The Saudi Customs and the Customs of the Kingdom of Bahrain have signed Agreement of Mutual Recognition of Authorized Economic Operator Program, which aims to enhance the security of the supply chain and enhance the advantages of trade facilitation offered by the Authorized Economic Operator Program (AEO) for the facilities approved in the program.

The agreement was signed on the Saudi Customs side by Governor of the General Customs Authority Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Haqbani and on the Bahraini Customs side by Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the President of Customs in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

This agreement will enhance mutual cooperation between the two countries on curbing illicit trade and unauthorized entry of goods into each other territory.

In the past two years Saudi Arabia has come heavily on tobacco products, soda drinks and few other health related products like energy drinks. The government has slapped heavy levy on these products ranging from 100 percent to 300 percent. The Kingdom intends to raise these levies further for the health of its citizens and residents.

In early stage of enhance duty the heavily taxed goods like several brands of cigarettes were brought into the Kingdom from Bahrain through King Fad Causeway. Bahrain has until then not increased levy on these products. The price difference was huge. A pack of popular American brand of cigarette was costing SR27 in the Kingdom, while in Bahrain it was merely for BD 1.5 (SR15). The same was happening on energy drinks which are extremely popular among youth in the Kingdom. “ It was a simple case of smuggling but not much could be done to curb this movement in absence of mutual common agreement and stringent law,” said a Saudi custom official on the King Fahd Causeway.

This lacuna was brought to the notice of higher authorities who immediately came up with series of rules that plugged the gaps. Foremost among them was stamping of “ paid duty” on all products that are brought into the Kingdom. In the past few months Causeway custom authorities have seized huge amount of cigarettes and energy drinks that did not carry the required stamp.

Now with this new agreement in place, authorities say that any product moved between the two countries will be checked on both side and, thus, it will curb entry of untaxed goods into the Kingdom.

SOURCE : ALBILAD