GAC has published its declaration statistics for July

The GAC has published 264,882 declarations in the month of July, according to its monthly bulletin. A substantial decrease from June’s 329,901.

Import declarations for air cargo totalled 240,627 in July; import declarations for maritime cargo totalled 23,286. According to the GAC’s figures, 97 per cent of declarations were released within an hour, down one point from June. 2900 pieces of Lyrica pills were confiscated by the Authority in July, out of 212 reports.

The top exporter was India, but the number one importer was China, which overtook the United States for the second month in a row. Averaging 1.96 hours, the Department of Health Promotion and Communicable Diseases won the Best Government Agency in ‘time of release. It replaces the Environmental Protection Reserves and Wildlife Department, which has held this role for a long time. A total of 24,580 declarations were also forwarded from the GAC to other government organisations.

Head of Customs Valuation Department Ahmad Al Kuwari noted in the newsletter that a handbook (Manual of Custom Valuation – Q&A – Manual of Customs Value) has been produced to enhance the appraisal of products imported for customs purposes and to increase the efficiency of the valuer at customs ports.

While maintaining and providing information on the international stock market for the value of products and prices, the Department also circulates this information across the GAC’s divisions. GAC’s Anti-Smuggling and Customs Security Department’s “Kafih” programme was also emphasised in the newsletter’s content. Smuggling and illicit business operations will be tackled as part of the campaign, which attempts to get the public involved. Accordingly, the Authority has established a hotline and a dedicated email to deal with such complaints.

Travellers should disclose QR50,000 or its equivalent while crossing the border, the GAC remarked. Currency, negotiable bearer financial instruments, precious metals, and jewels are among the materials or commodities that must be specified.