The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) announced the start of the implementation of the 'Clearance within Two Hours' initiative in all its land, sea and air customs ports, after completing a phase that witnessed continuous cooperation and coordination with the clearance organizations to reach this goal, which is an essential enabler for the Kingdom to become a global logistics hub.
The announcement came in conjunction with the ZATCA's celebration of the International Customs Day (ICD), in the presence of H.E. the Governor, Eng. Suhail bin Mohammed Abanmi, and representatives of the clearance organizations from the relevant authorities.
A major stage full of cooperation and collaboration, relentless efforts, and high coordination between all customs clearance authorities has been completed, the Governor noted, and now it is time to implement “Clearance within Two Hours" Initiative. He further lauded the eagerness of the wise leaders to back the efforts made to realize the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 by transforming the Kingdom into a global logistics hub and supporting trade facilities, such as the “Clearance within Two Hours" Initiative, which is a novel model for consolidating the efforts of customs clearance authorities and aims to elevate the Kingdom's position as a global logistics hub.
To strengthen the logistics sector, boost the Kingdom's global competitiveness, and improve business practices in line with the Kingdom's location and role, influencing the global economy, H.E. stated that ZATCA's goal in implementing this Initiative is to realize positive outcomes that go beyond facilitating and increasing the flexibility of customs operations and raising performance and productivity indicators across all customs ports. He further emphasized ZATCA's keenness to develop clearance procedures and launch initiatives and programs to increase the quality and performance of customs operations in collaboration with customs partners and to enhance cooperation in this respect with all local, national, and international public and private entities to serve this direction and increase the efficiency of the services rendered.
Given the importance of knowledge sharing between ZATCA and other counterpart customs authorities around the world in developing the working mechanism and sustainability of customs—a top ZATCA priority to improve its services and increase the efficiency of its customs procedures—Eng. Abanmi noted the significance of the theme for this year's ICD celebration: “Nurturing the Next Generation: Promoting a Culture of Knowledge-Sharing and Professional Pride in Customs."
ZATCA believes that human capital is the basis for creativity, innovation, and excellence, and the key enabler for realizing ZATCA's strategy, which aims to set up an effective work mechanism characterized by institutional excellence and efficacy in line with the best standards and practices. To this end, ZATCA's Academy is constantly working to consolidate the importance of developing knowledge and skills and enhancing the capabilities of its employees through specialized programs for all areas of customs activities.
The record time achieved by ZATCA in all customs ports of the Kingdom by land, sea and air, comes after several stages of continuous development of customs clearance procedures and related logistics services, and it constitutes an advanced step that enhances ZATCA's endeavors to raise the efficiency and effectiveness of cross-border trade facilitation, after the clearance period took 12 days in 2017 and witnessed a significant development until it reached today only two hours, in one of the most prominent achievements witnessed by ZATCA during the past stages.
