United Arab Emirates Country Profile
Customs Administration
Business Corruption
Business executives surveyed in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011 perceive customs services in the UAE as being extremely efficient. According to the World Bank & IFC Doing Business 2011, the UAE performs well in terms of trading across borders. Between 2008 and 2009, the UAE reformed customs procedures by enhancing capacity at the container terminal and eliminating the terminal handling receipt as a required document.
Political Corruption
UNDP Programme of Governance in the Arab Region reports that a case from 2001 involving the UAE customs service chief sparked a debate; while the Ministry of Justice maintained that the case was an exception, the State Audit Institution complained of widespread corruption in government offices. The customs chief, Mr. Obaid Saqer bin Busit, and six aides were arrested for having amassed large sums of money through corrupt practices. Mr. Busit was eventually sentenced to 27 years in prison, a sentence that some observers saw as a deterrent and a strong message by the government as to how seriously the issue of corruption within public servants is addressed. As a consequence of the scandal, the UAE anti-corruption legislation and institutional framework was revised and harder penalties incorporated into the Penal Code.
Frequency
The World Bank & IFC: Doing Business 2011:
- A standard export shipment of goods requires 4 documents and takes 7 days at a cost of USD 521 per container.
- A standard import shipment of goods requires 5 documents and takes 7 days at a cost of USD 542 per container.
World Economic Forum: The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011:
- Business executives give the efficiency of customs procedures (formalities regulating the entry and exit of merchandise) in the UAE a score of 5.8 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'extremely inefficient' and 7 'extremely efficient' with the average of the 139 countries covered being 4.2).
