The number of customs transactions completed by Dubai Customs has grown to a record 44 per cent in five years (2015-2019) to 13 million at the end of 2019 from 8.9 million in 2015, reflecting a robust national economy and the pivotal role Dubai plays as a global trade hub.

It also showcases the modernity and sophistication of the smart services of Dubai Customs, which has been touted by the World Customs Organisation as a model that should be followed worldwide.

There were 10.6 million customs declarations completed in 2019, which had the lion’s share of growth of Dubai Customs transactions at 82 per cent. This was followed by customs insurance refund requests, which rose by eight per cent to one million requests. Vehicle clearance certificates went up four per cent to reach 572,000 certificates, inspection transactions grew four per cent to 463,000, and company registration applications rose by two per cent to 201,000 companies.

During the evening tour to the Customs Declaration Management and the Control Room, Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director-General of Dubai Customs, stated that 99 per cent of customs transactions in 2019 were completed online through the Dubai Customs smart and electronic channels (12.8 million transactions out of the total 13 million transactions).

The tour was part of regular inspection visits plan put in place to ensure the smooth running of customs centres and customer service centres across Dubai. Musabih added, “Developing the control room is continuous to ensure even better linkage with all risk indicators and smart systems. There are 23 security customs systems in the control room that work around-the-clock to oversee the performance of 500 cameras.”

WAM