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DUBAI / WAM
Dubai Customs has, to date, processed 214 customs transactions worth AED142.2 million under cover of the International Road Transport (TIR Carnet) system, the global customs transit procedure. Dubai Customs cleared the first transit consignment under the TIR carnet in 2020.
Dubai Customs is a signatory of the TIR Carnet system, which enables goods to move under customs control from a country of origin, through transit countries, to a country of destination in securely sealed load compartments via a multilateral, mutually recognised system backed by a United Nations (UN) convention.
Goods shipped under cover of the internationally accepted customs transit document do not require inspection at border crossings while in transit. It provides a financial guarantee to pay the suspended duties and taxes. The guarantee system is managed by the International Road Transport Union (IRU).
In 2014, Dubai Customs signed a guarantee agreement for implementing the system with the Automobile and Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (ATCUAE), the official authorised representative of the IRU as a TIR issuing and guaranteeing association for the UAE. The system was activated in the UAE in 2017 when the Federal Customs Authority was nominated as the competent authority to approve certificates of vehicles and containers for the transport of goods under the TIR procedure.
Dubai Customs issued Customs Policy No 52/2021 on implementing the system. This policy defines the customs centres that apply the system, including all centres affiliated with the Air Cargo Centres Department and the Land and Sea Customs Centres departments. The policy also laid down the terms and conditions and procedures regulating the movement of goods under the carnet.
The usage of TIR is steadily growing across the UAE, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the wider Middle East region, as transport operators are increasingly seeing the benefits of the reduced transport times and lower costs brought by the system.
The activation of the system promotes Dubai’s sustainable foreign trade growth, enabling significant reductions in time and cost for trade operations carried out through this system. This, coupled with the integrated customs services and facilities provided by Dubai Customs to all Dubai-based trade operators, supports the realisation of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33)’s ambitious goals towards boosting Dubai’s trade in goods and services to AED25.6 trillion within the next decade.