How to import goods into the UAE: licence, customs code and clearance

To import goods into the UAE commercially, a business needs a trade licence that allows trading and a customs code from the customs authority where the goods are cleared. It files a customs declaration with the invoice, packing list and, where required, a certificate of origin and permits, and pays customs duty, generally 5% of the CIF value, plus import VAT unless it accounts for that VAT in its return.

Key takeaways

• A commercial importer needs a trade licence that allows trading and a customs code from the emirate's customs authority.
• Registering a business with Dubai Customs costs AED 100 plus an AED 20 fee and takes 1 working day.
• In Dubai, each declaration needs the invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and any permit for restricted goods.
• Customs duty on goods from outside the GCC is generally 5% of the CIF value, and import VAT of 5% is charged on the CIF value plus the duty and any excise tax.
• A VAT-registered importer that meets the conditions of the VAT Executive Regulation, including giving the FTA its customs registration number, accounts for import VAT in its VAT return instead of paying it at the border.

On this page 10 sections

Who can import goods into the UAE

Any business whose licence allows trading can import goods for sale once it holds a customs code, whether it is licensed on the mainland or in a free zone. Individuals can bring in goods for their own use without a trade licence, on proof of identity.

Mainland businesses

A mainland company is licensed by the economic department of its emirate, and the activities on its licence set what it may do. In Dubai, the Department of Economy and Tourism describes the commercial licence as covering trading activities such as general trading, import and export, wholesale and retail. Under the GCC unified customs procedures, an importer has to prove its commercial activity to obtain a customs code, so the licence comes first. The options are compared in UAE trade licence types, and the wider process in starting a business in the UAE.

Free zone companies

A free zone company imports under its free zone licence, and what it pays depends on where the goods end up.

Customs duty in a free zone

0% customs duty in the free zone; duty on entry to the mainland

Free zone companies can import, export and re-export goods, with 0% customs duty on goods imported into the free zone and no customs duty on goods stored there for re-export; goods become subject to UAE customs duty only when moved into the mainland market.

Selling into the mainland is regulated separately. The UAE government portal says a free zone company has to work through a licensed mainland distributor or set up a mainland branch or company, and that direct mainland sales generally need mainland licences or approvals. In Dubai, goods sold from a free zone company to the mainland need their own customs declaration, according to the Dubai Customs FAQ. The trade-offs between the two set-ups are compared in mainland or free zone, and re-exports in exporting and re-exporting.

Individuals importing for personal use

Personal imports are cleared on proof of identity rather than a trade licence. Under the GCC unified procedures, a citizen shows a national ID card or passport, and a resident a passport or a residence or visit visa. Travellers carrying goods in their luggage have a separate allowance.

Travellers' allowance (Dubai Customs)

AED 3,000

Dubai Customs exempts gifts that arriving passengers carry with them from customs duty up to a value of AED 3,000, provided the baggage and gifts are of a personal nature and not in commercial quantities; customs duty is charged on quantities and values above the limits, and VAT may also apply.

Goods bought for resale are a commercial import, cleared with a licence, a customs code and a declaration as described below.

Getting a customs code

A customs code is the registration number a customs authority gives a business so that it can file customs declarations. In Dubai it is called the customs business code. To obtain one, the importer proves its commercial activity; in Dubai that means a copy of the trade licence.

Registering with Dubai Customs

The Dubai Customs FAQ says a licence holder that clears goods for sale in the local market needs a customs business code and submits each declaration under it. The application is filed online through the Dubai Trade website, without a visit to a customs office.

Dubai Customs business registration

AED 100 + AED 20; 1 working day

Any business that uses Dubai Customs services must register with Dubai Customs; the Request Business Registration service costs AED 100 (plus the AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee charged on service costs of AED 50 and above), needs a copy of the trade licence and the authorised person's passport and Emirates ID, and is completed in 1 working day, after which the company receives its registration and customs code by email.

An importer does not have to file declarations itself. Dubai Customs allows agents holding a Dubai clearing and forwarding licence to clear cargo for the owner of the goods, provided the agent has its own customs business code and the owner’s authorisation to submit the declaration.

Abu Dhabi and the other emirates

Each emirate has its own customs department, and a Dubai code is for dealings with Dubai Customs. In Abu Dhabi, a business creates a customs profile and obtains a customs registration number through TAMM, the emirate’s government services platform, which Abu Dhabi Customs links to from its own site. A business clearing goods through another emirate deals with that emirate’s customs department. The VAT rules follow the same logic: they refer to the customs registration number “issued by the competent Customs Department” for each import.

Updating and renewing the code

Dubai Customs’ business registration service has options to amend and renew a registration as well as to register for the first time. The registration is made on the basis of the business’s trade licence, a copy of which goes with the application.

Restricted and prohibited goods

Prohibited goods cannot be imported at all, while restricted goods can be imported only with the approval of the authority that controls them. Dubai Customs defines both by reference to the GCC Common Customs Law and other UAE laws, and releases restricted goods only once the competent authority has approved them.

Prohibited goods

Dubai Customs gives these examples of prohibited goods:

• narcotic drugs of all kinds, although some controlled substances can move with the competent authorities’ approval
• gambling tools, machines and devices
• nylon fishing nets
• live swine
• used, reconditioned and inlaid tyres
• goods contaminated by radiation or nuclear fallout
• items that contradict Islamic faith and public morals
• paan and betel leaves

The GCC unified procedures also bar counterfeit, adulterated and non-conforming goods and goods that infringe intellectual property rights. Within the GCC Customs Union, goods banned in one member state but allowed in another must be imported directly into the state that allows them, without passing through the state that bans them, according to ICP.

Goods that need a permit

Restricted goods need an approval from the controlling authority, and the approval is submitted with the declaration. Dubai Customs lists these authorities:

Dubai Police and Dubai Municipality are Dubai bodies, so the list reflects goods cleared through Dubai. Under the GCC procedures, customs may also ask for a certificate of conformity from the country of origin or a report from an accredited laboratory, and may take random samples based on risk.

The customs declaration and its documents

Every commercial consignment is cleared on a customs declaration, filed electronically by the importer, its representative or an authorised customs broker, with the supporting documents attached.

Dubai Customs declaration

AED 15 to AED 100 per declaration

Dubai Customs charges AED 15 to AED 100 for an import or export declaration depending on the declaration type and shipping channel (transit AED 15 to AED 80, transfer AED 80, temporary admission AED 100), plus the AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee on service costs of AED 50 and above; the documents required are the invoice, the packing list, the certificate of origin and any permit from a restricting authority, and the service completion time is 2 working hours.

The GCC Unified Guide sets out the documents in more detail:

Who issues certificates of origin, and how to apply for one, is covered in certificates of origin in the UAE.

Goods are identified by their HS code, the international product classification that places each item in the GCC unified customs tariff. The tariff sets the duty, unless an exemption applies under GCC law or a trade agreement.

Customs may ask for an Arabic translation of foreign invoices. Documents must be originals, but copies of invoices can be accepted against a cash or bank guarantee or a written undertaking to provide the originals within 90 days. Pre-arrival clearance is allowed, so the declaration can be filed before the goods arrive.

Paying customs duty and import VAT

Customs duty and other charges are paid in advance through the customs authority’s electronic clearance system, before the goods are released. An importer that is not registered for VAT also has to pay import VAT before release; a registered business that meets the conditions declares it in its VAT return instead.

Customs duty

Duty is worked out on the value of the goods at the border, which includes the cost of getting them there.

General customs duty

5% of CIF value

The general UAE customs duty on goods imported from outside the GCC is 5% of the CIF value (cost, insurance and freight up to the place of importation); some goods are exempt and some carry higher rates under the GCC common tariff.

Which rate applies to a product, and whether it is exempt, depends on its HS code in the GCC common tariff. How customs values the goods and converts an invoice in a foreign currency, the higher rates and the exemptions are covered in UAE customs duty; for a US dollar invoice, the USD to AED converter gives the dirham amount at the pegged rate.

Import VAT for unregistered importers

An importer that is not registered for VAT pays import VAT before customs releases the goods, and customs departments work with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) to make sure it has been paid (Article 50 of the VAT Executive Regulation). Where the importer uses a VAT-registered agent to import the goods for it, the agent is responsible for that VAT and reports and pays it through its own VAT return (Article 50(4) and (5)).

Standard VAT rate

5%

UAE VAT is charged at a standard rate of 5% on taxable supplies and imports of goods and services, unless a supply is zero-rated or exempt.

On an import, that rate is charged on the customs value of the goods, including insurance and freight, plus any customs duty and excise tax paid on the import, without adding the VAT itself (Article 35 of the VAT Decree-Law). The glossary entry on import VAT sets out the same base, and UAE VAT rates covers the goods taxed at 0% or exempt.

Import VAT for VAT-registered businesses

A VAT-registered business accounts for import VAT in its VAT return under the reverse charge if it meets the conditions in Article 48 of the VAT Executive Regulation: it can show it was registered at the time of import, it has given the FTA its customs registration number for that import, it can give the FTA the details needed to verify the import, and it complies with the FTA’s rules on it. If it does not meet these conditions, it pays the VAT before release, like an unregistered importer.

The FTA prepopulates the VAT on imported goods in Box 6 of the return. The business reconciles that figure with its own records for the tax period of the import, and corrects any difference, or goods another person imported on its behalf, in Box 7 (FTA clarification VATP045). Recovering the same VAT as input tax, and the rest of the mechanics, are covered in the reverse charge on imports, and the filing itself in VAT return filing.

Worked example

Clearing one shipment with a CIF value of AED 40,000

The shipment and its value are illustrations: general goods from outside the GCC, no excise tax, cleared in Dubai.

1. Customs duty: AED 40,000 × 5% = AED 2,000.
2. Value for import VAT: AED 40,000 + AED 2,000 = AED 42,000.
3. Import VAT: AED 42,000 × 5% = AED 2,100.
4. Importer not registered for VAT: it pays AED 2,000 + AED 2,100 = AED 4,100 at clearance, plus the Dubai Customs declaration fee of AED 15 to AED 100 for the declaration type and channel, and the AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee where the declaration fee is AED 50 or more.
5. VAT-registered importer that meets the Article 48 conditions, including giving the FTA its customs registration number: it pays the AED 2,000 duty at clearance and declares the AED 2,100 in its VAT return.

Duty and import VAT on this shipment: AED 4,100.

Clearance, inspection and release

After the declaration is filed and the charges are paid, customs either releases the goods or selects them for inspection, based on risk assessment. Once any inspection is complete and the permits are in order, customs issues the exit permit and the goods are released.

Dubai Customs’ service time for processing a declaration is 2 working hours. That covers the declaration, not the whole journey from ship or aircraft to warehouse, so an inspection, a missing document or a pending permit adds time. In Dubai, inspections are scheduled through the Book Customs Inspection service, which has no service fee when customs itself demands the inspection. Under the GCC procedures, if the owner or its representative refuses to attend a scheduled inspection despite being notified, customs may open the packages without them.

GCC Customs Union

Customs Union since 1 January 2003; duty paid at first point of entry

The GCC Customs Union has operated since 1 January 2003: member states apply a common external tariff, customs duty is collected once at the first point of entry into the Union, and goods on which duty was paid there move between member states without being charged again.

Goods that continue to another GCC state need proof that the duty was paid on entry to the UAE. If the payment cannot be proven, the destination state levies duty at its own point of entry, according to ICP. The GCC Customs Union entry in the glossary explains the arrangement.

Records to keep

An importer keeps its customs records, on paper and electronically, for a fixed period after each clearance.

Customs records

5 calendar years

The owner of the goods, their representative or the authorised customs broker must keep customs records, on paper and electronically, for five calendar years from the date the customs procedures were completed, and provide them to the customs authority on request.

Under the same procedures, documents can be submitted to customs electronically as long as the originals are kept and produced on request. VAT has its own record rules: a registered importer using the reverse charge keeps the supplier’s invoice and the customs statement showing the goods and their value (Article 48 of the VAT Executive Regulation), for the period the tax procedures rules set.

Importing step by step

A first commercial import runs through nine steps, from the licence to the records.

1. Licence. A trade licence whose activities allow trading, on the mainland or in a free zone.
2. Customs code. Registration with the customs authority of the emirate where the goods are cleared.
3. HS code and duty. The classification of each product and the duty it carries; the customs duty calculator works out duty and import VAT on a CIF value.
4. Restrictions. A check against the prohibited and restricted lists, and any permit from the controlling authority.
5. Documents. The commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and transport documents.
6. Declaration. Filed by the importer, or by a licensed clearing agent with the owner’s authorisation.
7. Payment. Duty, customs fees and import VAT, or the VAT accounted for in the return under the reverse charge.
8. Inspection and release. Any inspection customs selects, then the exit permit.
9. Records. Customs records kept for 5 years.

Other topics on duty, origin and exports are listed under Trade and customs guides.