Customs duty suspended on international goods over AED300 in Dubai

The new customs duty, which was to be levied on goods bought internationally with a value of more than AED 300 will no longer apply in Dubai as of March 1, 2023.

This is according to an email sent by Dubai Customs, which also announced that as of March 1, the previous threshold of AED 1,000 for the exemption of parcels and shipments has been reinstated.

In January this year, Dubai introduced new customs duty on goods bought internationally with a value of more than AED 300, which earlier only applied to goods exceeding AED 1,000.

The email said, “Kindly be informed that Paragraph (a) of Article (2) of Customs Notice 5/2022 related to exemption of consignments with value not exceeding AED 300 has been suspended and that it has been decided to re-establish the previous threshold for exemption of parcels/shipments of AED 1,000 effective March 1, 2023, until further notice.”

The duty rate was set at five per cent of the value of the goods, which meant that residents shopping internationally had to pay a five per cent import duty, in addition to the five per cent value-added tax (VAT).