New ‘solution’ for swifter cargo clearance in Qatar

While it used to take between 24 and 48 hours for the Customs authorities to clear cargo at both the port and airport,  it is now being done in around three hours

By Ramesh Mathew

Staff Reporter

A long-standing demand of the country’s importers for swifter Customs clearance of cargo at the airport and seaport has been met with the formation of a Freight Solutions Committee.

Informing this yesterday, HE the Minister of Transport  Jassim Seif Ahmed al-Sulaiti said the committee’s formation was already helping importers considerably as their cargoes were being cleared “in record time”.

Underlining the importance of fast clearance at the Customs end,  the Minister,  who is the committee’s chairman,  said a new mechanism called Nadeeb had been put in place to expedite the process through better co-ordination among the stakeholders concerned. Because of  this, there has been a remarkable reduction in the Customs clearance time.

“It has been only a month since the committee came into being and the changes are there for us to see and experience,” he said.

Al-Sulaiti said that while it used to take between 24 and 48 hours for the Customs authorities to clear cargo at both the port and airport,  it was now being done in around three hours. This had been possible, he said, because of “a better understanding between different stakeholders about the requirements of one another”.

He  hoped that there would be a further reduction in the time taken for Customs clearance in the coming days.

“There is remarkably great transparency under the new committee and depending upon the volume of goods handled at the port and airport, the clearance requirements of all customers would be effectively and swiftly met.”

A dedicated website, www.qatarfreightsolutioncommittee.com,  allows customers to fulfil their needs and requirements online.

The committee’s principal aim is to promote the efficiency of freight transport “in terms of economic and environmental dimensions”, said al-Sulaiti, expressing hope that committee members would be able to formulate solutions to “outstanding issues in the coming days as there would be frequent interaction between different departments within the body”.

The Minister called upon residents, particularly those involved in trade and industry, to identify the obstacles in providing logistical services.

Meanwhile, an importer of foodstuffs has said the committee’s formation  was long due as there had been a number of instances in which the cargo clearance was delayed for inexplicable reasons and importers suffered huge losses. “Under the new set-up, we hope things will improve further in the coming days,” he said.

Besides the Minister, the other members of the committee are Ahmed Ali al-Mohannadi, director-general of the General Directorate of Customs; Mohamed bin Saif al-Kuwari, assistant undersecretary for laboratories and standardisation; Ahmed Mohamed al-Sada, assistant undersecretary for environment affairs; Issa Arrar al-Rumaihi, director of the Airport Security; Ahmed Yousef al-Mass, chairman of Qatar Port Management Company; Wassan Abdulla al-Baker, director of food safety; Mohamed Abdulazeem, director of support for air freight; Abdullah al-Suwaidi, assistant director of escorts; and Khamis Ahmed al-Mohannadi, adviser to HE the Prime Minister’s Office.