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Abu Dhabi: The prevailing customs regulations in the UAE need serious revisions to adapt to the requirements of the common GCC market, the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) announced yesterday.
The decision to establish the GCC common market, which came into force from January 1, indicates the free flow of people, capital, and goods and services. Nevertheless the application of new regulations addressing the actual and practical proceedings is needed.
"The committee for the GCC's unified customs law will meet in March to address the issue, and we need to prepare ourselves for the next level," Saeed Bin Khalifa Al Merri, deputy director of the FCA said on the sidelines of a meeting organised by the authority for the representatives of customs authorities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, in addition to the ministries of interior and economy.
"The meeting has discussed the admission of the UAE to the Johannesburg Mutual Customs Administrative Assistance treaty, and the revision of the GCC's unified customs law, especially the revision of the article number 85 of the law dealing with the free zones, as the article in its present form entails economic, commercial and customs related complications," Al Merri said, referring to a request from the ministry of foreign affairs to revise the article.
The meeting also decided that the local authorities need additional time to assess the GCC's unified customs law, to fully review the draft and reveal all the related remarks and suggested preliminary amendments, to be presented by January 29, as a deadline.
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