“Hazza Al Mansouri” is an inspiring model...Sharjah H.E Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al Mehrezi Director General of Customs Department - RAK ... including the companies owned by the fed-

Successful leadership creates pioneer models and invests the Country’s resources in innovating and formulating inspiring youthful entrepreneur-ship that stimulate the youth minds and induce them to achieve the dreams, ambitions and future visions. This is what our wise leadership has recently achieved through dispatching the first Emirati astronaut “Hazza Al Mansouri” to the International Space Station.Whoever follows the reactions locally and globally, will figure out how “Haz-za Al Mansouri” has become a model of entrepreneurship and a dream for thousands of the youth at the level of Arab Countries, locally and internation-ally, as well as becoming a source of pride for millions of citizens, Arabs and the entire world.The exemplary model of “Hazza Al Mansouri” as an inspiring model for the youth is characterized by a set of traits, the most prominent of which is that it is a pure Arab national model that grew from the land of the UAE and be-longs to one of its public, not special, tribes and it also belongs to the youth category, which has the ability to give and the power to build.The model of “Hazza Al Mansouri” has succeeded in breaking down the bar-riers of what was impossible in the past, and confirmed the ability of our wise leaderships and the people of the UAE to achieve our dreams no matter how long (Zayed’s dream) they would takes, not with reliance upon a fake base of pink capabilities, but on the basis of realistic estimates of the UAE’s actual capabilities and scientific and methodological realistic steps.The success of the model of “Hazza Al Mansouri” as the first Emirati astro-naut means, in fact, transcending the boundaries of the UAE’s entrepreneur-ship of the Earth’s perimeter and its direction towards vast space, which is an important step in an ambitious plan to reach Mars. The UAE is planning to dispatch the “Hope probe” to the Red Planet by 2021, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the UAE.The space invasion and achievement of UAE’s leadership in this area, reach-ing Mars by 2021, in addition to the scientific reports about the possibility of existence of water on it, and the possibility of human transition to live there, will undoubtedly have long-term consequences for the future of Customs work in the world in terms of security and trade, which will induce us, from now, in the Customs Sector to think seriously about the future of the Customs relationship between the Earth and outer space or other planets, and the fea-tures of the future perception of the components of the Customs process and tools of implementation thereof, or what we might metaphorically call as the “Space Customs”.The insistence of our wise leadership to invest in science and to create hope among members of society and to move towards the future vigorously and seriously is one of the most important tools of progress and development that the UAE occupation of a leading position and place in the first row among the world’s major countries. We; in the UAE Customs Sector, will assume the responsibility and accelerate the pace to achieve the hopes and aspirations of our leadership and the people of the homeland in terms of the continues Customs entrepreneurship and creation of an innovative system for the Space Customs.

“Hazza Al Mansouri” is an inspiring model

Ali Saeed Alneyadi The 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 Saeed Matar Alneyadi

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 Corporation

- Umm Al Quwain

H.E Rashed Lahej Al MansooriDirector General of General Administration

Customs – Abu Dhabi

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

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 Buosaiba

Deputy Editor-in-chief: Ahmad Abdulla Bin Lahej

Executive Editor-in-chief: Hassan El Kamhawi

Legal Consultant: D. Ahmed Mohamed Albakr

Financial administration: Mohamed Almarzooqi

Marketing and Communication: Asmaa Alawadhi

Designer: Abu Omar

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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Manifest

12

“Dubai Customs”foiled smuggling million pills of “Captagon”within 10 days

1390’s Day of Customs


“Inspection and Monitoring Department”..Reinforces security and blockades prohibited sub-stances

26Window

20

The File

41%Woman representsof Authority staff

////

Under the presidency of Mansour bin Zayed ..“ The Ministerial Development Council “ discusses

the fines of the Unified National Number System�� Abu Dhabi (WAM)

During its meeting convened on last Sunday morning corresponding to 22 September at the Ministry of Presi-dential Affairs in Abu Dhabi under the presidency of HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, the Min-isterial Development Council reviewed the proposal of outsourcing governance in the federal government, in addition to a number of resolutions, initiatives and re-ports on the governmental affairs and development of the institutions in various sectors of the federal government.In detail, the Council discussed among its agenda the governance of outsourcing in the federal government through the development of an integrated system to reg-ulate the outsourcing procedures in the federal ministries and entities, including the companies owned by the fed-eral government to ensure the optimal utilization of the financial resources allocated for outsourcing, provide the required transparency in all matters pertaining to the data of the human resources employed in the federal entities under outsourcing, enhance the added value of outsourc-ing services to raise productivity and improve the servic-es level in the federal government and to optimize usage of the financial resources allocated for outsourcing.In terms of the regulatory affairs, the Council discussed the development of a manual for a System of simplify-ing and regulation of the procedures of charging and col-lecting common fees, which aims at unifying the federal and local bodies and standardizing the government fees imposed in the country, as well as regulating the collec-tion process thereof between the federal government and local governments, in order to enhance efficiency in pro-viding the public services.

The administrative fines arising from the unified nation-al number system for the customers in the UAE Cus-toms were also discussed. The system is administrated through a unified database for all import, export and customs clearance companies in the country, so that all companies and institutions are classified according to their extent of compliance with the legislations, laws and procedures in the country, which contributes to provid-ing facilitated and quick procedures for the companies committed to the legislations, laws and procedures in the country. On the other hand, it identifies the extent of seriousness of non-compliant companies and develops corrective plans to avoid the occurrence of the same vio-lations and bridge the gaps in the customs ports.In terms of the legislative affairs, the Council reviewed and discussed a number of resolutions in the frame-work of developing the government work, including the discussion of the UAE Solar Products Control System which aims at supporting the Country’s investment in the renewable energy sector and accelerating the transition to sustainable energy.The system relies on the development of mechanisms and requirements for regulating the renewable energy products, determining the manufacturers’ obligations and competencies of the concerned bodies, as well as determining the safety, testing, performance and product quality standards.With regard to the governmental affairs, the Council pe-rused and discussed within the agenda the proposal of developing the procedural guide of the recommenda-tions of the Federal National Council aiming at regulat-ing the procedures and mechanisms used by the subjects of discussion requests and recommendations issued by the Council.


Implementing UAE commonelectronic customs system

2 3Emirates CustomsEmirates Customs October 2019October 2019

Contents

Mohamed Bin Zayed and Xi Jinping witness signing ceremony

16 agreements and MOUs to strengthen UAE – China strategic partnership

�� Beijing (WAM)

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Com-mander of the UAE Armed Forces and His Excellency Xi Jinping, president of friend People’s Republic of China wit-nessed today the ceremony of signing agreements and memorandums of un-derstanding between the two countries, they cover defence, economic, commer-cial and environmental domains in ad-dition to education, customs and energy aiming at developing exhaustive strate-gic partnership and mutual cooperation between both countries as well as open-ing new horizons of mutual cooperation in various sectors.The ceremony of exchanging agree-ments and memorandums is also wit-nessed by H.H. General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Min-ister and Minister of the Interior, H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs

and International Cooperation, Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Airports Co., H.E. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, H.E. Suhail Bin Mohamed Faraj Almzaroui, Minister of Energy and Industry, H.E. Hussain Bin Ibrahim Alhammadi, Min-ister of Education, H.E. Noura bint Mo-hammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, H.E. Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Supreme Na-tional Security Council, H.E. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority State Presi-dent special delegate to the People’s Republic of China, and H.E. Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Under-Secretary of the Crown Prince’s Court of Abu Dhabi in addition to other senior state officials, H.E. Ali Obaid Ali Aldhaheri, Ambassador of the UAE to China and Ni Jian, Ambassador of China to UAE. Agreements and memorandums con-cluded between both countries includ-ed:

Agreement in defence and military co-operation field between the two coun-tries signed by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of For-eign Affairs and International Coopera-tion and H.E. Wi Ving Kha, Advisor of state of China Minister of Defence.Memorandum of understanding on environment preservation and protec-tion between UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and China Ministry of Ecology, signed by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Inter-national Cooperation and Li Kan JIa, Minister of Ecology and Environment.Memorandum of understanding on sci-entific and technological cooperation in artificial intelligence between “the Bu-reau of Artificial Intelligence” at UAE Prime Minister Office and China Min-istry of Science and Technology, signed by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and H.E. Wang Gi Kang, Chi-nese Minister of Science and Technol-ogy. Memorandum of understanding be-tween “the Bureau of Artificial Intelli-

gence” at UAE Prime Minister Office and china Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in self governing Mag-nolia government pertaining two food security projects and integrated garden for agriculture and livestock, signed by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Na-hyan and on Chinese side; H.E. Khan Chan Fu, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and Bu Chao Lin, Gover-nor self governing Magnolia in China.Memorandum of understanding be-tween UAE and China for encourag-ing Emirati and Chinese establishments commercial and economic cooperation with Africa, signed by H.E. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Econ-omy on behalf of UAE and H.E. Jong Chan, Minister of Trade on behalf of China.Memorandum of understanding on nu-clear energy use between UAE Minis-try of Energy and Industry and Energy National Administration in the People’s Republic of China, signed by H.E. Su-hail Bin Mohamed Faraj Al Mzaroui, Minister of Energy and Industry and H.E. Jang Gian Huwa, President of En-

ergy National Administration in China. Memorandum of understanding be-tween UAE Ministry of Education and the Institute of Confucius/ Hanban pertaining to incorporating Chinese language in state schools curriculum, signed by Hussain Bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education and H.E. Ma Jian Fai, Head of the Institute of Confucius/ Hanban.Memorandum of understanding be-tween the Department of Tourism and Antiquities and Chinese National Mu-seum, signed by H.E. Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Depart-ment of Economic Development and H.E. Wang Chon Fa, head of museum.Memorandum of understanding on en-ergy field between Abu Dhabi national Petroleum Co. “ADNOC” and Chinese National Offshore Oil Co. “CNOOC”, signed by H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, CEO , ADNOC and Group and Yang Hwa on behalf of the Chinese Co.Agreement between UAE Federal Cus-toms Authority and Chinese General Customs Administration on UAE au-

thorized economic operator program “AEO” and the Chinese Corporations Credit Administration, signed by H.E. Ahmed Bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and H.E. Ne Yu Ving, Chinese Customs Chairman.Memorandum of understanding between Abu Dhabi Global Market and Chinese National Committee on Reform and De-velopment, signed by H.E. Ahmed Bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and H.E. Khi Li Ving, Committee Chairman. Cooperation agreement between Abu Dhabi Global Market and “Everbright” Group on incorporating the Chinese group, having its financial and invest-ment centre in MENA, in Abu Dhabi Global Market, signed by H.E. Ahmed Bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and Li Chya Ping, Group Chairman. Agreement between Abu Dhabi Global Market and Chinese Nuclear National Corporation “CNNC”, pursuant to which the Corporation – biggest Chi-nese government owned corporation- incorporates a centre of treasury, finan-cial, operational and investment centre in Abu Dhabi Global Market, signed by H.E. Ahmed Bin Ali Al Sayegh, Min-ister of State and Yu Gian Ving, Chair-man of the Chinese Nuclear National Corporation. Memorandum of undertaking between Abu Dhabi Ports, Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Cooperation and Investment Company and the Industrial and Com-mercial Bank of China, signed by H.E. Falah Mohamed Al Ahbabi, Chairman of Urban Planning and Municipalities Department, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Ports and from Chinese side, Chin C Ching, Chairman of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Wang Vo, Chairman of Jiangsu Co. Memorandum of understanding be-tween Emirates Nuclear Energy Cor-poration and China National Nuclear Corporation “CNNC”, signed by H.E. Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, CEO, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and Yu Gian Ving, Chinese Corporation Chariman.Mutual research cooperation between Khalifa University of Science and Tech-nology and Tsinghua University of Chi-na, signed by Dr. Aref Sultan Al Ham-madi, Deputy CEO, Khalifa University of Science and Technology and Chio Young, Tsinghua University President.

Agreement on Authorized Economic Operator mutual recognition between

“Federal Customs” and China Customs



�� Abu Dhabi (WAM)

“China represents UAE’s most signifi-cant partner in non-oil commodities as it accounts for 9.7% of Emirates total non-oil trade during 2018,representing more than $ 43. UAE’s non-oil trade with China over last year, represent-ing 16% of UAE total foreign non-oil trade with Asian countries.” Said H.E. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy. In an interview with Emirates News Agency “WAM”, on the occasion of the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Com-mander of the UAE Armed Forces to China accompanies by senior-level del-egation, stated that China accounts for 15% of UAE total imports of commodi-ties during 2018 to assume the first rank in this area, which is denoted by more than $ 38 billion, he pointed out that China accounts for 27% of total UAE imports from Asia continent and China is ranked as the 11th country worldwide in receiving non-oil exports as well as in re-export commodities from UAE. “Emirates is among a list of 25 coun-tries attracting Chinese exports and the first among Arab countries as it ac-counts for 29% of China total exports to Arab countries. Furthermore, UAE

is the first and most significant trade partner to China as it accounts for 26% of total non-oil trade among China and Arab countries.” He added. He explained that UAE accounts for 36% of China advanced technologies exports to Arab countries and is listed internationally within a list of 20 coun-tries, and accounts for 1.1% of China total exports of this commodities cate-gory worldwide as UAE non-oil exports to China represents 16% of total Arabic non-oil exports to China during 2018.H.E. added that State wise leadership, embodied in His Highness Sheikh Khal-ifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of state “May Allah Preserve him”, is keen on developing bilateral relation with China, exerting more efforts to advance this relation to achieve the interests of both friend countries and people in vari-ous areas to embark on comprehensive strategic partnership.As regards to intended UAE-China projects to be implemented ahead, Al Mansouri said that the coming phase will witness furtherance of cooperation in significant fields to both countries, that serve their development agendas including renewable energy, space, knowledge economy, small and me-dium enterprises to name a few among vital and significant sectors, as well as other magnificent projects in infrastruc-

ture and logistics in progress under the blanket of cooperation plans and de-velopment projects of “Belt and Road” initiative.Regarding the growth of Chinese tour-ists visiting Emirates last year.. Al Man-souri said “Emirates is the preferred destination of Chinese tourists thanks to modern and advanced tourism cen-ters, historical regions within state, it is also one of the best tourism destinations worldwide and significant hub of lei-sure, cultural, sports and shopping tour-ism in addition to organizing events and festivals as well as state-of-the-art avia-tion network covering all the world and linking together its ends which rendered Emirates Chinese tourists preferred des-tination. As well, having more than 75 flights weekly between the countries and reciprocal visa exemption pro-moted bi-directional tourism where the number of guests in hotel facilities in China amounted to 1.46 million guest to rank Chinese market as the 4th posi-tion in terms of hotel facilities guests in UAE during the same year. Recalling on the most significant eco-nomic and trade cooperation agree-ments between UAE and China.. The minister of Economy said: “The two friend countries signed many bilateral cooperation agreements during last phase to strengthen comprehensive

strategic partnership. During his visit to UAE in July 2018, H.E. Xi Jinping, president of China, signed 13 coopera-tion agreements and memorandums of understanding to strengthen strategic partnership and cooperation between them and opening new horizons to work together in various sectors.” Said Al Mansouri.“The agreements and memorandums of cooperation covers energy, e-commerce, agriculture, livestock and fishery areas and leverage of cooperation in China International Imports Exhibition in ad-dition to two memorandums of under-standing pertaining to the economic belt of silk road and maritime silk road initia-tive for the 21st century”. He added.About the number of Chinese compa-nies, agencies and trademarks within UAE, Al Mansouri said: “UAE hosts more than 4000 Chinese company, 327 commercial agency and about 6600 registered trademarks till 2017 end and opened four branches of four leading banks branches in UAE. Pertaining Chinese balance in the state and UAE investments in China, H.E. the Minister of Economy stated that China ranked seventh internationally among world countries investing in UAE with direct accumulated invest-ment balance till 2017 end amounting $ 4.6 with direct Chinese investment bal-

ance increment in UAE during last five years 2013-3017 representing 276% to increase its accumulated balance four folds; from $ 1.2 billion by 2013 end to $ 4.6 billion by 2017 end. Likewise, direct Chinese investments in UAE wit-

nessed annual increment till 2017 end in comparison with 2016 end representing 65.8%.Al Mansouri noted that Chinese invest-ments in UAE comprise broad sectors and economic activities mainly concen-trated in four sectors; wholesale, retail and vehicles repair which contributes to Chinese direct investments with 48.7% and with annual increment of 101%, followed by financial and insurance ac-tivities representing 33.5% of total Chi-nese direct investments in UAE with annual growth amounted 48.4%, then building and construction sector which represents 8% of total Chinese direct in-vestments in UAE with annual growth amounted 87.7% and finally real estate sector with 7.1% contribution total Chi-nese direct investments in UAE with annual growth amounted 29.5%.He highlighted that many UAE com-panies are operating in vital sectors in Chinese markets including ADNOC, Mubadala, Brouj, Emirates Aluminum, Imaar, Dubai Ports World, Danata and Union National Bank, running in criti-cal sectors as energy, renewable energy, offshore operations, financial services, industry, information technology and hospitality whose experience represents inspiring model to more projects, in-vestment cooperation during upcoming phase.

billionUAE non-oil trade with China in 2018

China accounts for 16% of Emirates non-oil trade with Asian countries

Above 50 agreements and memorandum of under-

standing between Emirates and China in 10 years

UAEis among 25 coun-tries attracting Chinese exports and the first rank-ing Arab country

accounts for 29% of China overall exports to Arab countries

hosts 4 thousand Chinese company, 237 agency and 6600 trademark



“FCA” to explore enhancement of coop-eration with “World Organization”

E-Learning Platform User License Signed

�� Abu Dhabi (Emirates Customs)

H.E. Ali Saeed Matar Al Neyadi, Customs Commissioner, Author-ity Chairman held talks with WCO delegation chaired by Ricardo Cha-pa, Deputy Secretary General, on spheres of mutual cooperation, ex-change of expertise, reviewing best practices and employing modern technologies in developing customs operations. In the course of visit, a license has been signed to use Or-ganization’s e-learning platform in UAE under Authority’s supervision.Events took place during H.E. recep-tion of Organization’s delegation in his office in Abu Dhabi whose visit wrapped up after 9th and 10th Oc-tober 2019 in presence of Ferdinand Demazerus, Strategic Plans Analyst in the Organization, H.E. Ahmed Abdualla Bin Lahej, Managing Di-rector of Customs Affairs Sector, Ahmed Abdulla Al Kheili, Authority Chairman Officer Manager and Soud Salim Al Aqroubi, International Re-lations Director. During their meeting, both parties discussed mutual customs coopera-tion areas, availing expertise, initia-tives and modern techniques adopted by WCO to develop customs indus-try worldwide, future cooperation areas in employing fourth industrial revolution technologies and smart applications as artificial intelligence in developing customs work in Emir-ates in the context of Emirates strat-egy 2071. As well, the delegation looked at Emirates best practices utilizing information technology in customs. The meeting addressed the possi-bility that UAE can avail WCO’s e-learning platform, the agreement on hosting customs capacity build-

ing regional office, free zones role in shoring up national economy and the manners of developing customs performance in these zones within the framework of free zones special zones international guidelines upon which organizations are endeavoring to reinforce these zones worldwide. The meeting has further reviewed Emirates arrangements to host AEO’s fifth world forum next March in Dubai.In press release, H.E. Ali Al Neyadi said that FCA is keen to reinforce

cooperation with strategic partners around the world and exchange ex-pertise in customs sector to back up state’s customs sector efficiency. He pointed out that WCO is one of the most prominent strategic customs partners to UAE. H.E. applauded the level of coop-eration between emirates and WCO, technical support rendered by the Organization to Emirates customs development journey and asserted Emirates keenness to support the initiatives adopted by WCO to re-

inforce customs transparency and integrity, promote customs sector security and trade role worldwide and blockade international smug-gling, fraud and forfeit gangs. He expressed states preparedness to exchange its adopted expertise and best practices with customs admin-istrations globally under the super-vision and auspice of the Organiza-tion. In his turn, Ricardo Chapa, Deputy Secretary General, expressed his gladness to visit Emirates and ap-preciated the level of development witnessed by customs sector in the state and its supreme capacity to employ modern technologies and techniques to promote performance level in customs ports in addition to its proactive approach and long term strategic planning.

WCO delegation’s two days visit to state customs sector included sev-eral meetings and events as their meeting with H.E. Mohamed Juma Buosaiba, Authority Director Gen-eral where they explored Emirates common customs strategy and areas of cooperation between the Organi-zation and the Authority in this do-main in presence of H.E. the Man-aging Director of Customs Affairs and a number of Authority’s Depart-ments directors. As well, WCO’s e-learning platform license was signed, It will be located within Abu Dhabi Customs under administration and supervision of the Authority. The platform incor-porates more than 100 training pro-gram in Arabic and English address-ing customs and world trade running through Organization’s website.

Ali Al Neyadi meets Ricardo Chapa in Abu Dhabi

Ali Al Neyadi: State augments Organization

initiatives to reinforce customs transparency and integrity

globally

Ricardo Chapa: State customs sector

demonstrates superior capacity to employ technology and

modern techniques


Abu Dhabi Police arrested group of workers in a truck at Khatm Al Shakla Port, Al Ain city, including a number of women while attempting to get into state illicitly.Abu Dhabi police received security information of an in-trusion attempt of 18 workers through the port according to which coordination took place with Abu Dhabi General Cus-toms Directorate to arrest the intruders.Abu Dhabi Police appreci-ated the cooperation of strate-gic partners and their fruitful efforts which contributed to the arrest process, it affirmed that no tolerance with anyone who might be tempted to ma-nipulate nation security and safety. It also pointed out that such instances result in sever risks raising the magnitude of threats and crimes up to mur-der, theft and violation against which state takes procedures.

“Abu Dhabi Police” arrests 18 intruders through a port in Al Ain



�� Riyadh (Emirates Customs)

The GCC Customs Union Author-ity held its 22nd meeting on Monday corresponding to 16 September at the headquarters of the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Ri-yadh.The meeting was chaired by His Excel-lency Colonel Khalifa bin Ali bin Nass-er Al Siyabi, Chairman of the Customs Union Authority of the GCC Countries in the current session and Director General of Customs in the Sultanate of Oman, with the participation of Their Excellences members of the Authority, His Excellence Abdul Malik bin Saleh Al Sheikh, Head of Economic Affairs Sector in the GCC Secretariat Gen-eral and representatives of the Member States.During the meeting, the UAE delega-tion was headed by His Excellency Mo-hamed Juma Buosaiba, Director Gen-eral of the Federal Customs Authority, and the delegation involved Mohammed Mir Abdulrahman Al Sarrah, Director of the Sea Ports and Customs Depart-ment - Sharjah, Abdullah Mohammed Al Khamiri, Director of the Customs Affairs at the General Administration of Customs - Abu Dhabi, Ibrahim Hassan. Al-Jarwan, Director of the GCC Affairs Department at the Ministry of Finance, Abdullah Al-Humairi, Director of the Origin Department at the Ministry of Economy and from the Authority; Ali Rashid Al-Zanhani, Director of the

Legal Affairs Department and Majid Obaid Al Suwaidi, Director of the Cus-toms Policy Department.During the meeting, several subjects have been discussed, including imple-mentation of the Resolution of the Supreme Council in its 17th consulta-tive meeting on the completion of the requirements of the Customs Union, report of the Secretariat General on the automatic direct transfer of customs duties, results of the meeting of the Automatic Direct Transfer Committee on Customs Duties, the authorized eco-nomic operator and GCC railway proj-ect, as well as a number of the subjects of common interest among the Member States.The attendants agreed upon the imple-mentation of practical steps to facili-tate the procedures applicable in the inter-ports, contribute to facilitation of the passengers’ movement and com-mercial traffic, and development of the information exchange platform at the GCC Countries level; which will result in accuracy in the statistics pertaining to the follow-up of the trade exchange volume. The authorized economic op-erator has been also adopted, which will contribute to qualifying the companies

and factories to negotiate and develop the exports of these factories from the neighboring countries. His Excellency/ Mohamed Buosaiba said that the delegations of the Member States perused the memorandum of the Secretariat General on the authorized economic operator and the results of the workshop that has been held last June at the headquarters of the Secretariat General in Riyadh. The also agreed to develop a unified program for the au-thorized economic operator at the GCC Countries level under the title “Gulf au-thorized Economic Operator”, in a man-ner that enhances the security and safety of the supply chain and facilitates the customs procedures, taking into con-sideration what has been agreed upon within the framework of the standards of security and facilitation of the supply chain in international trade approved by the World Customs Organization and the applicable programs with the Mem-ber States in this field.His Excellency added that : “The Au-thority assigned the work team of the authorized economic operator to devel-op a unified manual for the authorized economic operator, including unified standards for the operation of the au-

thorized economic operator program, to be implemented at the GCC Countries level, provided that the manual shall in-clude unified standards, conditions and requirements for the qualification as an authorized economic operator, provided that the digital standards shall be op-tional and at the level of each country to meet its needs and the benefits granted under the authorized economic operator program as agreed upon by the customs authorities of the Member States, in ad-dition to developing a unified mecha-nism for verification and dealing with the data and information provided by the beneficiaries and a unified method-ology for governance, monitoring and follow-up, as well as formulation of the consolidated forms required in this re-gard”.The meeting also recommended sign-ing a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in a common manner with the countries and international economic blocks, identifying the authorized en-tities at the Customs Administrations’ level in the GCC Countries for manag-ing the authorized economic operator program as a focal point and working on the participation of the other govern-ment agencies, especially those related to the non-customs restrictions among the delegations of the Member States, as well as considering the participation of the Private Sector’s representatives to enhance the beneficiaries from the program.The participants in the meeting called

for orientation and training programs to benefit from the authorized economic operator program, in coordination with the World Customs Organization, to allow the program replaces the imple-mented programs at the level of Mem-ber States, and to assign the work team of the Gulf authorized economic opera-tor to align the obligations arising from these programs, as well as assigning the responsibility for following-up the exe-cution of the authorized economic oper-ator program and development thereof and treatment of the probable problems to the work team of the authorized eco-nomic operator by the Financial & Eco-nomic Cooperation Committee. The meeting induced the Member States to manage and exchange the data of the authorized economic operator program at the GCC Countries level automati-cally among the Member States through the Customs Information Center, and to assign the operator’s work team to dis-cuss the implementation mechanism of the authorized economic operator pro-gram in a detailed manner and to raise the findings to the Authority in a next meeting.With regard to the automated direct transfer system of the customs duties among the GCC Countries, the Member States emphasized during the meeting the necessity to commit to the process-ing and transfer of amounts due from them for the years from 2015 to 2018, as declared by the Customs Union Au-thority in its previous meeting.

The Customs Union Authority holds its 22nd meeting in Riyadh

Implementing practical steps to facilitate the inter-port procedures to ensure the flow of com-mercial goods and pas-senger movement.

A Unified Gulf Program for the Authorized Economic Operator

Combating Harmful PracticesThe Technical Secretariat Of-fice for Combating Harm-ful Practices in International Trade in the GCC Countries held a joint meeting at the headquarters of the Secretariat General of the Gulf Coopera-tion Council in Riyadh between the Standing Committee for Combating Harmful Practices in International Trade and the GCC Customs Union Authority under the presidency of Colonel Khalifa bin Ali Al Siyabi, Direc-tor General of the Customs in the Sultanate of Oman and in the presence of representatives of the Customs Union Authority and members of the Standing Committee.The meeting discussed the Technical Secretariat paper on the effects arising from non-cooperation in the implementa-tion of fees to combat harmful practices in international trade, and how to reach a number of recommendations in this re-gard.



Detected in boat and wooden ship caches

�� Dubai (Emirates Customs)

Just within 10 days, Dubai Customs de-livers two strikes to drug smuggling gangs seeking illicit profits on the account of state nationals, future and development process. Dubai Customs achievement of such strikes and success in combating smug-gling, as one of its key strategic objec-tives, are powered by set of key factors the most prominent of which are implement-ing smart applications and modern tech-nologies – as smart risk engine- which promote customs activities, reinforcing customs risk and intelligence manage-ment scheme, high caliber of inspectors, accumulation of their extensive expertise in combating smuggling and blockading smugglers, detecting or anticipating latest methods of smuggling in addition to ef-fective coordination with local and inter-national strategic partners on top of which customs departments, Ministry of Interior as well as police and security institutions. Fuel Tank“World Day Against Drug Operation”, it is the name called upon a quantum seizure whereby Dubai Customs thwarted smug-gling 800 thousand Captagon pills to the country, concealed in a boat fuel tank. “In the course of their daily monitoring of inward trucks through emirate’s ports, customs intelligence officers, utilizing smart risk engine system developed by Dubai Customs, suspected a truck com-ing to Jebel Ali Port, containing a boat shipped from an Arab country through Jebel Ali Port.” Said Dubai Customs.Accordingly, a taskforce was formed by (Special Tasks) Division staff within Cus-toms Intelligence Department and Cus-toms Officers in Jebel Ali inspection center to track the truck precisely. Upon screen-ing the truck using the advanced contain-ers screening instrument, they found ab-normal density and hence they handled the matter, took all precautions and proce-

dures with assistance of K9 unit within Dubai Cus-toms Technical Support for inspection operations. Dedicated team, in presence of concerned parties and relevant personnel, disman-tled the fuel tank to find big quantity of transparent bags having (“L” featured trade mark) printed thereon where each bag contains a number of Captagon pills totaling (800) thousand pill amounting more than AED 3 million. In mutual cooperation and coordination between Dubai Customs and Dubai Police GHQ seizure report, seized substances and relevant parties were handed over to the General Department of Anti-Narcotics for necessary action. Second StrikeThe second strike punched by Dubai Cus-toms to smugglers took place within the first week of last August as they seized 274 thousand “Captagon” pills packed in 137 plastic bag concealed in wooden ship. Smugglers, under illusion, assumed that they can deceive Dubai Customs by con-cealing drugs in a cache within ship en-gine fuel tank surrounded by huge amount of diesel upon and around to conceal its

characteris-tics thinking that inspec-tors may not detect their trick nor find the concealed substance, particularity under about 60 C temperature within the ship, but all their dreams became nightmare due to the ad-vanced training and nimble of Dubai Cus-toms officers who impeded their crime.It all started when the inspector observed, by interpreting body language, discom-fort signs on vessel’s captain despite all attempts to pretend stability, after such insistence and discomfort the inspector deeply inspected the vessel and headed to fuel tank directly guided by his inspection expertise. When he observed such quan-tity of diesel surrounding the tank area, his doubts were asserted as he found the cache containing two black bags with 274 thousand “Captagon” pills packed in 137 plastic bag. By questioning the captain about the bags he denied any knowledge about them and accordingly, vessel crew and drug consignment were handed over to the General Department of Anti-Nar-cotics in Dubai Police. This is the second quality seizure in terms of value, weigh and quantity when com-pared to drug seizures of the Coastal Cus-toms Centers Management over recent years whereas customs officers of the Coastal Customs Centers Management seized 783.8 thousand “Captagon” nar-cotic pills packed in 719 bag concealed in machineries during 2018, while total drug seizures achieved by the Department amounted 8 seizures within the same year.

Woman represents of Authority staff

“FCA” celebrates the contributionof Emirati woman


Federal Customs Authority cel-ebrated last Wednesday, 28th Au-gust, Emirati Woman Day under the theme “Woman is the sample of tolerance” in the context of state celebrations of Emirate woman and its vibrant contribution to roll-ing the wheel of development, building future and serving our nation under auspice of our wise leadership. On the occasion, H.E. Ali Saeed Matar Al Neyadi, Customs Com-missioner, Federal Customs Authority Chairman related : “Thanks to our prudent leadership directives and everlasting sup-port of H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak “Mother of Emirates”, Emirates could construct world class model based on religious, heritage, genuine Emirates norms and customaries to support and empower Emirates woman in all areas and sectors, so that woman became key and effective partner in the process of development, advancement and building of fu-ture”. He pointed out that enabling woman in work, leadership and pioneering represents an integral part of development and build-ing process adopted by our pru-dent leadership from the outset of union state established by the founding fathers, he highlighted that Emirati woman, undoubtedly, proved its commitment to assume responsibility and vested with po-

tentials, capacities and capabilities of innovation and creativity to an incomparable level in the region and world.H.E. Ali Al Neyadi clarified that woman is a key and significant pil-lar in customs work in our country, he pointed out that woman became a partner in decision making with-in customs sector, having promi-nent touch in customs inspection, innovation and creativity.

He added: “The Authority deeply believe in woman capacity to give and innovate in customs work therefore, woman represents more than 41% of Federal Customs Authority organization structure, while it accounts for 46% of lead-ership posts within the Authority”.Addressing Authority female staff and Emirati woman in general, His Excellency Customs Commission-er extended his congratulations on the occasion saying: “Emirati woman proved her competence to work from the standpoint of her loyalty and love to her country as well as her giving, accomplishing achievement after another, today woman is role model of sacrifice and giving by oblation of their sons in the niche of martyrdom to preserve nation security, maintain its stability and build its future”.

Ali Al Neyadi: Emirati woman is a key and

magnificent pillar in state customs work

/////

“Dubai Customs” foiled smuggling million pills of “Captagon” within 10 days



The General Administration of Cus-toms in Abu Dhabi adopts a five-year plan aimed at facilitating trade, en-hancing security, maximizing rev-enues, developing the organizational structure, improving the performance and productivity of human resources, and employing IT and intelligent ap-plications to improve customs perfor-mance in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the UAE, thus enhancing the UAE’s position in global competitive-ness indicators.Rashed bin Lahej Al Mansoori, Direc-tor General of General Administration of Customs in Abu Dhabi, said in an exclusive interview with Emirates Customs magazine that Abu Dhabi Customs aims from the five-year stra-tegic plan 2019-2023 to be a world leading customs authority, leading change in order to enhance security, facilitate trade and provide distin-guished services though cooperation with partners to ensure the security and protection of society and econom-ic prosperity by facilitating legitimate trade across all outlets of the Emirate in accordance with applicable laws

and legislations.His Excellency added that the five-year strategic plan includes six strate-gic axes with seven objectives aiming at contributing to making Abu Dhabi the preferred destination for import and export at the regional level, im-proving revenue collection through assessment and checking goods, and building and strengthening partner-ships with the public and private sec-tors, in addition to contributing to enhance security by effective man-agement of risks related to the move-ment of goods.His Excellency explained that in or-der to achieve the objectives and axes of the five-year strategic plan of Abu Dhabi Customs, fifty three projects have been approved within fourteen strategic programs to achieve such goals, pointing out that one of the main axes for the development of customs outlets of the General Direc-torate of Abu Dhabi Customs is to en-gage the AI ecosystem in the customs

processes as it is a revolution in itself, focusing on two main axes, namely the qualified human element, intel-ligent systems and linking them with strategic partners.HE Rashid Al Mansouri pointed out that the Emiratization index in the General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs reached 97% and that the percentage of Emiratization in cus-toms centers reached 100%, stressing that Abu Dhabi Customs is concerned to empower women and enhance their role in customs work in the Emirate.The following is the text of the inter-view:

X What are the main achievements of Abu Dhabi Customs during the first half of current year 2019?

During the first half of 2019, 80% of the annual plan of Abu Dhabi Cus-toms were completed, and 83% of the strategic objectives of this plan were achieved. We also worked on the study of the functional needs taking into account to bridg the gaps in the organizational structure of Abu Dhabi Customs in line with the specialties and qualifications of the employees.

X Abu Dhabi Customs announced an ambitious five-year plan for comprehensive strategic transfor-mation during the period 2019-2023 .. What are the character-istics of this plan? What are its strategic objectives, program and projects?

This is true, the five-year strategic plan has been announced to highlight the position that Abu Dhabi Customs will take in the next five years starting from this year, especially with regard to trade facilitation and security mea-sures, revenue management, organi-zational structure, human resources and information technology, and set-ting the priorities thereof and ways to achieve them.In this plan, Abu Dhabi Customs vi-sion has been defined to be a world leading customs authority, leading change to enhance security, facilitate trade and provide outstanding servic-es. Abu Dhabi Customs mission has been reformulated to provide for that the Directorate works with partners to ensure security and protection of so-ciety and its economic prosperity by

facilitating legitimate trade across all outlets of the Emirate according to the applicable laws and legislations.As for the objectives of the five-year strategic plan, six strategic axes have been established, including seven objectives aiming at contributing to making Abu Dhabi the preferred des-tination for import and export at the regional level, improve revenue col-lection by assessment and audit of goods, and build and strengthen part-nerships with the public and private sectors, as well as contributing to the security of the country through effec-tive management of risks related to the movement of goods, and achieve op-erational excellence and optimization of resources in order to reduce costs through the imposition of transparent and easy processes. They also aim at improving the organizational struc-ture, strengthening governance and work culture and attracting, develop-ing and maintaining human resources, in addition to adopting an advanced IT and applications infrastructure.As widely known, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has scored the first rank in fa-

cilitating cross-border trade, with the goal of being among the top 5 coun-tries in the world in trade facilitation.It is worth mentioning that to achieve the objectives and axes of the five-year strategic plan of Abu Dhabi Cus-toms, 53 projects have been approved in 14 strategic programs to achieve such goals.

X What is the position of the de-velopment of customs outlets compared to the comprehensive strategic transformation Plan? What are the developmental axes, mechanisms and tools adopted by Abu Dhabi Customs on the out-lets in the framework of the said plan?

One of the main axes for the develop-ment of customs outlets of the Gener-al Directorate of Abu Dhabi Customs is the introduction of artificial intel-ligence system in customs operations as it is a revolution in itself. Accord-ing to the strategic plan, these customs outlets development plan includes two main axes: qualified human ele-ment and intelligent systems and link-ing them with strategic partners.

X What is the contribution of Abu Dhabi Customs in supporting the security system of the Abu Dhabi Emirate in particular and the UAE in general? What are the characteristics of the risk man-agement process in Abu Dhabi Customs?

Abu Dhabi Customs contributes to supporting the security system by de-terring risks related to the national, health, environmental and customs security, such as risks affecting the security and stability of the country, such as weapons and explosive ma-terials and risks affecting the health of the citizen, including smuggling of drugs and illegal drugs, as well as risks affecting the environment, in-cluding ozone-depleting gases in ad-dition to risks resulting from cheating, commercial fraud and other risks such as human resources, infrastructure and others risks.

A five-year strategytakes Abu Dhabi Customs

to the world class

Rashed Lahej Al MansooriDirector General in a Special Interview

6 axes, 7 objectives and 53 projects within 14 programs to develop the customs system in Abu Dhabi

Employing artificial intelligence, blockchain and chat bot to develop outlets and provide intelligent services

Interviewer – Hassan Elkamhawi


Interview

X What is the average clearance time in Abu Dhabi Customs? What is the management plan to reduce this average to achieve the slogan of trade facilitation?

We at Abu Dhabi Customs have worked to divide the time required for customs clearance into three cat-egories, so that each time shall have a target and indicator measuring the progress in its completion. This divi-sion includes the following:Waiting time: means the time of the customer’s journey since the arrival of the shipment to the customs outlet until the receipt by the owner or his legal authorized representative.Time of release: means the time of customs in addition to the time of registration bodies.Clearance time: The time of cus-toms only regarding procedures and inspection. We have achieved an average of 12 minutes to clear the shipment. This figure is less than the global average, the matter which re-flects the level of progress made by Abu Dhabi Customs in facilitating customs procedures and the extent of facilitation provided to exporters and importers.As widely known, customs clearance of shipments depends on the speedy completion of the procedures for the partners in the process of releasing restricted goods. To achieve such objective, the General Directorate of Abu Dhabi Customs has signed sev-eral agreements related to improving the level of services with all strate-gic partners to ensure the quality and high efficiency in the release of the restricted shipments in short time which only takes a few minutes. This is what we have recently witnesses in the positive results, and we would like to thank the strategic partners for their cooperation and interaction in the execution of the strategic plan

of Abu Dhabi Customs. X What is the plan or program of Abu Dhabi Customs in the uti-lization of modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and big data in de-veloping an information technol-ogy infrastructure and customs work at Abu Dhabi Customs?

In terms of training and innovation, we have employed virtual reality techniques in training on customs processes and used the feature of ar-tificial intelligence in the evaluation of training objectives. We have also taken the initiative to higher levels aimed at using all components of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to sup-port innovative projects within Abu Dhabi Customs.Our IT officials are developing a unified trading window linked to specialized blockchain platforms in line with the applicable standards and policies applied to ensure safe use, providing a huge data platform that combines vital data into a single

system and translates them into in-teractive screens supported by arti-ficial intelligence tools to support decision-making. ChatBot tools are being provided to easily support in-telligent and sophisticated services, as well as the transition from tradi-tional infrastructure to cloud infra-structure.

X What is the mechanism of Abu Dhabi Customs to raise the ef-ficiency of employees, especially the category of customs inspec-tors? How have many training courses been organized in 2019, and what are the main axes of these courses?

Abu Dhabi Customs is working to raise the efficiency of employees, especially inspectors through main axes represented in qualifying new employees and raising the efficiency of customs inspectors, where new employees appointed in the Di-rectorate of Customs are assigned customs duties within elementary courses containing a range of spe-

cialized customs programs and a range of support programs along with a range of training programs that raise their personal skills.The efficiency of customs inspec-tors at customs centers is also raised by identifying training needs of each customs center according to updated laws and regulations. Accordingly, a training plan is designed that includes specialized training programs in cus-toms and security fields with a set of supporting programs that qualify them to customs work within the best international practices, taking into ac-count raising the level of service pro-vided in the centers to distinctive ser-vice level. All of this is done through a selection of full-time and part-time in-house trainers with excellent expe-rience as well as in cooperation with some strategic partners and external expertise houses.As for the training courses in 2019, about 71 training courses have been organized so far, ranging from cus-toms sciences, support programs and

personal skills courses, as well as customs data auditing, institutional port security, vehicle inspection using CT30 inspection equipment and anti-trafficking in wildlife and many other specialized courses.The issue of Emiratization is a strate-gic objective for Abu Dhabi Customs.. What are the indicators and figures of Emiratization in Abu Dhabi Cus-toms? What has Abu Dhabi Customs done to empower Emirati women in the Emirate’s customs sector? What are the tools of Abu Dhabi Customs in attracting and developing human resources?

X The percentage of Emiratization in Abu Dhabi Customs Centers is currently 100%, and 57 young qualified Emiratis have been em-ployed in the directorate since the end of 2018 till now, making the Emiratization index at 97%, which is one of the highest rates of Emiratization in government agencies.

With regard to the empowerment of

women, 23 Emirati women have re-cently been hired to achieve one of the most important human resources goals, which is to raise the number of women Cadre in Abu Dhabi Customs.As to the attraction of human re-sources, the General Directorate of Customs aims at more participation in recruitment fairs to attract national talents, especially young ones, where we participated in two previous fairs under the sponsorship of the Human Resources Authority and Zayed Uni-versity. We will keep in mind more participation as well as activate com-munication channels to attract more human investments.

X It was recently agreed to imple-ment a unified customs electronic system in the UAE. What is the role of Abu Dhabi Customs in this area?

It has been agreed to implement a uni-fied customs system at the country’s level and Abu Dhabi Customs signed an agreement of understanding with the Federal Customs Authority.


Interview

The Director General said that the Community’s initiatives of the Au-thority embody the humanitarian principles upon which the UAE relies, which were founded by the founding fathers through a long march for long years, and he pointed out that these principles boost the human value over the material value.The activities carried out by the Au-thority varied to include cultural, se-curity, knowledge, awareness, health, environmental, legal and sport ac-tivities for the purpose of spreading knowledge, enhancing the UAE and Arab identity, educating the com-munity on the health harms and the negative effects of drugs on youth and community and emphasizing the ne-cessity to care for the health and to in-

volve people of special needs therein, in addition to educating the students of universities and schools on the intellectual property rights, sharing the laborers the celebration of their World Labor Day and the teachers on the World Teachers’ Day as well, spreading the values of tolerance and peace among members of community, supporting literacy efforts and com-bating diabetes, in addition to promot-ing the values of patriotism, affiliation and giving to the homeland through celebrating the National Martyr Day during the last quarter of the year.The events have been carried out in collaboration with a number of gov-ernmental and semi-governmental strategic partners and the private sec-tor, including Ministry of Health and

Social Protection, Ministry of Com-munity Development, Ministry of Education, Dubai Police, UAE Red Crescent, UAE Board on Books for Young People, Centers for People of Special Needs and People of Deter-mination, a number of Universities, schools, Sharjah Charity Association, Irada Rehabilitation and Treatment Center, Al Ihsan Charity Association, in addition to the Special Olympics World Games - Abu Dhabi 2019, Prime Medical Center and other pri-vate sector institutions.Regarding the details of the initiatives, Kholoud Al Suwaidi, Chief Execu-tive Officer (CEO) at the Government Communication Department and the person in charge of the Community Events Initiative at the Authority, said that in the year of tolerance, the Government Communication Depart-ment is keen to promote the spirit of voluntarism among the Authority’s employees through encouraging them to participate in the events approved during the month of Ramadan 2019. They have participated in convening a number of charitable and awareness events, including “Ramadan Aman 8” in coordination with Al Ihsan Char-ity Association. The Authority’s staff have participated in thirteen events to distribute breakfast boxes to the fast-ers throughout the event, in a number of locations in Dubai, Sharjah and Aj-man.9 members of the Authority’s youth team also participated in “Ramadan without Accidents” initiative, in co-operation with Dubai Police General Headquarters, so that breakfast meals were distributed to the fasters and they were educated on the dangers of accidents in Muhaisnah area in Dubai.Also, a number of Authority’s em-ployees participated in humanitarian and medical initiatives and Rohingya Children and Women Relief Initia-tive, in cooperation with the UAE Red Crescent, as they participated in “breaking the fast of a faster” event in the grand mosque in Muhaisnah area and a number of 100 meals have been distributed in the labor accommoda-tion area of “Sonapur” in Dubai.

eventsthat enhance the community responsibility of “Federal Customs”

Being implemented within 9 months in collaboration with the partners


The Federal Customs Authority ex-ecuted 12 community events within the framework of its annual plan for the societal events within the first nine months from 2019, with a percentage of 67% of the targeted events during the entire year amounting to a number of 18 targeted events. His Excellence/ Mohamed Juma Buosaiba, Director General of the Authority, stated that the Authority’s keenness to implement these events stems from the directives and prin-ciples of the UAE Vision 2021, within the framework of enhancing the role of Government institutions in serv-ing the community and establishing the values of giving, volunteering and

cooperation among the employees in these institutions.He added that execution of these ini-tiatives reflects the Authority’s keen-ness to promote the societal responsi-bility, spread the spirit of volunteerism and positive participation among the employees and highlight the Author-ity’s role in the field of social and charitable work, as well as raising the level of community happiness.He resumed: “The Authority worked throughout the year to execute a num-ber of voluntary initiatives aimed at supporting the needy community groups, including citizens and resi-dents entirely, so that a scheduled plan has been developed to execute these initiatives on the due time”.Buosaiba pointed out that the commu-

nity’s initiatives aimed at establishing the values of goodness and encourag-ing the volunteerism as a constructive social behavior that contributes to consolidate the bonds of social rela-tions and to enhance the Authority’s commitment to the values of commu-nity responsibility, in addition to the embodiment of its mission, values, objectives and vision in supporting segments of the community and par-ticipation in the national and religious events, as well as motivating the com-munity and strategic partners in the private and public sector to do good and to consolidate the principles of social solidarity among the segments of community and promote the mean-ings of tolerance and cooperation among the partners.

Spreading the spirit of volunteerism and positive participation among the employees in order to raise the Community’s level of happiness.


Reports

Cementing security scheme, contributingto trade facilitation

Implementing UAE commonelectronic customs system�� Abu Dhabi (Emirates Customs)

In collaboration with local customs administrations, Federal Customs Au-thority initiated executive procedures to unify customs system across the United Arab Emirates and authorizing common customs electronic system within all local customs administra-tions and border zones to contribute to cementing security scheme, trade facilitation, simplifying clearing pro-cedures, expediting information and data. The honorable Cabinet authorize last June implementing common customs electronic system broadly in all cus-toms administrations in the state and its affiliated zones under supervision of the Federal Customs Authority. H.E. Ali Saeed Matar Al Neyadi, Customs Commissioner and Author-ity President said that implementing common customs system state wide contributes to achieving Emirates 2021 strategy objectives on two key pillars namely; Anchoring safe so-ciety rules and policies and building knowledge based competitive econ-omy, he pointed out that new com-mon customs system shall transform common customs strategic objectives to reality particularly with respect to reinforcing customs security scheme objectives to ensure seamless society security and developing customs op-erations to facilitate trade and travel-ers movement. H.E. referred that customs electronic

systems form the most effective tools in managing risk, customs control, clearing customs transactions and fa-cilitating goods flow and that unifying customs systems in the state is one of key security and customs require-ments of state common customs strat-egy.“Unifying customs systems in the country is the foundation for inte-gration among government entities, a key milestone in developing single window, constructing databases and information exchange within com-mon knowledge context agreed upon among all customs administrations in accordance with best international practices to satisfy customs and secu-rity purposes at the same time.” H.E. Authority President added. H.E. Al Neyadi clarified that imple-menting common electronic system all over the state will contribute to fulfilling the GCC Customs Union re-quirements by supporting the mecha-nism of direct transformation towards direct customs duties among GCC countries as implemented by Emirati initiative in November 2015, he drew the attention that implementing the new system will contribute to accom-plishing Al Azm Retreat outcomes be-tween the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia thanks to implementing the initiatives of Customs Union and Gulf Common Market, and tackling mutual trade ob-stacles between both countries as well as working on implementing (Paper-

less customs) initiative by activating and developing electronic integration in both countries and implementing single window to all entities existing in interfacing zones and implement-ing the Authorized Economic Opera-tor Program.H.E. recalled that the Federal Cus-toms Authority has conducted detailed study to customs systems implement-ed in the state by specialized subject matter experts committee in the Au-thority and local customs administra-tions which revealed dissimilarity of capacities in implemented systems in local administrations which cov-ers various areas the most promi-nent of which; risk management, ac-counts, clearing, revenue and level of cooperation in information and data exchange in addition to policies and laws, the Authority has also con-

ducted many international practices to avail from them which incorporated China, United Kingdom, Singapore and Sweden. Positive impactsIn the context talking about positive impact of new system implementa-tion, H.E. Ali Al Neyadi said that im-plementing the new electronic system will cement performance level, pro-mote compliance with customs proce-dures and security measures in border ports which will benefit local customs administrations, merchants, import-ers, exporters and cargo agencies by simplifying procedures, curtailing customs clearance time, speeding up cargo declarations, finalizing customs clearance operations, maximum ben-efit of available human resources in local departments, utilizing their po-tentials while contributing to reinforc-

ing inspection and searching system of imported and exported shipments, combating smuggling, illicit trading in goods and commodities and imple-menting international commitments towards trade and customs. H.E. states that common customs electronic system features sufficient resilience and capability of forward transition to fulfill future customs re-quirements and adjusting with mod-ern techniques and contemporary customs concepts including artificial intelligence, smart risk engine, Block-chain, compliance culture in commer-

cial supply chain, automation, and post clearance audit. “Common electronic customs system augments federal system of tracking air and maritime consignment pre-cisely all over the state in addition to reinforcing early disclosure system, diminishing human faults, promoting performance level in tracking travel-ers in land, air and maritime entry and exit points.” H.E. added. H.E. Authority President pointed out that Authority plan encompasses im-plementing common customs system on stages the first of which will cover two local customs departments that possess essential infrastructure and capabilities, he indicated that entire system implementation in all local departments will take up 26 months according to the proposed timeframe schedule.

Unifying systems form the key pillar of integration

among customs departments and a step ahead to single

window development

Ali Saeed Al Neyadi: Electronic systems, most

effective tools to control and clear customs transactions

and streamlining goods

The File


FCA has Signed Agreement and MOU with Abu Dhabi and Dubai Customs

In order to adopt Common Electronic Clearance System


The Federal Customs Authority signed, early last August, an agreement and memorandum of understanding with the General Customs Authority – Abu Dhabi and Dubai Customs under the framework of implementing common customs system in customs administra-tions and borders in the UAE. H.E. Mohamed Juma Buosaiba, Au-thority Director General, H.E. Rashid Lahej Al Mansouri, Director General, General Customs Authority - Abu Dha-bi and H.E. Ahmed Mahboub Musa-beh, Director General, Dubai Customs signed the agreement and memorandum of understanding in presence of H.E. Ahmed Abdulla Bin Lahej, Managing Director of Customs Affairs Sector, Ahmed Abdulla Al Keili, Office Man-ager of H.E. Customers Commissioner and Authority Chairman, Mubarak Al Mansouri, Managing Director of Cus-toms Operations Sector, Salim Al Ru-maith, Managing Director of Technical Affairs, Abu Dhabi Customs, Jumaa Al Ghaith, Managing Director of Customs Development Sector and Abdulla Al Khaja, Managing Director of Customs Management Sector, Dubai Customs. The signed agreement with Abu Dhabi Customs provides for implementing “Mirsal” system and its updates as elec-tronic Customs system in the emirate of Abu Dhabi under the supervision of the Authority in the context of state wide implementation of common customs system, while the memorandum of un-derstanding signed with Dubai Customs provides for utilizing and implementing the customs system implemented in the Department (Mirsal) as common sys-tem to be rolled out all across customs administrations in the state. On this occasion, H.E. Ali Saeed Matar Al Neyadi, Customs Commissioner and FCA Chairman said implementing common electronic system across the state denotes civilized quantum pace on customs journey within the country devised from wise leadership directives under honorable sponsorship of H.H.

Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs. His Excellency asserted that imple-menting common customs electronic system contributes to reinforcing cus-toms control and integrity, promoting customs administrations capacities in instantaneous information and data which bolsters the capacities of Author-ity and local administrations to mange borders in harmonious manner. He added that the agreement executed with Abu Dhabi customs aims at imple-menting “Mirsal” electronic system, applicable at Dubai Customs and its updates as common customs electron-ic system all over state which will be implemented at Abu Dhabi Customs to succeed current (Dhabi) system un Au-thority supervision and in the context of its plan to unify systems all over cus-

toms administration in the state. “The memorandum of understanding signed with Dubai Customs aims at implementing “Mirsal” customs sys-tem as common system in all customs administrations in UAE to augment trade facilitation and achieve Emirates government strategy national goals and national agenda”. He added. His Excellency appreciated the work-ing team in the Authority and local cus-toms administration for their endeavors exerted to achieve this historical pace, implementing state wide common cus-toms electronic system, pointing at the level of collaboration rendered by local customs administrations in this regard which emphasizes sincere willing to promote customs activities, raising na-tional perception, assuming responsibil-ity by customs sector taskforce within state.

Control FurtheranceH.E Mohamed Juma Buosaiba, Author-ity Director General, appreciated the lev-el of collaboration between the Authority and local customs departments thanks to which this such magnificent phase of cus-toms history in the state is achieved. He asserted that unifying customs systems and implementing common electronic system all over the state will positively impact performance, reinforce customs control over customs ports, dispatch in-formation and data exchange on inward and outward consignments which will, in turn, result in positive image of our country and its competitiveness in inter-national indices.H.E. emphasized that unifying customs systems within the country will con-tribute to facilitate trade, simplify pro-cedures, reinforce security scheme and unify security measures in all customs ports and further contributes to promot-ing the performance of risk manage-ment, building local administrative and technical capacities in customs admin-istration. H.E. said that unifying systems and implementing Mirsal customs clearance system is planned to take 26 months on two phases; first phase will comprise unifying systems and implementing Mirsal system In Abu Dhabi and Dubai customs within 16 months while the second phase will focus on implement-ing common systems in remaining local customs departments within the remain-ing ten months of set term. H.E. recalled that “Mirsal” customs systems, as updated, will be the com-mon customs system all over the coun-try based on technical benchmarking study of customs system implemented within state and worldwide.H.E. added that the study affirmed “Mirsal” system’s featured advantages in may customs cores whether in terms of technical or technological aspects including customs policies, laws and procedures as well as trade statistics, accounts and merchants management, cooperation with partners from customs departments and private sector, clear-ance, risk management, revenue, con-trol and sharing information and data.Authority Director General applauded the level of performance and develop-ment demonstrated by local customs departments in customs core activities in general and customs clearance and risk management in particular. He as-serted that UAE customs became inter-national model of customs development

and planning thanks to the outlook ap-proach, innovations and constructive ideas adopted by local customs depart-ments inspired by the directives and proactive vision of our prudent leader-ship.

Procedures SimplificationOn his turn, H.E. Rashid Lahej Al Man-souri, Director General, General Cus-toms Authority, on his part declared: “Signing the memorandum of under-standing with the Federal Customs Au-thority reflects General Customs Au-thority commitment towards Abu Dhabi Government Strategy in reinforcing

exerted endeavors to strengthen mutual cooperation and constructive solidarity among government entities to bolster customs scheme and promote govern-ment performance standards which positively impact maintaining society security, facilitating legal trade across borders and contributing to enhance UAE economic prosperity.“The memorandum of understanding executed with the Authority incorpo-rates facilitating customs procedures, exchange of information and data among Abu Dhabi affiliated customs zones, in-tegrating them to common system with other customs zones in other local cus-toms administrations organized by the Authority through developing unified mechanism bolstering electronic precise exchange of information so that cus-toms employees and clearing agents will be able to carry on customs procedures readily and simply as well as shrinking clearing time and developing the opera-tions of import, expert and re-export in all state zones”. Al Mansouri added.

Positive ImpactsOn his part, H.E. Ahmed Mahboub Musabeh, Director General, Dubai Cus-toms, demonstrated his appreciation to the role played by the Federal Customs Authority in developing customs all over the country and its efforts seeking unifying customs procedures in borders zones.H.E. asserted positive outcomes of common customs electronic system implementation pointing out that such significant step will contribute to speed up goods and travelers movements and developing customs risk management approach to facilitate competent author-ities taking proper decision on federal and local level in timely manner. He indicated that the directives of wise leadership in Emirates are the trigger of the achievements attained by customs sector in the state and adopting integrat-ed smart customs services approach that ha been appraised by WCO recently. He noted that implementing common cus-toms electronic system paves the road to new era or technological develop-ment and automation of customs clear-ance procedures towards reinforcing Emirates foreign trade.Notable to say that the honorable Cabi-net consented, last June, implementing common customs electronic system in all customs administrations in state and their affiliated zones under the supervi-sion of the Federal Customs Authority.

Ali Al Neyadi: Adoption of Common

Customs System, is considered as historical move towards

augmenting customs control and integrity and acceleration

of information exchange

Mohamed Buosaiba: Unifying systems

contributes to facilitate trade, simplify procedures, reinforce security scheme

and unify standards.

Rashid Al Mansouri: MOU with the Authority encompassing procedures

facilitation, data and information exchange among customs ports

Ahmed Mosabbeh: Prudent leadership

directives inspire customs industry achievements and its adaptation of integrated

smart services

The File


Awards and Certificates of Appraisal:

Government excellence award – Dubai Government Excellence Program 2015 – 2016

First rank in general happiness indicator – Dubai Smart City Office 2016

)Appraisal of “Columbus” mission diagnostic report (WCO 2013

Next Developments:

Blockchain

TradeSupply Chain

Robotic Automation

Post CustomsAudit

Artificial Intelligence

Forecast BasedRisk Engine

Complementary Systems:

Common Implementation:

Smart risk engine systemSmart workspace platformElectronic statistics systemContainers advanced screening systemAuthorized Economic Operator ProgramSmart refund platformSmart customs value projectSmart berthing systemSmart early disclosureSmart audit schemeSmart airports schemeVirtual goods storage guaranteeSmart customs operations chamber

Supervision and control:Federal Customs AuthorityExecution:Abu Dhabi Customs – Dubai Customs – Sharjah Customs – Ajman Customs – RAK Customs – Al Fujairah Customs

Clearance System

Samples of Rendered Services:

“Mirsal 2” system is an in-house integrated electronic system developed by Dubai Customs with their own efforts. The system was launched in 2009 to symbolize a quantum shift in customs sphere not only in the region but globally as well. “Mirsal 2” system features enormous capabilities and modern technologies that help finalizing customs transactions as swift as possible. The system targets facilitating and streamlining legitimate trade movement while maintaining security of community and economy and better promoting the level of customer services.

77% 96% Handles 96% of risk free declarations in less than two minutes

Totally paperless processing of transactions

Provides customs declarations on 247/ basis

Supports risk management processes

and ensures security

One-off electronic processing of documents without physical

move to customs premises

Approved customs declarations inquiry

Clearing customs declarations for import and export from customs warehouses

Amendment of Declarations

Customs declarations canceling request

Customs duty account opening request

Issuing new customs warehouse license

Air cargo agents registration

Claims of refunding deposits and other services

Encompasses integrated portal of customs clearance

smart services

Dispatches customsclearance

Contributes to promotingsupply chain security

in trade scheme

Exhaustive system providing various customs services

to customers

Reduces tradeoperations costs

A national solution innovated and developed by Dubai

Customs

Provides customs response within minutes

Saves of customs transaction lead time

Development Phases:

SmartTransition2018:2020

Developmentand Update2007:2018

Systems Automation1998:2007

Proactive ForecastInteractiveRisk Management

162 Million 243 Million83 MillionNo. of Transactions

9.6 Billion 14.6 Billion4.6 BillionMonetary Value AED

Mirsal

System Live Launching:

Launching second versionon 4th April 2010

Launching first versionearly January 2008

The File


emirates calibers in this vital industry.Inspection and Monitoring Department Director points out that the Department, within the context of discharging its tasks and responsibilities, carried out an integrated plan to support customs ports with its customs controllers, for the first time over state customs his-tory, where inspection and monitoring process is only limited to local customs departments inspectors and controllers which added new level of monitoring being federal monitoring over inspec-tion operations on goods and travelers’ luggage. The plan on supporting customs ports with federal controllers and inspectors incorporated four key phases, the first of which was in 2016 where customs ports were supported by 5% of Author-ity controllers, second phase in 2017 during which customs ports were sup-ported by 30% of Authority control-lers, while the third phased took place in 2018 where customs ports were sup-ported by 70% of Authority controllers and finally the last phase supported cus-toms port with 100% of Authority con-

trollers during H1, 2019. Within the context of his talk about the recent achievements of Inspection and Monitoring Department, Al Ban-nai said that the Department hit signifi-cant scores in inspection and monitor-ing field, the most prominent of which is the first customs assement of federal customs ports in the state based on a set of meaures as customs inspection pro-cedures, vocational security and safety, inspection isntruments, customs inves-tigation, seizure and retentions in addi-tion to operational efficeincy. As well, three years left witnessed sup-porting customs ports with state-of-the-art inspection and rays based screening instruments as the Department studied

instruments efficiency and its effective-ness in state ports, put in place condi-tions of operating these instruments in proper sites and provided inspection instruments relevant technical consul-tations. Total number of instruments provided by the Authority to local cus-toms ports, under the said support plan, amounted 534 devices ranging from container Mobile X-Ray, drugs and explosives detection, fixed and mobile backscatters, body scanner, baggage scanner, nuclear and atomic rays de-vices and measuring personal radiation doses instruments. To concrete Authority’s rile in inspec-tion and monitoring customs ports, In-spection and Monitoring Department assumed implementing the plan of de-ploying its federal customs controllers on customs ports as 13 controller were distributed on customs ports in the emir-ate of Abu Dhabi, 16 for the emirate of Dubai, 17 for the emirate of Sharjah and 5 for Ajman with a like number for Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Meanwhile, four controllers were deployed in Um Al Quwain emirate’s customs port to have a total 65 controllers deployed on customs ports within the state.Of the most magnificent achievements attained by the Department recently, its supervision on a number of customs sei-zure in many ports and its contribution to inspecting goods parcels and travel-ers in ports, which resulting in many customs seizures. In this context, Al Bannay revealed that the Department participated and supervised many dis-tinguished seizure amounting 56 in-stances in 2018 which included arrest-ing prohibited and restricted substances, weapons, explosives, drugs …etc.As well, the Department successfully discharged its mission within the con-text of customs compliance initiative aiming at intensifying customs moni-toring in different customs ports and concentrating on raising awareness of the risks of prohibited substances in co-operation with relevant entities. In terms of training, under the cover of Authority’s plan to support customs ports with latest instruments, the De-partment trained Critical Infrastructure and Borders Protection Authority’s in-dividuals on customs and inspection instruments mechanisms and trained lo-cal customs departments inspectors on the operation of new inspection instru-ments, rays risks and how to avoid them and advanced procedures of inspection.


The task of inspection and monitoring import, export and transit goods in state customs ports, in coordination with lo-cal customs departments, is considered a paramount responsibility among oth-ers mandated by the Federal Customs Authority Law No. (8) of 2015, a re-sponsibility integrated with by other responsibilities prescribed by the same law, the most prominent of which are setting such regulations, codes, rules and procedures regulating customs ac-tivities within the state, authorizing best practices and standards in customs and overseeing and monitoring their appli-cation by government departments. In this report, we will bring into focus the Inspection and Monitoring Depart-ment and highlight its achievements recently. Muteb Al Bannai points out that the assignments and responsibilities of In-spection and Monitoring Department, in accordance with the organization chart and Authority law No. (8) of 2015, are represented in monitoring the effec-

tiveness of inspection instruments, pro-moting the efficiency of their operators through specialized training sessions, raising awareness in vocational security and safety in customs inspection sites, setting remedial actions in accordance with monitoring and auditing standards in addition to developing and authoriz-ing utilized customs instruments in state ports as well as enhancing customs ports efficiency by supporting them with in-struments and inspection workforce.Al Bannai said that endorsing Author-ity’s organization chart after promulgat-ing the new law including the Inspection and Monitoring Department as a De-partment under Customs Affairs Sector within the Authority based on cabinet resolution No. 14 of 2016. So recently following Department establishment and formation, sate wise unified regula-tion of customs monitoring and control, defining the mechanism of control for the Authority and local customs depart-ments, was issued for the first time over customs history in the state.While customs licensing and instru-ments division undertakes audit and

control over utilized instruments in customs ports and ensuring their com-pliance with Authority’s approved stan-dards and specifications. In its turn, customs cases division investigates cus-toms cases (customs smuggling – cus-toms violations) referred to the division, submitting necessary recommendations thereupon to the senior management. Finally, customs safety and security follow up division is charged with rais-ing awareness on vocational health and safety and monitoring the standing of security and safety in customs ports.Al Bannai affirmed that Department total workforce amounts to 80 staff members which realized 100% of emi-ratization indicator. He highlights how keen is Authority’s senior leadership to emiratize customs inspection profes-sion entirely due to the significance of this profession in terms of security and trade and the magnificent role it plays in reinforcing development and stabil-ity journey as well as supporting state competitiveness in international indices and forums to accomplish prudent lead-ership directives aiming at promoting

“Inspection and Monitoring Department”..Reinforces security and blockades prohibited substances

Implementing key four phased plan to reinforce

customs ports in different emirates by Authority

affiliated 65 controllers and inspectors

New State unified regulation of customs monitoring and inspecting setting

monitoring mechanism for the Authority and local customs departments


Window

Absorbs 80 employees reprsenting 100% Emiratization

�� Paris (Emirates Customs)

Gérald Darmanin, French Min-ister of Finance, announced mid last August, seizure of more than ton of cocaine in Havre (France north east) of about Euro 74 million in ille-gitimate market. It represents the “biggest ever” seizure op-eration in 2019 till date.Drugs were found in heart of palm shipment coming from Ecuador, customs discovered 15 bundle of linen fabric con-taining drugs illicitly entered to state. In a statement, the Minister emphasized that this seizure operation “is the biggest ever operation performed by Customs during 2019 which posed more than Euro 74 million loss to the criminal network organized convey-ing the shipment.” In 2018, French Customs seized 12.2 ton of cocaine on French lands and high seas with 32% increase if com-pared with 2017, in addition to 16.1 ton of cocaine seized abroad based on notification from French Customs.

�� Riyadh (Emirates Customs)

Saudi Customs foiled 4 attempts of smuggling Captagon narcotic pills in one month through Alhadeetha Port, on Sauid-Jordan border.Saudi Customs stated that it could foiled two attempts of smuggling big quantity of Captagon pills in Alhadeetha Port, amounting (1,404) one million four thousand and four thousand pills concealed in two “desserts” and “apple” consign-ments carried in two trucks destin-ing the port. Abdul Raziq Al Zahrani, Direc-tor General, Alhadeetha Port said: “Customs could intercept such quantity of Captagon pills in two attempts of smuggling, the first of

which was detected in “apple” con-signment on a truck, after screen-ing and inspection we found (520) thousand pills concealed within the consignment as pills were packed and concealed in technical manner within apple cartoons.” “Likewise, Customs intercepted another quantity of Captagon pills, amounting (884) thousand pills, concealed in “desserts and custard” consignment where pills were con-cealed in “custard” can technically and professionally sealed to deceive customs controller.Saudi Customs affirmed that rein-forcing laws and regulation that pro-tect community represents its most significant pillars, and that it contin-ues combating all types and forms

�� Cairo (Emirates Customs)

Ministry of Finance resolved revok-ing customs dollar exchange rate on all commodities with effect from early last September, which has been applicable for 3 years ago fol-lowing exchange rate liberalization in November 2016, provided fixing the value of customs duties based on daily dollar exchange rate an-nounced by the Central Bank.The resolution drew contrastive responses on its market impacts. While some believe that such im-pacts will be minor due to the slight variance between dollar rate an-nounced by Egyptian Central Bank and exchange bureaus on one hand and customs dollar on the other hand, while others are concerned that such action will result in com-modities price rise under “non-disciplined market” as well as the

potential that some merchants might exploit such action to raise prices. Customs dollar is a mechanism adopted by Egyptian Ministry of Finance aiming at fixing dollar ex-change rate against pound upon cal-culating payable customs dues on imported commodities to mitigate inflation impacts after liberating pound exchange rate late 2016, and consequent sever fluctuation in dol-lar rate, which weakened industrial-ists and merchants’ ability to price their products under such sever fluc-tuation in dollar rate. This system has been applied since early October 2017, pursuant to which the Ministry was determin-ing customs dollar rate on monthly basis which approximated 90% of dollar exchange rate announced by the Central Bank. Customs dollar remained exchanged at 16 pound for all commodities over 14 months.

of smuggling drugs and all prohib-ited substances through its port, air and sea ports to protect community and thanks to cooperation with rele-vant security authorities.” He addedAs well, Alhadeetha Port foiled two attempts to smuggle two million and 579 thousand Captagon pills hidden in a truck and private car coming to the Kingdom through the port. Alhadeetha Port Director General,

Abdul Raziq Al Zahrani clarified that “A private car reached customs driven by a passenger accompanied by his family comprising two chil-dren and his wife. By inspecting the car, two million and 553 thousand Captagon pills were found hidden in various parts of the car”. He added that Customs foiled anoth-er attempt to smuggle 26 thousand pills found inside truck distinguisher.

�� Beijing (Emirates Customs)

Number of freight trains between China and Europe moved upward to two folds during 2019 first half as declared by Zhengzhou Customs in China yesterday, Friday. Zhengzhou Customs managed op-erating 539 freight train between China and Europe during first six months of 2019 with 90.5% incre-ment compared to last year.These trains transported total goods of 230 thousand ton amounting Yuan 10.8 billion ($ 1.57 billion) with increment of 57.9% and 11.5% sucessively. Zhengzhou launched new train for trans-borders e-commerce service last February which transported goods amounting over Yuan 30 mil-lion till last June.Since its launch in 2011, freight trains service between China and Europe witnessed rapid expansion

and forms significant part of Belt and Road initiative proposed by China. Zhengzhou, which highlighted that launching the first type of this ser-

vice in July 2013 as international hub for transport with regular ser-vices to freight trains with more than 100 destination city in Europe and Middle Asia.

�� Beirut (Emirates Customs)

Following Ministry of Finance circula-tion, Lebanon Supreme Customs Coun-cil issued a resolution to exempt indus-trial and agricultural raw materials from applicable 3% customs duties, the duties recently imposed within 2019 budget. Pursuant to this resolution, industrialists who can submit industrial license issued by the Ministry of Industry, will be ex-empted from the recently imposed cus-toms duties. Muneer Al Bassat, Head of international Affairs, Association of Lebanese Industrialists said: “New law provides that the cabinet will issue a list naming exempted raw materials”.

France

China

KSAEgypt

LebanonSeizure 74 million Euro smuggled cocaine

Foiling 4 million Captagon pills smuggling in a month

Revoking Customs Dollar exchange rate

Trains convey 1.5 billion dollar goods to Europe

Industrial, ag-ricultural raw materials du-ties exempted

Around the World


Navigating and meeting the com-plexity of regulatory require-ments in international trade is

never an easy task; especially when traders need to move many different types of cargo across various customs and borders.Supply chain management is an in-tricate process that involves multiple stages, timeframes, global locations, regulatory agencies, payments, and participants.Some of the biggest issues with modern supply chains are inaccurate transactions, document fraud, larceny, security breaches and lack of trans-parency. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for customers to know the true value of products and

for suppliers to determine needs and timeframes. Hence, the need for improved data sharing, and verification. Traceabil-ity is fast becoming an increasingly crucial requirement in many supply chain businesses including agri-food, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and high value goods.In addition, phishing schemes are still one of the most serious threats to in many businesses today and technol-ogy multinational corporations such as Google and Facebook were no ex-ception. (BBC News. (2019))Fraudsters are using phishing emails to steal confidential and sensitive information such as usernames and passwords, enabling them to gain un-

authorized access and hack into these accounts, monitoring closely for a chance to intercept an invoice. With this invoice now in their pos-session, they are now able to alter and adjust the information on the invoice such as bank details and send it out. It is often difficult to differentiate a spoofed email from a legitimate one as most of these emails seem credible and trustworthy.The victim (in this case, the receiver) will then make payment for the faux invoice thinking it is from a genuine source, when in fact the funds are credited into the scammer’s account.

How Blockchain is Transforming Trade Data and Document Exchange

Blockchain, as defined by Oracle, is a growing list of unalterable records (called blocks) that are linked togeth-er to form a chain that is securely dis-tributed among participants. It allows organizations that might not fully trust each other to agree on a single, distributed source of truth. (Oracle.com, 2019)Blockchain is showing promise and gaining momentum in the global trade and logistics industry due to its poten-tial to significantly improve visibility, tracking and security. A distributed electronic ledger that serves as a single system for storing and tracking all shipment data and documents is an example of a block-chain-enabled supply chain solution. Blockchain technology can also direct drivers to pick a load and verify pick-ups and deliveries. It’s not difficult for the unscrupulous to fake pickup, insurance and other documentation to steal shipments, but blockchain can be used to prevent theft through vali-dation. Blockchain has many applications in the trade and logistics domain and can improve every aspect of the supply chain from sourcing to warehousing to distribution.The potential for improving every aspect of the supply chain is endless with blockchain technology, and trade participants all over the world are constantly discovering new applica-tions. Changing the Global Trade Industry

with the Power of Blockchain-en-abled SolutionsAs a leading provider of global con-nectivity services based on the soft-ware-as-a-service model, GeTS is ahead when it comes to trade and lo-gistics tracking and implementation. (Global eTrade Services. (2019))GeTS’ Open Trade Blockchain (OTB) is the first cross-border blockchain solution that connects trade commu-nities. It is a permissioned blockchain network run by trusted nodes which are hosted by whitelisted accredited trade compliance companies. (Crim-sonlogic.com. (2019))OTB provides the basic utilities of trade document registration and veri-

fication to improve efficiency and cost related to document exchange. Com-panies can easily use this platform for trusted trade data and document exchange with both their immediate and adjacent communities, helping to create a network effect to further drive other pervasive blockchain ap-plications. (Global eTrade Services. (2019))It aims to facilitate a more open and transparent digital trade economy, promote trusted connections, help es-tablish the provenance of goods, and serve as a source of authenticity to Customs agencies and importers. It will also help to mitigate fraud risks or potential alteration of content, pro-viding an immutable audit trail while facilitating a more secure exchange of trade documents.Furthermore, OTB enhances the secu-rity of trade related documents, from Certificate of Origin, to Commercial Invoice and enhances the transparen-cy and trust between shippers, freight-forwarders and customers. For users, OTB is built on an intuitive and user-friendly interface that makes it easy for all companies whether digitally-savvy or not, to utilise the platform. Built with an Easy-to-Consume ser-vice layer, OTB offers drag-and-drop simplicity in securing trade docu-ments between businesses. Web Ser-vice APIs are also available to allow partners to integrate and scale OTB with their own legacy systems. (Crim-sonlogic.com. (2019))

Powering Global Trade Connectivity With linkages to 28 Customs nodes across the world and more than 175,000 connected parties, GeTS will continue to capitalise on our deep domain knowledge and expertise in creating a global electronic single window environment to make global cross-border trade more accessible, predictable and easier to fulfil as well as improve time savings and increase productivity for all its customers. (Global eTrade Services. (2019))Given the tremendous potential in the open infrastructure of OTB, industry players can expect a more transparent, secure and trusted environment to bet-ter conduct their businesses.

Revolutionizing Global Supply ChainManagement with Blockchain Technology

Wilson Ho Associate Director,

Global Partnerships and Alliances & Blockchain Commercial Lead

Crimson logic

Fig 1.0 What makes our blockchain unique


Free Zone

The Meeting is renewed

Mohamed JumaBuosaiba

On the first of last August, the UAE Cus-toms Sector achieved a historic qualitative achievement within the performance de-velopment system and enhancement of the competitiveness of the sector locally and globally. This achievement is marked by the issuance of the Cabinet’s Resolution to adopt a Unified Customs Electronic System in all Customs Departments in the Country and its ports under the supervision of the Federal Customs Authority.For those who are not aware, the Customs Departments in the Country, before the is-suance of the Resolution, was applying 4 different electronic systems, which resulted in a variations in the performance level and Customs procedures being implemented.The Federal Customs Authority has adopted an initiative to unify the Customs systems in the Country since several years in the light of the directives of the wise leadership and their view of the challenges encountering the Cus-toms work progress, as well as the recom-mendations of the diagnostic task mission of the World Customs Organization.In order to achieve such objective, a Higher Committee was formed to unify the Cus-toms systems in the Country under the presidency of the Authority and member-ship of the General Authority of Ports, Bor-ders, Free Zones and Local Customs De-partments Security, as well as studying the best practices in several countries such as China, Singapore, Sweden and the United Kingdom.The Committee found, through the study and neutral assessment, that Mirsal II sys-tem applied with Dubai Customs is the best according to a set of axes related to the ap-

plicable policies and laws and the coopera-tion level in terms of exchange of informa-tion and partnership between all parties of the Customs process, risk management, clearance, revenues, accounts, merchants, control and audit. So, the recommendation was to adopt Mirsal II system as a Unified Customs Electronic System for the Cus-toms clearance at the Country level.It is worth mentioning that the level of de-sire for achievement and sincere cooperation provided by the Ports Security Authority, Local Customs Departments and all partners in order to achieve this historic achievement, which will have positive consequences not only on the Customs Sector, but on trade and national economy in general.Among the most significant advantages of unifying the Customs Systems in the Coun-try is to enhance the Customs control at the border ports and support the security sys-tem through the development of Customs Risk Management, implementation of the unified security standards, quick exchange of the Customs information and data and simplifying the Customs procedures, which will positively affect the Customs Clear-ance time, and then promotion of the com-petitiveness of the Country in the global indicators related to trade and Customs.The Unification of Customs systems in the Country also gives the Authority and Lo-cal Customs Departments a greater ability to combat smuggling and prohibited goods and fraudulent and imitated commodities, which will also lead to more integration be-tween the Customs Departments.It could be said that the most important characteristic of the Unified Electronic System to be implemented at the Country level is its greater ability to respond quickly to the future transformations and modern smart technologies such as the artificial in-telligence, block chain, robotic automation and intelligent risk engine, etc. The plan of Customs systems Unification in the Country is scheduled to be completed within 26 months in two phases; the first of which includes the implementation of Mir-sal system in both of Abu Dhabi and Dubai Customs within 16 months, and the applica-tion of system will be extended to the other remaining Customs Departments during the remaining period of the specified time period.

Unification of Customs systems…Historic Achievement

Documents

“Hazza Al Mansouri” is an inspiring model...Sharjah H.E Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al Mehrezi Director General of Customs Department - RAK ... including the companies owned by the fed-