RIYADH — Personal belongings and used household items brought by citizens and expatriates from abroad will be exempted from customs duty. This is among the new regulations governing customs procedures, which were approved by the governor of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learnt. According to the new regulations, customs duty exemptions will be granted to only personal belongings and used household items brought by citizens and expatriates within a period not exceeding six months after their arrival in the Kingdom. This exemption will also be given to those expatriates who are coming to reside in the Kingdom for the first time. According to the regulations, these items must be within the limits of personal use, and must be imported from their place of residence. Means of transportation will not be counted among the personal belongings. Expatriates must provide proof of their arrival to reside in the Kingdom for the first time for obtaining the exemption. According to the regulations, goods arriving at land customs ports will be referred to customs departments within the Kingdom in the absence of a technical authority, and in the event of a need to inspect the goods at another port. It is also stipulated that containers and trailers must be tightly closed, and their seals or locks may not be removed except with a permission from the authority. It is not permissible to split a single consignment that arrives under one policy and belongs to one owner. An exception to this will be for those goods reaching incompletely for reasons related to the source country and splitting goods due to the nature of their size, in the event that the goods are received in the name of a shipping broker registered with the service on the authority's platform. According to article 32 of the regulations, commercial samples imported into the Kingdom will be exempted from customs duty with a condition that their customs value does not exceed SR5000 in accordance with the principles for determining the value. According to the regulations, the documents that must be attached when importing goods include the invoice, bill of lading, or export statement in the event of the goods arriving through land ports, a certificate of origin or a certificate of proof of origin for those goods of which it is difficult to confirm their origin. It is also required the submission of the necessary certificates and documents upon the request of the competent government authorities, according to the nature of the imported goods
