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Import and Export Clearance

Import & Export Customs Clearance

Clearing goods into the UAE and out of it - two different processes, two different sets of documents, handled by one team.

Two Directions, Two Processes

Two Directions, Two Processes truck

Import and Export Customs Clearance

Importing and exporting are not mirror images of each other. An import entry is about establishing what the goods are, what they are worth and what is payable on them. An export declaration is about proving that they left, and doing it in a way that satisfies both UAE customs and whoever receives them. Both are filed in-house by our own brokerage team. The process differs on the way in and on the way out ÔÇö how customs clearance works in Dubai sets out both.

What Each Direction Needs truck

Handled on Both Legs

The document set differs, and so does what customs is actually checking.

  • Import declarations with duty and VAT assessed
  • Export declarations for outbound cargo
  • Re-export entries for goods passing through
  • Transit movements across the UAE
  • Temporary import and re-export
  • Release and delivery order handling
What Each Direction Needs

Clearing Goods In or Out? truck

Tell us the direction, the mode and the documents you hold

Get a Clearance Quote Call +971 4 239 7107
The Practical Distinction

Where Import and Export Differ

Treating an export like an import in reverse is how exporters end up with entries that do not close properly.

Imports are about liability

Classification and value determine what is payable. Getting them wrong is the importer's problem, not the supplier's, and it surfaces later rather than at the border.

Exports are about proof

The declaration evidences that goods left the country, which matters for VAT treatment and for the consignee's import at the far end.

Re-exports are neither

Goods that arrive and leave without entering the UAE market are a distinct category, and getting it wrong means paying duty that was never due.

Timing works differently

Imports are usually a race against terminal charges; exports are a race against a vessel or flight cut-off. Either way, somewhere to stage the cargo is what takes the pressure off.

Across Every Mode

Across Every Mode truck

How the Cargo Arrives or Leaves

Clearance follows the cargo, whichever way it is travelling.

  • Sea freight

    Containerised and breakbulk arrivals and departures through Jebel Ali and Khor Fakkan.

  • Air freight

    Consignments through Dubai's airports, where the clearance window is short and the paperwork has to be right first time.

  • Road

    Consignments crossing the GCC land borders, cleared alongside the trucking rather than separately.

Why Cannata truck

One Team on Both Sides of the Transaction

Businesses that both import and export usually end up with two providers and two ways of working. There is no need for that. Run from our facility inside Jebel Ali Free Zone, alongside the port.

Both directions

Import entries and export declarations from the same team, so the treatment stays consistent across a business that does both.

Storage between legs

Goods can be held in our own warehouses between an import and a later re-export.

Moved as well as cleared

Clearance runs into our own transport, so nothing waits for a second company to be booked.

Rate Request

Get a price for this shipment

Give us the route and the cargo and we will come back with a rate, usually within one working day.

Enquiring about Import & export customs clearance

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Our FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

What customers ask about import and export clearance.

An import entry establishes what the goods are, what they are worth and what duty and VAT are payable. An export declaration evidences that goods left the country, which matters for VAT treatment and for the consignee's import at the other end.

Goods that arrive in the UAE and leave again without entering the local market. It is a distinct customs treatment, and handling it as an ordinary import means paying duty that was never due.

Sea, air and road. Containerised and breakbulk cargo through Jebel Ali and Khor Fakkan, air consignments through Dubai's airports, and road freight crossing the GCC land borders.

It depends far more on the documents than on the mode. Complete, consistent paperwork submitted before arrival is what makes clearance quick; chasing a missing certificate afterwards is what makes it slow.

Yes. Temporary import and subsequent re-export is handled as its own entry type rather than as a standard import.

The commercial invoice, packing list and transport document, plus any certificates or permits the goods require. Send them before arrival wherever possible.
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