His Excellency Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman & CEO and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation said that the economic sectors in the UAE are performing positively and are likely to achieve more growth. 

The UAE's foreign trade for the first 6 months of this year exceeded one trillion dirhams, and the tourism sector recorded revenues of more than 19 billion dirhams. Moody's Investors Service forecasts UAE real GDP growth of 6%-7% in 2022, and the non-oil economy of 4% to 5%. 

His Excellency stressed during the meeting of the 3rd Dubai Customs Consultative Council (DCCC), in the presence of His Excellency Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, CEO of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, and business and trade groups in the emirate, that the comprehensive economic partnership agreements concluded by the UAE will push up foreign trade rates even further and consolidate the country's position as a main hub in international trade. 

He noted that Dubai Customs stands firmly in support of these agreements through continuous development of its smart customs systems, which resulted in significant increase in customs transactions to 12.7 million in the first half of 2022 compared to 11.3 million in the corresponding period in 2021, growing 12.3%. 

“The economic sectors in Dubai are moving with confidence to achieve exceptional breakthroughs following the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to establish Dubai as the preferred destination for trade and a global capital for business. Expo 2020 Dubai has shed more light on the emirate and showcased to the world the extent of progress and development and the enormous investment and tourism opportunities it possesses.”

For his part, H.E. Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, CEO of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation said the UAE has been agile, dynamic and efficient in dealing with the covid-19 pandemic, and it was among the quickest to overcome its repercussions, maintaining good levels of growth compared to before the pandemic.

“The Authorized Economic Operator Agreements are expected to boost this growth further. We also expect strong recovery in the tourism sector especially at the winter season and the advent of the Qatar World Cup. The UAE is expected to receive more than a million visitors during the World Cup season. It is very important at this stage to reaffirm the importance of cooperation and partnership between the government and the private sectors in sustaining national development.” 

A number of presentations were delivered during the meeting. Rashed Rahma, Director of IT at Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented the new smart attestation system. Traders as of 1/2/2023 can get their documents and invoices attested and approved online without any human intervention. The system is integrated with the banks and this would facilitate the procedure and reduce the time and cost needed for attestation and approvals. 

Mirza Hamid, Senior Analyst at Dubai Customs delivered a presentation on the Export Trader Report service, which will help support traders to zero rate goods exported by clearing agents or assigned freight forwarders by overseas buyers. These Traders faced a challenge whereby they were unable to zero rate exported goods due to the lack of documentary proof of export. The new online service aims to provide the necessary official proof required by the VAT legislation in order for these Traders to zero rate the export of goods within the specified period. The trader is still required to meet all the other requirements for zero rating, including the retention of the exit certificate and commercial documents proofing the export, and ensuring the goods are exported within the prescribed period of 90 days of the date of supply. This Trader Export Report will only apply to imported goods, which were subsequently exported, and does not apply to goods acquired locally.

In his presentation, Shashi Shekhar, Group Chairman, Supply Chain and Logistics Group (SCLG) said international retail sector is expected to grow to $40 trillion by 2040, and this opens huge investment opportunities for investors and traders in the region. He said multinational firms have recovered from the pandemic, but the SME sector is still facing some challenges. 

“Dubai Customs’ services are exceptional, and there are dynamic and flexible policies in place that aid businesses across different sectors. The DCCC initiative is a great platform through which Dubai Customs listens to its clients and responds to their needs.”

Nadia Abdul Aziz, President of National Association of Freight and Logistics (NAFL) talked about Dubai as a competitive city and highlighted the emirate’s advantages including the ease of business and the distinctive facilities provided to investors and traders, noting that Dubai is among the best cities to live and make business.