Qatar Chairs 33rd Meeting of Arab League's Customs Procedures and Information Committee

Cairo, December 06 (QNA) - The State of Qatar chaired the 33rd meeting of the Arab League's customs procedures and information committee, held at the General Secretariat of the Arab League over two days, with the participation of Arab state customs authority representatives.
    The director of the Customs Policies and Procedures Department at the General Authority of Customs (GAC) Issa bin Rashid Al Suwaidi represented the State of Qatar at the meeting.
    In a statement, the Arab League said that the meeting will tackle a number of issues, including updating the list of points of contact (POC) concerned with following up on customs issues, the Unified Guide of Advance Ruling, and the unified Arab conditions and procedures guide for granting licenses and practicing the customs clearance profession. 
    The statement explained that member states are updating their POCs responsible for handling matters including the Greater Arab Free Trade Area and Arab Customs Union negotiations. Furthermore, the statement said that the meeting will discuss member states' comments on the Unified Guide of Advance Ruling, which is meant to facilitate customs release and clearance of goods' requirements and procedures, which in turn will facilitate the trade exchange among member states and the entire world more generally.
    Moreover, the meeting will resume discussion on member states' comments on the unified Arab conditions and procedures guide for granting licenses and practicing the customs clearance profession, starting from Article No. (8). The guide is the mechanism that regulates the relationship between member state customs authorities and customs brokers, to ensure border security and uphold government interests, as well as facilitate customs procedures.
​     The Arab League statement noted that the latter is guided by international best practices, the World Customs Organization's guidelines and reports, as well as the laws and regulations governing the practice of the customs clearance profession of several countries including the United States of America, Canada, India, Taiwan, the Philippines, Togo, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. (QNA)