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In effectFederal Law

UAE Tax LawFederal Law No. (19) of 2002 concerning the Customs Duty payable on goods and materials imported from outside the Customs Union to the GCC Countries

UAE Federal Law·Federal Law No. (19) of 2002

قانون اتحادي بشأن رفع الرسوم الجمركية على البضائع والسلع المستوردة من خارج الاتحاد الجمركي لدول مجلس التعاون

Authoritative Arabic version per the official UAE Legislation portal

Issued Date
December 25, 2002
Effective from
December 31, 2002
Articles
4
Last synced
Jul 20, 2026

Plain-language summary

  • Sets customs duty rates for goods imported into GCC countries from outside the Customs Union.
  • Applies to all importers and traders bringing goods across GCC borders from non-member countries.
  • Establishes tariff classifications to determine which duty rate applies to each product type.
  • Requires payment of customs duties at point of entry before goods are released.
  • Provides standardized procedures for all GCC member states to follow consistently.

Establishes customs duty rates and procedures for goods imported into GCC countries from outside the Customs Union, setting tariff classifications and payment o…

Synced from the official UAE Legislation portal · Plain-language summary by the LEXAI editorial team

Article-level text

Key Articles

4 articles

  1. 1

    Article 1

    Article (1) Without prejudice to Federal Law No. (11) of 1981 on imposing federal governmental tax on the imported items of tobacco and derivatives and the laws amending thereof, customs duties shall be lifted by the rates from (4%) to (5%) of the amount of the goods and commodities calculated on the basis of delivering thereof in the arrival port at the United Arab Emirates. This shall be applied on all foreign goods and commodities imported from outside the Customs Federation of the countries of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as of January 1st, 2003.

  2. 2

    Article 2

    Article (2) The 53 commodities that have been exempted by virtue of a Resolution issued by the Federal

    -- 1 of 9 --

    Federal Law Concerning the Customs Duty payable on goods and materials imported from outside the Customs Union to the GCC Countries 2 Supreme Council of GCC Countries in its twentieth round (as per the attached list) shall be exerted from the customs duties referred to hereinabove in Article (1) in addition to the exemptions mentioned in the Unified Customs Law.

  3. 3

    Article 3

    Article (3) Any provision conflicts with or contravenes to the provisions of this Law shall be cancelled.

  4. 4

    Article 4

    Article (4) This Law shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall be effective as of the date of publishing thereof. Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan President of the United Arab Emirates Issued in the Presidency Palace of Dubai on Shawal 21st, 1423 Corresponding to December 25th, 2002

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    Federal Law Concerning the Customs Duty payable on goods and materials imported from outside the Customs Union to the GCC Countries 3 List of the Exempted Commodities Group Product Description Livestock 07 010200000 Livestock (cows) 07 010400000 Livestock (sheep and goat) 07 01050000 Domestic livestock (Cokes and hens, duck, geese, turkeys, .. ) 07 01060010 Livestock used basically for human consumption. Edible meats, entrails and parts 07 02010000 Fresh and frozen cows meat 07 02021000 Fresh or frozen full or half lamb carcasses 07 02042000 Fresh or frozen Veal meat 07 02045011 Fresh or frozen goat meat 07 02081010 Fresh or frozen edible meats, entrails and parts Fishes, crustaceans, mollusks and other marine invertebrates. 07 03010000 Live fishes 07 03020000 Fresh or frozen fishes except for fish slices and other fish meats

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    Federal Law Concerning the Customs Duty payable on goods and materials imported from outside the Customs Union to the GCC Countries 4 mentioned in Clause 3-4 Vegetables, plants, roots and tubers 07 07010000 Fresh or frozen sweet potatoes 07 070200000 Fresh or frozen tomatoes 07 07030000 Fresh or frozen onions, shallots, garlic, leeks, alliaceous vegetables 07 07040000 Fresh or frozen cabbage, cauliflower and similar edible brassicas. 07 07050000 Fresh or frozen lettuce ((Lactuca sativa) and endive (Cichorium) 07 07060000 Fresh or frozen carrots, turnips, salad beetroot, salsify, celeriac, radishes and similar edible roots 07 07070000 Cucumbers and gherkins, fresh or frozen 07 07080000 Leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled, fresh or frozen 07 07090000 Other vegetables, fresh or frozen Edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruit or melons 07 08030000 Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried.

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    Federal Law Concerning the Customs Duty payable on goods and materials imported from outside the Customs Union to the GCC Countries 5 07 08040000 Dates, figs, pineapples, avocedos, guevas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh or dried. 07 08050000 Citrus fruit, fresh or dried. 07 08060000 Grapes, fresh or dried. 07 08070000 Melons (including watermelons) and papaws (papayas), fresh. 07 08080000 Apples, pears and quinces, fresh. 07 08090000 Apricots, cherries, peaches (including nectarines), plums and sloes, fresh. 07 08100000 Other fresh fruits Coffee, tea, mate and spices 07 09010000 Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion. 07 09083000 Cardamoms Cereals 07 10010000 Wheat and meslin. 07 10030000 Barley. 07 10040000 Oats.

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    Federal Law Concerning the Customs Duty payable on goods and materials imported from outside the Customs Union to the GCC Countries 6 07 10050000 Maize (corn). 07 10060000 Rice 07 10080000 Buckwheat, millet and canary seed; other cereals. Products of the milling industry; malt; starches; inulin; wheat gluten 07 11010000 Wheat or meslin flour. 07 11020000 Cereal flours other than of wheat or meslin. 07 11030000 Cereal groats, meal and pellets. Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder 07 12090000 Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing. Sugars and sugar confectionery 07 17010000 Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form. Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastrycooks' products 07 19011010 Infants food based on milk or malted milk

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    Federal Law Concerning the Customs Duty payable on goods and materials imported from outside the Customs Union to the GCC Countries 7 prepared as substitutes of mother milk, containing less than 5% by weight of cocoa Miscellaneous edible preparations 07 21069070 Sweets, gume and the like (for diabetics, in particular) containing synthetic sweetening agents ( e.g., sorbitol) instead of sugar Residues and waste from the food industries; prepared animal fodder 07 23040000 Oil-cake and other solid residues, whether or not ground or in the form of pellets, resulting from the extraction of ground-nut oil. Printed books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry; manuscripts, typescripts and plans 07 49010000 Printed books, brochures, Ieallets and similar printed matter,whether or not in single sheets.

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    Federal Law Concerning the Customs Duty payable on goods and materials imported from outside the Customs Union to the GCC Countries 8 07 49020000 Newspapers, journals and periodicals, whether or not illustrated or containing advertising material. Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi- precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal,and articles thereof; imitation jewellery; coin 07 71060000 Gold (including gold plated with platinum) unwrought or in semi- manufactured forms, or in powder form. 07 71080000 Platinum, unwrought or in semi-manufactursd forms, or in powder form. 07 71100000 Coin Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof 07 84212910 Filters for blood purifying Vehicles Other Than Railway or Tramway

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    Federal Law Concerning the Customs Duty payable on goods and materials imported from outside the Customs Union to the GCC Countries 9 Rolling-Stock, and Parts and Accessories 07 87130000 Carriages for disabled persons, whether or not motorised or otherwise mechanically propelled. 07 87142000 Parts and accessories of Carriages for disabled persons

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Note: The Arabic text of this legislation is the authoritative version as per the official UAE Legislation portal.

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