Dubai Customs completes 452,300 insurance refund requests, valued Dh3.2b in H1 2020
According to latest statistics of Refund and Maqasa Department at Dubai Customs, 452,300 insurance refund requests with a value of Dh 3.2b have been completed in H1 2020. The smart Insurance Refund Portal helps clients submit their claims 24/7, which saves their time and reduces cost on them.
Dubai Customs has gone far in introducing innovative systems and portals that enable clients complete their transactions inline without any need for physical attendance following the emirate’s vision of becoming the smartest and happiest city worldwide, and Dubai Customs vision of becoming the leading customs organization in the world supporting legitimate trade.
“Despite the impact of Covid-19, the Refund and Maqasa Department has seen coherent and strong performance in H1 2020, which is down to a very advanced technological infrastructure, automated procedures, and AI technologies,” said Mohammed Al Hashmi, Director of Refund and Maqasa Department. “The Smart Refund System is the first of its kind in the world and can handle 2 million requests a year, which means more than 5,000 applications a day. This has helped the clients and the Department in many ways. Dubai Customs is the first customs organization in the GCC that offers the service of insurance refund online.”
Insurance refunded in H1 2020 amounted to around Dh2.44b. There were 49.9 claims with a value of Dh249.3 of customs duties in the online Maqasa system.
“Closing insurance refund claims, which takes 2 working days to complete, contribute in more liquidity to companies and attracting more foreign investments in the country. The system has seen a number of improvements which made it faster, more efficient and transparent. This enables 24/7 submission of refund applications through a central data processing unit, and clients can track the status of their claims from their mobile phones.
With the adoption of this smart system, clearing of non-hazardous shipments increased 98% compared to local goods” he added.