Mechanism for Settlement of Funds collected as Customs Revenues amongst the GCC Customs Federation
n its sixtieth meeting held in Doha, Qatar, on Rabi’, 5th 1423 / May, 5th 2003, The Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee adopted a mechanism for settlement of funds collected as Customs revenues (Clearing Mechanism) amongst the GCC Member States according to the following text:
- The Customs Department in each country shall deposit customs revenue collected from the first of January 2003 in the Ministry of Finance account dedicated for this purpose in the financial institution or Central Bank in respective country
- The Ministry of Finance in each Member state shall open a clearing account in the financial institution or Central Bank in respective country.
- The Customs department in the country of the first import point shall conduct preliminary register of each Member state’s quotas in complete or split consignments, in addition to customs duties collected on them. Then, these shall be compared to data provided by the final destination country later on.
- In order to facilitate clearing process amongst Member states, the following procedures shall be conducted:
- .All Member states shall apply the Unified Customs Declaration agreed under framework of the GCC for the statistical and customs purposes, to complete customs procedures imposed on goods imported to the GCC countries.
- Copy of both the Unified Customs Declaration of customs purposes related to transit of complete consignments, and the Unified Customs Declaration of statistical purposes related to transit of split consignments, shall be sealed, as per form annexed hereto (Annex (1)) which includes data on cargo, value, and customs duties collected, for the purpose of clearing process according to the following mechanism regarding usage of the clearing seal:
- In case that cargo source is the first import point:
a. Complete Consignments: Copy of the Unified Customs Declaration of customs purposes shall be sealed at the back by the competent officer at the first import point.
- b. Split Consignments: Copy of the Unified Customs Declaration of statistical purposes shall be sealed at the back by the competent officer at the first import point.
- In case that cargo source is local markets: The Unified Customs Declaration of statistical purposes shall be sealed at the back by competent officer at export point or by nearest customs port according to procedures applicable in respective country.
- To facilitate Clearing purposes: Member states shall abide by filling in the Unified Customs Declaration of customs purposes with needed data, as well as the Unified Customs Declaration of statistical purposes, especially data regarding cargo value, type and number, and collected customs duties.
- Customs Intra-points through which cargo must pass to its final destination shall be provided with a copy of the Unified Customs Declaration of customs purposes or the Unified Customs Declaration of statistical purposes sealed at the first import point, provided that original sealed declaration shall be submitted to the final destination customs port as a document whereby customs duties shall be payable.
- The customs department of the final destination country shall collect data needed to identify its quota in customs duties collected by the first import point as per the Unified Customs Declaration of the customs or statistical purposes.
- Data shall be collected every 3 months by the final destination customs department, which data shall clarify funds due to the final destination country on Member states through which (first import point) goods passed to final destination, and be annexed with copies of the Unified Customs Declarations of the customs and statistical purposes and copies of data sealed as per paragraph (4/b) above.
- Member states shall conduct appropriate review to complete clearing process needed for customs revenue settlement amongst them on bilateral basis, prior to meetings of the Clearing Committee, provided that findings concluded to by bilateral review regarding each country’s quota and outstanding amounts.
- Clearing committee shall be composed of representatives for the Ministry of Finance, Customs Departments, any third party upon discretion of Member state, and the Secretariat General, and shall meet every three months to make appropriate decisions on settlement of funds due to each country (as a final destination country) on other member states (first import point country). The first meeting of the committee shall be in the period 5-8 July 2003, for the purpose of identifying each country’s dividend for the first five months of commencement of the GCC Customs Federation. The committee shall meet every three year for the same purpose.
- Member states shall fill in the form of “Accruals Clearing Statement” (Annex (2)), or any other form for the same purpose, and submit the same to the Secretariat General at least one month prior to the next meeting of the Clearing Committee, to be generalized to Member states. Should any Member state have any comments, it shall directly contact relevant country or countries prior to the meeting.
- The Secretariat General shall pass findings concluded to by the Clearing Committee to Member states, letting the Ministry of Finance adopt appropriate instructions to the financial institution or Central Bank in respective Member state to conduct necessary settlements with correspondent Central Banks or financial institutions of the other Member states. Fund transfer procedures shall be conducted in no more than the first work day in the second half of next month after meeting of the Clearing Committee, provided that transfer shall be in currency of country transferred to and current exchange rate on day of transfer.
- In case that the Clearing Committee fails to settle any claim, such claim shall be referred to the Execution and Follow up Committee (the Customs Federation Committee) for reconsideration, and if not settled yet, the same shall be exhibited to the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee.
- Clearing processes amongst Member states shall be conducted using Calendar months. We seek reconciliation from Allah
The Unified Guide represents a guideline document that helps importers, merchants and businessmen in the GCC States and exporters to the GCC States to understand the procedures and disciplines related to advance rulings in order to facilitate their implementation and use on the one hand, and it also contributes to strengthening the information unit included in the advance rulings at the all first entry points and all customs administrations in the GCC Member States.
Advance Rulings are among the most important basic tools that help to facilitate the import Declaration, and thus facilitate the procedures related to customs clearance, within the framework of the objectives of trade facilitation and enhancing the trade flow of and the growth of GCC intra-trade and international trade of the GCC Member States.
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