Dubai Customs today revealed the Customs Policy No. (58/2024) on “Voluntary Disclosure System” to enable clients to disclose prior errors made when declaring information in customs declarations, abide by procedural requirements, and facilitate paying resulting customs dues.

The policy aims to foster a culture of compliance, transparency and participation among clients.

Article 141 (ibid) of the Common Customs Law allows for the partial or full exemption from customs fines when companies voluntarily disclose violations before detection by Dubai Customs.

The policy comprises nine articles, prominently the “Voluntary Disclosure System”, which is a disclosure statement submitted by a client to duly inform Dubai Customs of any inadvertent errors and/or violations committed during customs clearance and the declaration of information related to declarations and customs data according to the conditions and regulations specified herein.

Customs fines may be fully or partially waived for customs violations if voluntary disclosure is made before they are discovered by Dubai Customs.

Additionally, the voluntary disclosure applies to the following violations: import and export violations, customs declaration violations, transit violations, warehouse violations, violations in areas supervised by customs, Temporary import violations, re-export violations, and any other customs violations.

The policy states that the Customs Audit Department is responsible for implementing and interpreting its provisions. It also notes that the voluntary disclosure request can be accessed through the electronic channels of Dubai Customs and Dubai Trade.