257 seizures made by Customs officials at UAE border in Hatta in 2020

Dubai: As many as 257 seizures were made in 2020 by the Hatta Customs Centre at the UAE border. This was revealed by officials on Tuesday. Along with these seizures, a total of 966,000 tonnes of goods had crossed the UAE border at Hatta during last year, officials said. The goods, most of which were basic commodities such as foodstuff and building material, were carried on 75,100 trucks.

Ahmad Mahboob Musabih, Director-General, Dubai Customs, during his visit to the Hatta Customs Centre, highlighted the important role the centre played in supporting the supply chain and the import and export activities in the local market last year, facilitating trade in what has been “a testing time for all”. Musabih highlighted the importance of “advanced technologies” used in inspection and scanning of goods and trucks.

Musabih and the visiting delegation were received by Hameed Al Rasheed, Director of Land Customs Centre Management, and Hamad Kajour, Senior Manager of Hatta Customs Centre.

Catching violations

Al Rasheed said: “Hatta Customs Centre works around the clock to facilitate trade and import-and-export activities with Oman and the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. For that, we ensure that the best services based on the latest technologies are provided to our clients, in accordance with the GCC unified customs law.

In 2020, the Hatta Customs Centre had completed 90,000 transactions, made 257 seizures, inspected 137,200 vehicles and dealt with 419,200 passengers.

Kajour said: “The centre deals with around 170 trucks a day on an average. There is full coordination between the strategic partners and relevant authorities on regular updates on the coronavirus pandemic and the precautionary measures being undertaken to ensure safety of the inspectors and all other stakeholders.”