Dubai: Dubai Customs completed 381,275 customs declarations during the Eid Al Fitr holidays, a top official revealed on Tuesday.
Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, director-general of Dubai Customs and CEO of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, said Dubai Customs handled 659,101 bags from 515,235 passengers on 4,170 flights coming to the country through Dubai airports.
The customs authority also dealt with 19,132 cars coming through the Hatta border crossing.
Dubai Customs has taken many measures in the three Dubai International Airport terminals and Al Maktoum International Airport to facilitate the entry of visitors and tourists.
Global hub
In the Passenger Operations Department, there are 822 customs officers and inspectors. Musabih said: “The current global economic challenges, in which the repercussions of the pandemic are intertwined with the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and the disruption of supply chains have highlighted the importance of the role played by global trade hubs in linking international markets and supporting regularity of the supply chains.”
He pointed out that the UAE has emerged as a major global trade hub thanks to its advanced infrastructure and strategic location.
“At Dubai Customs, we actively and passionately enhanced the pivotal role of the UAE in supporting global trade. We have completed 24 million transactions in 2021, growing 50 per cent compared to 2020, which amounted to 16 million transactions. 99.6 per cent of the transactions were completed online through the department’s smart systems, where the smart workspace platform enables the completion of the customs declaration in less than four minutes,” added Musabih.
E-commerce platform
Musabih said the cross-border e-commerce platform, developed and launched by Dubai Customs as a first of its kind in the region, stimulates e-commerce companies’ activities and operations as well as those of related companies such as logistics service providers and express shipping companies to encourage them to establish distribution centres in Dubai. The project aims to turn Dubai into a global e-commerce hub.
Innovations
Dubai Customs has recently launched a number of innovations including the electric vehicles, which are used by inspectors, the Customs Submarine to detect and intercept suspicious vessels, the i-box initiative for valuable goods, and the second phase of i-Declare smart application.
Between 2000 and 2021, Dubai Customs received more than 46,000 ideas, and won 145 local and international prizes.
