DOHA: Customs clearance at the ports of entry in Qatar would become faster with plans to establish an online link between the General Customs Authority and the Supreme Council of Health (SCH).
Both sides yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with this objective. The online link has been established as part of the single-window system for customs clearance in Qatar, known as Al Nadeeb.
Ahmed bin Eisa Al Mohannadi, assistant chairman of the General Customs Authority and Dr Saleh bin Ali Al Merri, assistant secretary general for medical affairs at SCH signed the MoU at the Authority’s headquarters in the presence of members of the National Committee for Customs Clearance.
The agreement seeks to simplify and streamline customs procedures for commodities under SCH supervision, said a statement yesterday. This will be done by activating an online link between the two sides. The General Customs Authority has already set up similar electronic networks with other government bodies concerned. The electronic link, once established, will enable the SCH to give its technical opinion on commodities that are under its monitoring in a faster way. These include exports and imports and commodities that are registered according to SCH specifications.
With the new system, SCH will be able to give its opinion within a working day after the customs data are sent to it online.
“This will make customs clearance smooth, faster and accurate,” said the statement. The General Customs Authority said it is regularly updating and regulating the single window system in collaboration with other bodies concerned “to give priority to the customers” and “in line with international economic agreements within the World Trade Organisation system and the International Customs Organisation regulations.”
Al Nadeeb was officially launched in September 2013 to deliver better communication with the trade community. It was first deployed at the port of Doha and later expanded to the Abu Samra border post and Qatar’s express courier terminal.
The General Customs Authority earlier signed agreements with the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Environment with the same objective. “The Authority wants to improve its electronic services and provide the services to all government bodies to make the procedures easier and encourage investment,” said the statement.
