International Customs Day celebrations by GAC focus on sustainability

The Chairman of General Authority of Customs, Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Jamal, has said that despite all necessary precautions being taken at the entry and exit points of the country against coronavirus, the movement of goods remains normal.

“There is a balance between the speed of clearing goods and taking necessary precautions to prevent the entry of disease through incoming shipments. Facilitating the release of goods is required but priority is always health and community’s security,” said Al Jamal.

On the occasion of the International Customs Day (ICD), which was marked yesterday at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and attended by Minister of Finance, H E Ali Shareef Al Emadi; Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, and a number of the Authority employees, Al Jamal said that the Authority is keen through this celebration to demonstrate its vital role of enhancing community’s security and supporting economic development in the country.

The ICD, which falls on January 26 every year, was marked by the Authority under the slogan “Customs Fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet.”

Regarding the companies which are the most law-abiding, he said that such companies have special dealings with regard to facilitating procedures for them. “Sometimes we allow them to enter the goods in case some papers are not available and give them a period of 90 days to submit documents.” 

“In the future, we are considering giving these companies special privileges, such as granting them preference in some fees,” he said adding that the percentage of Qatarisation in the Authority’s departments reached 96 percent.

In his speech on the occasion, Al Jamal said: “Through its five-year plan, endeavours are underway to simplify customs procedures and application of latest international regulations and practices in relation to customs work, in addition to building cooperation with its partners and the public dealing with it.”

Regard the achievements of the Authority, he said that best practices have been adopted for customs clearance and that there is cooperation with the Public Prosecution according to which customs control records are transmitted directly to the Public Prosecution which achieves the integrity of information and the speed of its transmission instead of transferring information on papers. 

Al Jamal said that the Authority has also reviewed the legislation related to the customs clearance process for imported, exported and transit goods, where the necessary legislative tools have been prepared that will be fully transferred to electronic procedures without need of paper documents. In a documentary screened at the event on achievements of the Authority, it was shown that over 11,853 transactions were completed during the past year, which included 14 diverse services. In the field of training cadres, 962 training courses were held, benefiting 2,162 people.