On the occasion of International Customs Day Dubai Customs stresses on importance of simplifying procedures to enhance trade and revenue

All parcels going out of UAE, via Dubai Customs will also have the logo printed on it. This move aims to increase the awareness of the role played by Dubai Customs in catering to the needs of different sections of the society.

All mail will be stamped with the message "To be the lead customs authority in the world actively supporting international trade" from January 26, 2006, to February 2, 2006.

"Emirates Post is pleased to pay tribute to the work being done by Dubai Customs in making the society safer and boosting business in the UAE," said Abdullah Al Daboos, Director General, Emirates Post. "We are proud to be part of this international initiative to raise awareness about the role of customs through this postmark."

"Emirates Post has been supporting national and social causes through stamps and postmarks, as we consider it a duty to contribute to the betterment of society," added Al Daboos. "The message will be read by thousands of people in the UAE and abroad. We have delighted to use the medium of posts to deliver socially relevant messages."

Commenting on the developments, Feryal Mohammed Tawakul, Executive Director-Business, Dubai Customs, said that one of the most important goals of Dubai Customs is maintaining national security by closely monitoring and controlling the goods entering the country.

Tawakul said that the concepts of customs operations are developed in accordance with the latest economic developments taking place around the world. She stressed that the role of customs centers is not restricted to collecting tariffs on goods and guarding sea and land ports from smuggling, but also involves attracting foreign investments.

She also emphasised on the need to support changing developments in international trade and customs with a well-planned strategy, beginning with the development of human resources, which is the most important element of the development process. In line with this, Dubai Customs has developed a new plan to modernise its procedures and processes in its department. The plan also focuses on enhancing employment capabilities to suit the developments in trade and in keeping with international customs agreements.

Tawakul said that Dubai Customs regularly conducts research to know the requirements of clients. She spoke about the need to meet customers often to find out their specific requirement depending on their business operation and to make efforts to simplify procedures in the most effective way.

The strategic plan adopted by Dubai Customs will drive the future growth for the department said Tawakul. Before formulating the plan, Dubai Customs, with the help of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) assessed its strengths and weaknesses. This was followed by the formation of a team from Dubai Customs to implement the Reform and Modernisation program. The team put together key objectives that were aimed at increasing revenues, improving the national economy, protecting the society and industrial sector, joining in the process of national security, providing commercial data, advising the governments of Dubai, other emirates and the Gulf customs union on various aspects of world trade.

A better understanding of regional and international customs agreements have helped in the formation of these objectives, said Tawakul.