In Focus
Dubai Customs: Facilitating the growth of the UAE’s economy through digitalisation of trade and e-commerce ENHANCING CUSTOMS OPERATIONS AND SECURING THE SUPPLY CHAIN THROUGH DATA-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS In an era where digitisation has transformed virtually every sector, Dubai Customs has safeguarded steady progress through the prudent utilisation of its technological solutions to ensure operational growth, despite the impact of the pandemic. During his conversation with ‘The Zone’, HE Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, CEO of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) highlighted the approach adopted by the organisation to facilitate secure and seamless trade during a period of unprecedented uncertainties.
What strategies has Dubai Customs employed to enhance its status in the UAE? In line with the nation’s vision, Dubai Customs embarked on a forward-thinking approach in order to transform and develop a journey to achieve the title of ‘the Customs of the future.’ Building on our capabilities, we have transformed ourselves into a technologically advanced, resilient, and innovative customs administration. Through our positive approach, we have been able to meet the expectations of businesses in Dubai, as well as the global supply chain. Our strategy for 2021-2026 aims to boost our status as a secure and sustainable customs administration through digital transformation of our services to facilitate trade, boost the economy, and enhance our customers’ experience with our services.
How have you maintained pace with the advancing technologies in trade, commerce, and logistics? We have adopted the latest technologies for all aspects of our work to meet both present
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Issue 63 | March - April 2022
and future needs of the global supply chain. We use the latest systems for accurate pre-arrival monitoring of cargo shipments, and x-ray scanning of containers to ensure secure and free flow of trade. We have also worked on our smart customs services in order to work in line with the Dubai Paperless Strategy, as a result of which, 99.6 per cent of transactions in 2021 were completed through smart and electronic channels. Our achievements in advanced data-driven security processes have allowed us to reach global recognition with the World Customs Organization regarding us as the global benchmark for leveraging information technology to enhance customs operations.
Would you like to provide an overview about your Cross Border Platform for e-commerce? Dubai government launched its e-commerce strategy in September 2019, with an aim of transforming Dubai into a world-class e-commerce hub. In line with this strategy, we built a Cross Border E-Commerce Platform using blockchain technology. Blockchain has the potential to connect local and overseas e-commerce companies, logistics and courier companies, and free zones, making it an ideal technology to implement to serve all the key players in the e-commerce ecosystem. The platform helps us stay in line with the same-day delivery strategy, as it ensures seamless transfer of goods, from the moment the customer places an online order until it reaches the end user. The pilot phase of the platform went live in 2019, and as of today, JAFZA has been successfully using our platform. We are also working with 15 companies
Our e-commerce platform helps us stay in line with the same-day delivery strategy, as it ensures seamless transfer of goods, from the moment the customer places an online order until it reaches the end user. which are in different stages of onboarding the platform and will be live in 2022. The blockchain-based platform will help reduce operational cost by 20 per cent and is expected to contribute as much as AED12 billion to the Emirate’s GDP by 2023.
How do you think your access control and management systems will impact trade worldwide? Dubai Customs is keen on developing its capabilities in the areas of customs intelligence, inspections, and risk management, in order to restrict the trade of prohibited goods. Our risk assessment system, Risk Engine, monitors suspicious shipments prior to their arrival. As a result of this, 97 per cent of risk-free consignments are automatically approved and cleared without human intervention in less than two minutes. Moreover, the Dubai Customs’ control room makes use of 25 security systems and 564 surveillance cameras to monitor inspection
