ID :
350775
Wed, 12/10/2014 - 09:41
Auther :

National Day/ General Authority of Customs Gears Up to Improve Customs Services

Doha, December 10 (QNA) - Qatar General Authority of Customs has made considerable achievements in providing quality customs services and monitoring importation and exportation of goods in and out of the country. In this context, the General Authority of Customs developed its strategic plan 2013-2016. The Strategic Plan meets the objectives of Qatar National Development Strategy 2011-2016 and seeks to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030, which rests on four pillars: human development, social development, economic development, and environmental development. The Authority approved an executive action plan tied to specific period of time in order to implement its strategy and according to performance measurement indicators to test the extent of realizing its goals. The General Authority of Customs also aims to provide leading customs' services according to latest international practices, and contributes effectively to the achievement of sustainable development. In the economic development field, the Authority' deposited customs revenues and duties in the State Budget increased by 4% to reach QR 3.5 billion in 2014, and its customs declarations also increased to 1051147 in 2013. Air cargo recoded 49% of the total declarations, followed by Abu Samra border crossing with 33%. The Doha port recorded 14% of the total declarations during the same period. Within its efforts to curb commercial fraud, the General Authority of Customs recorded 257 commercial fraud munites in 2014 and 689 reports during last year. At a time when Qatar's volume of trade with the countries of the world rose by 4% to QR 596.4 billion, the General Authority of Customs contributed to enhance Qatar's ranking in the economic competitiveness report and participated in the negotiations aimed at facilitating trade agreement that was signed in Bali in 2013. The General Authority of Customs also launched Qatar Customs Clearance Single Window (Al-Nadeeb). It is an electronic system to streamline all customs clearance processes that involve the Authority and other stakeholders such as the other governmental agencies as well as the private sector enterprises (shipping companies and airlines). Al-Nadeeb also helped in the implementation of intellectual property protection law and prevented the entry of counterfeit goods, as it found 192 intellectual property violations in 2013 and 86 violations in the first half of 2014. The Authority took many measures to protect intellectual property rights in co-operation with security apparatuses. On Customs statistics regarding employment and training, the Authority achieved 93% Qatarisation and increased training by 36% in 2014, and dispatched 100 employees to study in various Qatar universities and colleges. As part of the Paperless Customs Project, the Authority developed a program to organize and manage documents and archive internal correspondence between the various departments. The General Authority of Customs completed the first phase of electronic link with Saudi Arabia customs to allow the exchange of data on the movement of vehicles and facilitates the process of registering cars moving between the two countries, among others. It also added more services to its website, including the single window and links for companies and agreements. In addition, it completed requirements for implementing an ictQatar project for customs procedures and using one portal for E-customs. The Authority also participated in several local, regional and international meetings to share with the participants its experience and learn about other practices and keep abreast of the latest development in customs fields. (END)

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