By Pratap John/Chief Business Reporter
In a major initiative aimed at preventing fake products from entering the market, Qatar has now made it mandatory for all general goods to have “non-removable” marking of their “place of manufacture” to be eligible for customs clearance.
Product details that do not match those in the invoice or other shipping documents are not getting cleared, industry sources said yesterday.
Also, removable stickers bearing product information including place of manufacture are not accepted for cargo clearance, a freight forwarder told Gulf Times.
This applies to both air and sea freight reaching customs facilities in Qatar, it is learnt.
For example, if a laptop or tablet of an American brand is manufactured in China, it has to be properly marked on the product and must be non-removable.
Import of vehicle tyres, spare parts and electrical home appliances now has to be based on a “certificate of conformity” (CoC) issued by the authority concerned.
The CoC is a mandatory customs clearance document for the clearance of regulated import items in Qatar. The regulated items include vehicle tyre, safety belt, wheel rim, brake pad, exhaust fan, electric iron and hair dryer.
Again, this is clearly meant to ensure fake or inferior quality products are not getting flooded in the local market.
Henceforth, all general cargo for customs clearance in Qatar must be backed by “original commercial invoice” with shipper’s letter head, stamp and signature. They also require attestation by the chamber of commerce.
Details (packing list) of each consignment must have the number of pieces, weight and volume.
Qatar has already introduced a “single window” facility for sea freight, speeding up clearance and facilitating proper tracking of consignments, which also helps stop fake products from reaching market.
Qatar Customs has made it mandatory for all importers to obtain HS Code or Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System, an international system for classifying traded products and link it to their Commercial Registration (CR) and import licence.
Since HS code is now compulsory for sea freight to Qatar, only authorised agents can clear consignments.
This means, only “genuine” products are allowed into the market. As the whole process is tracked, counterfeit products will be seized immediately.
A clearing agent told Gulf Times yesterday that products that did not tag the place of their manufacturer or country of origin would be “rejected outright and sent back”.
“The whole process is transparent and efficient. I will not be able to clear my sea freight, if I don’t have the HS Code entered into my CR, which is filed with Qatar Customs, I will only be allowed to import products that are shown in my CR. It is all online and nobody can play with it. Everything is accounted for.”
The HS Code is an international system of names and numbers for classifying traded products created by the World Customs Organisation and used in determining tariffs on items shipped internationally.
