The General Authority of Customs (GAC) has said that total 305,383 customs declarations were released last month. It also completed 282,390 customs declarations in air cargo customs, and 22,990 customs declarations in maritime customs, said the Authority in its monthly statistics.
The data also indicated that the percentage of customs declarations released in within an hour was 99 percent. The top importing country was United States of America, while the top exporting country was India.
For the number of customs declarations transferred to government agencies, the number stands at 23,796. The Authority also said that the Customs procedures have facilitated the entry of goods over the Internet during the past months. Despite the coronavirus, “the import of personal goods witnessed a large increase on a daily basis, and we can say that the import rate of courier companies, for example DHL and ARAMEX, increased by approximately 40 percent.”
“Online shopping has become the easiest and the most modern concept of shopping, but most of us don’t know how to import personal goods online, especially customs procedures,” the GAC said.
About how much the customs duties on imported personal goods, and how can people make sure of the sum they pay to courier companies upon receipt, the Authority noted that: “personal goods fees are 5 percent on what exceeds QR3,000, according to the commercial quantity.
The importer can check the value on the price of the shipment invoice and the amounts due, which he has paid through the company broker and the revenue department employee, said the Authority.
The goods exempted from customs duties are available in Alnadeeb system and the coordinator system through the code of exempted goods or the lists on the website of the GAC.
Moreover, the GAC noted that: “Any person upon entering or leaving the state and in possession of any currency, financial bearer negotiable instruments or precious metals or stones equivalent to or exceeding QR50,000 or its equivalent in foreign currencies, must fill the declaration form, and any additional information requested by the customs officer must also be provided”.