The Governor of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority approved the rules for practicing the profession of customs clearance for the year 1444, and they replace the guide for practicing the profession of customs clearance issued on 20/6/1439.
These rules aim to document the procedures and requirements related to the profession of customs clearance, and to define customs business through the stages that goods pass through from their arrival at customs ports, whether they are related to the import, export or transit of goods, and to define the rules for practicing customs clearance activities, by classifying activities and clarifying the necessary conditions. To carry out each activity, control and control customs clearance activities on the movement of incoming, outgoing and transit goods, in addition to organizing the management of relations between the Authority, customs clearance facilities and customers, by defining the obligations of the facility and the Authority in order to raise the level of efficiency of the customs clearance sector.
The rules specified the issuance and renewal of the license, and its duration is 3 years, and it is renewed for the same period.
It included the conditions necessary for issuing a customs clearance license by submitting an application for issuing a customs clearance license through the authorized channels of the authority, and a valid commercial register, in addition to the customs clearance activities, with the exception of commercial establishments that obtained the unified logistics license issued by the competent government agency.
Warranty and license categories
Article 4 of the rules defines the categories of licenses for the profession of customs clearance, which is a general clearance license that allows the facility to practice customs clearance for one or more activities such as import and export activity, transit transportation activity, and postal parcel transportation activity.
The second category of professional licenses according to the rules is a special clearance license, which allows public and private sector entities to carry out the tasks of the profession of customs clearance for their incoming and outgoing consignments only, with the condition that there is an authorization for an employee working for them in accordance with the requirements described in these rules.
The facility must comply with the incoming and outgoing activity, specify the port at which the activity is to be carried out, provide a documentary guarantee, appoint a classification specialist according to the conditions stipulated in Article 5 of these rules, specify the port at which the activity is to be practiced, and undertake to cover any shortfall in the guarantee required for the transit activity under any circumstances. circumstance, and appointing a classification specialist according to the conditions set forth in Article. One of the rules that must be adhered to is submitting a bank guarantee or insurance policy in the name of the authority for an amount of no less than 50,000 riyals, provided that it is valid for a period that exceeds the period of validity of the license by one year.
Fines and license revocation
The Authority has the right to cancel the license when the facility does not engage in any activity within 180 days in a continuous manner, and obliges it to pay any financial dues, and when the facility does not respond to its customers to terminate the goods clearance procedures for unjustified reasons, the Authority has the right to transfer the authorization to terminate the goods procedures to another facility, upon request Concerned person.
Customs clearance licenses may not be leased or assigned without the approval of the Authority, and the license shall be revoked when this is proven.
The license shall be revoked upon termination and liquidation of the company or deletion of the establishment’s record for any reason, or upon breach of the regulations and instructions in force in the field of customs clearance activity after issuance of a final decision or judgment of conviction by the customs committees or the competent courts, or the issuance of a final judgment of conviction in a crime of customs smuggling. Or the issuance of a final ruling – by the competent court – imposing a penalty restricting his freedom against him as a result of his conviction in a crime involving moral turpitude and dishonesty, and in the event of not practicing the profession for a period of 180 consecutive days.
The Authority may impose fines for customs violations committed by the establishment or its employees, and the establishment shall be notified of the penalty or fine imposed on it through the communication channels approved by the Authority, and it has the right to object, according to the regular procedures.
