FNC passes new customs law that highlights reform

The law will give the Federal Customs Authority a separate and independent budget and unify customs legislation.

Obaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Finance Affairs, left, and Khalid Al Bustani, the new Director-General of the Federal Tax Authority, at the FNC session in Abu Dhabi. Ravindranath K / The NationaShow more

ABU DHABI // A Federal Customs Authority law was passed during a Federal National Council session held on Tuesday.

The law will look at ways to reform the authority, giving it a separate and independent budget, and unify customs legislation.

The aim of the law is to monitor customs activity, combat smuggling operations and fraud, and ensure proper oversight.

Ahmed Al Mansouri (Dubai) said there were challenges in the customs sector because of the delay in creating legislation and because there was no unified set of laws.

The council decided to create an authority in Abu Dhabi as part of the existing federal authority. It will specialise in combating smuggling and fraud, and specific entities will also ensure the implementation of existing laws.

Obaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Finance Affairs, said those entities were federal or local agencies that had the authority to conduct customs-related tasks.

A proposal to issue fees related to customs was raised to the Cabinet for approval and implementation.

The authority will have an independent budget and the legal ability to oversee all work.

The management of the authority’s budget will be organised in accordance with federal regulations. An auditor will be appointed to look into finances and provide the president of the authority with a detailed report within four months of the end of the financial year.

A specialised authority will also create policies with other customs departments, and supervise and monitor existing policies.

The law will also establish risk standards and create a basis of cooperative systems that will manage risk factors.

Creating and certifying a unified customs procedure is necessary for licensing. The law will provide for the monitoring and inspection of imports and exports passing through all customs gates in the country.

Ali Jassim (Umm Al Quwain) suggested the FCA create a centre where facts and statistics would be made available.

“There should be an information centre in ports for information and statistics in several languages, since the UAE is great in import and export,” he said. “And as for prohibited objects, people need to know what they are clearly. I would like a main centre as a reference for all users.”

The council also agreed to request a unified customs system to be used in all GCC countries.

The council approved the law after a three-hour debate.