - FCA


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some discrimination against ex-ports, and it leads to distortion in production. These types of taxes cancelled in all world countries, and replaced by the value added tax “VAT” and “Mokus” as the most suitable type of direct taxes.The Value Added Tax is consider as the most suitable tax to the countries with open economies and different commercial patterns. By studying all tax systems ap-plied in many countries, especially GCC Countries trade partners, we found that most of the trade part-ners apply value added tax, for ex-ample Singapore which complete it with “ Mokus ”.A study made by IMF In this regards assured that value added tax effi-ciency, depends on consumption efficiency, which depends on the increase of trade contribution to the national growth products, and the value added tax application period. As regards value added tax justice, IMF studies stated that the share of value added tax paid by poor people is less than their share in growth consumption. Be-side its burden is distributes on the largest possible number of taxpay-ers. Due to all the above reasons GCC Countries found that the best option is value added tax as an initial step towards application of comprehensive tax system.

Value Added Tax Characteris-tics:Value added tax, sometimes, is refer to as a type of consumption tax. Imposed on most importation of goods & services that bought and sold. It is the most famous type of consumption taxes in the

world, as it applied -or its equiva-lent - (Tax on Goods & Services) in 150 country around the world in-cluding all European Union mem-bers.The most distinguishing character-istic of the Value Added Tax, is that the Value Added Tax is collected at each stage of the economic cycle (Production, Distribution and Consumption), and at each stage of the supply chain. It’s burden is born by all entities contributed in production and consumption, it is also imposed on imports, as it im-pose on customs value plus cus-toms fees plus all other payable fees, so-on- till it reaches the final consumer, were the burden fall on him within goods and services price. It acts as an effective mean enabling the state to interfere in the social and economic life.So generally, the final consumer who bears this tax cost, while the business calculate and collect the tax, and take the role of tax collec-tion in favor of the government.Value added tax is imposes on

imports and not on exports or in-vestments, so it could contribute to raise attractiveness and com-petitiveness of investment atmo-sphere in the state. Experiment of the countries on application of value added tax points out to it af-fect the portioned distribution, and it enable ability to ascending of indirect tax system, by imposing extra “mokus”. By it’s application some services sectors, or those of social character can be excluded for reasons regard income distri-bution and importance of these sectors in social ladder, e.g. Heath & Education.Compensation of lost Customs Fees:Perhaps, the application of the Unified Customs Law in 2003, as one of GCC Union Federation re-quirements, and the consequence of the adoption of collection of cus-toms fees at the first point of entry, in the GCC Countries, leads to a valued loss in customs proceed. It expected that application of value added tax contributes to compen-

sate this loss, beside achieves ad-ditional revenues more than that collected from customs fees in many GCC Countries.Studies made in this regards points out that the application of value added tax by 5% leads to revenues between (1.5%-2%) of the national Growth Product in many of GCC Countries. The of-ficial statements of Ministry of Finance of UAE stated that the application of value added tax generates about 18 billion dirhams yearly. Which exceeded customs revenue by very large amount.On the other hand, customs pro-ceed faces global challenges that threaten to big loss, As WTO, in the scope of trade liberalization, claim its members to remove any obstacles & constrains facing free trade, whether regarding customs fees or non-tax barriers and fees of the same effect e.g. imposing import qoutas.The gradual decrease of customs fees, becomes WTO demand in the light of free trade promote com-

petition & specialization at global level, it leads to effectiveness, efficiency, continuous search for quality, production with lowest cost and provide best products by low prices.As all countries joining WTO in-volved in trade liberalization line, through assigning free trade agreements with each other, in addition to their obligation to apply some items of WTO agreements regarding preferential treatment and the most favored state, this will be reflected on decreasing customs fees imposed on import-ed goods and commodities. Some expected that application of value added tax contribute to re-duce consumption rates in GCC Countries, especially luxurious consumption, as the result of the expected price rise after the tax, so a big change may occur in the GCC countries Imports bill, and negatively affect customs fees proceed and bush it towards re-duction.Also in case of the actual applica-

tion of Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA), the executive pro-gram of which requires reduction of customs fees on goods of Arab Origin, so the customs fees pro-ceed will affected negatively, since the GCC Countries trade with Arab countries represents between 23%-25% of total trade volume with the world. This beside the increasing demands to complete cancellation of all restrictions and customs fees applied on exports, especially on strategic goods, to ensure equal competition of ex-ports in the foreign markets. The American suggestion regard-ing cancellation of customs fees on agricultural commodities, may found good response in the export-ing countries. All the mentioned developments will negatively af-fect customs proceed. So, from all the above we conclude that the value added tax repre-sents a convenience mechanism to be applied in GCC countries, which are countries of special na-ture. All applications experiences of this tax prove that it has high flexibility in increasing government income, compared to other taxes in the absence or reduction of cus-toms fees. The Value added tax is consider as a good beginning of establish-ing supportive tax system in GCC countries, and it is the most con-venience and acceptance to in-crease revenues and compensate the expected loss, specially it pre-cedes the Selective Commodity Tax applied on commodities that harms health like cigarettes, to-bacco and its products, soft drinks and Energy drinks.

“Value Added Tax“ is the most suitable type of taxes to countries with open economies and various trading patterns.

Final consumer bears the cost of value added tax, while business calculate and collect the tax in favor of governments.

46 47Emirates CustomsJuly 2017Emirates Customs July 2017

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Ali Al Kaabi

To the long list of UAEs global achieve-ments, the competitiveness of its Cus-toms can now be added. This is confirmed in the recent publica-tion of the 2017 World Competitiveness Yearbook in which United Arab Emirates ranked first for the effectiveness of Cus-toms services. The year book is published issued by the International Institute for Management Development, (IMD), an internationally recognized, competent and independent international institution, based in Laus-anne, Switzerland. The Customs Effectiveness Index (CDI) is a global indicator based on systematic and scientific approach comparing levels of performance in more than 63 devel-oped countries worldwide. It is of particu-lar significance as it is based on indepen-dent factual information rather than an opinion survey.This achievement, and others, confirms beyond doubt that the strategic vision of the national leadership to achieve global leadership across all levels of work has been a matter of action not words. They have planned and implemented the many initiatives and programs that have been and continue to be achieved.The achievement of the UAE in the CEI Index confirms that the future vision of the wise leadership of the future is more profound that was initially seen by others. When first presented, by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Highness

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Mak-toum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, the achievement of global leadership was seen by many as a dream that was unlikely became a reality.It is now time for those who remain suspi-cious and skeptical to recognize the effec-tiveness of the UAE’s determination and will power to achieve these goals which they can now see affirmed by the testi-mony of neutral international institutions?To achieve the highest ranking in the CEI, with thanks to almighty god, the support and sponsorship by the UAE leadership of the developments in Customs has been essential. Throughout this process they have maintained regular contact and provided encouragement to the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) and Customs Administrations as they worked to deliver this goal.Despite their heavy responsibilities and busy time-schedules His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, The Su-preme Commander of the Armed Forces and His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Za-yed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs where keen to meet with a delegation of the Federal Customs Authority to express their congrat-ulations. During the recent meeting, at the Presidential Palace, they underlined their continuing full support for the FCA. They acknowledged the importance of the ongo-ing initiatives to develop the Customs sector in the country in the fields of secure trade facilitation, simplification of procedures and automation of customs operations.On receiving such an honour from their Highnesses, I would like to recognize and thank all employees of the UAE customs sector, strategic partners, government agencies and private sector institutions for their support and cooperation in order to improve performance at customs out-lets in the country and to apply interna-tional best practices.Finally, we must bear in mind that, in an ever-changing and dangerous world, the challenges facing ustoms in maintaining economic and supply chain security, and providing protection for our citizens re-main great. The aspirations of our leader-ship and the hopes of our peoples do not stop at this achievement, but go beyond it so we must continue to do more and maximize our achievements.

UAE Global Leader Customs mostcompetitive in the world

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