Dubai Customs Further Revamps Smart Services

Dubai Customs, in alignment with the vision set by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, continues improvement in its smart services in order to increase processing speed of customs transactions. The new upgrade to the clearance service will help customers save time and effort. The customers will be able to fill custom declarations using mobile phones without the need to add cargo shipping details.

Speaking on the occasion, Director of Information Technology Department, Mr. Younis Mohammed Othman, explained the entire process. He said that the clearance service was extensively used by customers and around 4.4 million transactions were processed during the first eight months of 2014. The new facility will help customers easily fill the declarations, eradicating the extra time needed by using the previous method. The customers can attain all information needed by contacting the 11 network points and handling agencies established.

A new facility also has been introduced by Dubai Customs to issue Vehicle Clearance Certificate (VCC). The new VCC facility aims to issue certificates for valid declarations in Mirsal 2 System. During the first eight months of this year 504,000 VCC transactions took place. Key service features offered include 24/7 online VCC request facility, bureau submission facilities in DC locations or via smart services for smartphones.

The customers will also be able to electronically track status of VCC requests submitted besides being able to pay for services online which will improve their customer experience. Automated emails will also be generated which would inform customers about the status of their VCC requests.

A smart refund service has also been developed by Dubai Customs. Customers have welcomed the smart refund facility with 690,000 applications for refund lodged using the system between January and August 2014. The most common types of claims for refunds submitted include Non-Remittance Claims, Claims for Duty Refund, and Claims for Refund on Auction Proceeds.