Dubai Customs completes 559,000 deposit refund requests, valued AED3.7b (37%+) in H1 2022

Deposit refund requests at Dubai Customs grew 37% in value (AED3.7 billion) in the first half of 2022 compared to the corresponding period in 2021.

The Smart Refund System, which allows clients to submit their refund claim requests 24/7 handled 559,000 in H1 2022 growing 17.4% from 476,000 refund requests in the same period in 2021. The creative system helps save clients’ time and reduce costs for companies. It also helps with simpler and more accurate refund calculation.

The facilities provided by Dubai Customs to clients in terms of claims for refund of  deposit or release of guarantee paid in lieu of customs duty keep pace with the development achieved through clearing (automated direct transfer) between the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. In the first half of 2022, there were about 33,000 refund claims, with a value of transferred customs duties amounting to AED 224 million.

The direct automatic transfer of customs duties system is one of the most important technical tools that contribute to enhancing Gulf customs cooperation by shortening the time of customs duties transfers.

Yousef Al-Hashmi, Acting Executive Director of Customer Management Division said; “This strong growth is an indication of recovery of trade in Dubai and the emirate's active contribution to the recovery of the trade sector at the international level. Dubai Customs keeps developing and enhancing their systems applying the latest and most advanced technological applications in order to further facilitate customs procedures for clients. The Smart Refund System, which Dubai Customs built, is the first of its kind in the world and can handle more than 2 million requests annually.

Clients can request refunds of their deposits anytime, anywhere, and this has contributed to raise clients’ happiness to 91.8% on the Dubai Government Customer Happiness Index 2021. Dubai Customs is the first customs department at the GCC level that provide refund of customs duties service online.”

On her part, Fatma Saqr, Acting Manager of Customs Claim and Refund Section; “Closing claim and refund requests in less than two days help companies with faster liquidity, which is essential to grow and enhance their business. Regular enhancements of the refund platform helped with faster refunds thanks to a centralized unit in place for processing the applications.”