After a period of continuous cooperation and coordination with the clearance authorities, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) has announced the beginning of the implementation of the "Clearance within Two Hours" Initiative in all of its land, sea, and air customs ports. This initiative is a key enabler for the Kingdom to become a global logistics hub.
Timed to coincide with the ZATCA's commemoration of International Customs Day (ICD), the announcement was made in the presence of H.E. the Governor, Eng. Suhail bin Mohammed Abanmi, and representatives of the clearance 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 launch the “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.
With numerous stages of ongoing improvement of customs clearing operations and related logistical services, ZATCA has reached record times in all customs ports of the Kingdom via land, sea, and air. This represents an advanced step that enhances ZATCA's efforts to raise the efficiency and effectiveness of cross-border trade facilitation. Since the clearance period went from 12 days in 2017 to only two hours today, this is one of the most notable accomplishments witnessed by ZATCA over the past stages.
