In brief
The Customs Authorities of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries have recently finalized the Unified GCC Customs Tariff 2017, which will enter into force on 1 January 2017. The amendments to the Unified GCC Customs Tariff may have a major impact on your company.
In detail
Every five years, the HS is updated in order to reflect the major technical and global developments, and changes in trade patterns. The HS 2012 amendments, for example, included noticeable changes on biodiesel and diapers. The majority of amendments, however, usually relate to the agricultural and food sector – which is also the case for the HS 2017. The new amendments do also include a few notable changes.
HS and Unified GCC
Customs Tariff The HS is a multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO). It comprises about 5,000 commodity groups; each identified by a six digit code.
The HS is used by more than 200 countries and economies as a basis for their Customs tariffs and for the collection of international trade statistics. Over 98% of the merchandise in international trade is classified in terms of the HS.
As members of the WCO, the GCC countries have agreed to use a common system based on the HS: the Unified GCC Customs Tariff, which sets eight digit codes to classify goods for customs purposes (the first six digits correspond to the HS).
HS 2017 notable changes
The most striking amendments in HS 2017 are to be found in the forestry, chemistry, pharmaceutical and technology sector. In the forestry sector (chapter 44) the HS codes have been amended enabling a recommended to provide clear instructions to their customs agents to comply with the new Customs Tariff.
The use of incorrect HS codes may lead businesses to declare products for entry into the GCC without the applicable import permits or certificate of conformity; furthermore it may lead to the assessment of the wrong customs duty rates, underpaying or overpaying customs duties to the GCC Customs Authorities.
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