Newly signed Customs Agreement with UAE will assist in tackling commercial fraud
July 23, 2021
The Customs agreement signed between Seychelles and the United Arab Emirates earlier this month, will enhance cooperation between the two designated authorities.
Speaking to the press this morning, the Principal Secretary for Trade, Ms. Cillia Mangroo, explained that the agreement will pave the way for both sides to exchange information and provide technical assistance whenever there is a need.
“Trade transactions between Seychelles and the UAE, in particular Dubai, have continued to grow in recent years and with this growth, we have been experiencing a lot of customs issues.”
According to Mr. Paul Barrack, the Commissioner of Customs, the agreement sets out the formal framework, which will allow the customs authorities on both sides to identify customs related issues and deal with them in a timely manner.
“We will be able to combat commercial fraud, which is on the increase, because the agreement will allow us to access information from our counterpart in the UAE.”
According to Customs, commercial frauds, such as non-declaration, under-declaration of goods, re-labeling of goods and fraudulent documents are some of the issues they have been facing lately when dealing with trade transactions between the two jurisdictions.
The agreement is the first of its kind that Seychelles has signed, other such agreements are being earmarked with other countries such as, Japan, South Africa and India, due to the rise in customs related issues, with goods coming in from these jurisdictions.
Trade transactions between Seychelles and UAE have continuously increase in recent years. Figures show that in 2018, goods to the value of $425,710,000 were imported from the UAE, whereas export from Seychelles to the UAE was valued at $206,247,000.
In 2019, some $326,844,000 worth of goods were imported from UAE, while $310,041,00 worth of goods were exported towards the gulf state.
The link below is PS Mangroo and Mr. Barrack speaking to the media this morning
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