Ongoing Customs Endeavors Maintain Fluid Trade whilst Guaranteeing Safety
Fresh Take:
Fatima Al-Qallaf, Director General of Kuwait's Customs Administration, underscores the importance of integrating all customs departments and maintaining a robust focus on customs security standards while facilitating smooth trade flow.
Accompanied by Deputy Director General Sami Al-Kandari, Al-Qallaf conducted an inspection tour that took them to the Land Customs Department, Vegetable Market, and the Customs Antiquities Department. This tour aimed to evaluate operational procedures, assess customs facilities preparedness, and monitor inspectors' performance on inspection and control tasks.
Such visits are part of a broader initiative to bolster Kuwait's trade infrastructure, optimize work processes, and fortify the border security framework that coexists harmoniously with commercial activities.
In line with these objectives, several innovative measures are being implemented:
- Customs Instruction No. 25 of 2025: Introduced by Acting Director General Fatima Al-Qallaf, this instruction focuses on comprehensive inspection and control processes for imported sanitary ware products, promoting security and compliance improvements in product categories [1].
- Digital Transformation: While not explicitly cited as part of Kuwait Customs, there's a substantial push across Kuwait's regulatory landscape to implement digital tools and submission formats like the Pharmaceutical sector’s shift towards electronic Common Technical Documents, ensuring a more streamlined collaborative work environment [2].
- Regional Alignment: Kuwait is harmonizing some of its practices with GCC countries, which likely includes customs collaboration initiatives like the exit permit system for expatriates introduced by the Ministry of Interior in July 2025. This system employs electronic platforms to streamline regulatory control and improve customs and immigration synchronization [3].
- Security Enhancements:regulatory measures like Decree-Law No. 73 of 2025, which prohibits unauthorized raising of foreign flags, depict an ongoing trend of reinforcing regulatory oversight and fostering a customs security-focused culture in Kuwait [4].
Although specifics regarding new workflow or security initiatives within the Kuwait Customs beyond the sanitary ware import controls were not readily available, these emerging regulatory and administrative measures illustrate Kuwait's ambition to advance its customs management through specialized product controls, digitalization, cross-regional harmonization, and enhanced regulatory oversight.
In the ongoing efforts to advance Kuwait's customs management, the finance sector could invest in public-transit systems for the transportation of goods, streamlining the movement of goods while reducing congestion and environmental impact. Furthermore, the banking industry might collaborate with the customs administration to introduce electronic payment solutions, encouraging digitalization and enhancing the efficiency of customs clearance processes.
