Dubai Customs has granted companies an additional 60-day grace period to clear goods imported under suspended-duty status, extending the total window to 180 days. Published in Customs Notice No. 18/2026 on September 24, the move covers import-for-re-export, temporary admission and all forms of transit declarations whose suspension would otherwise expire between February 27 and October 31 this year. The authority said 6,613 firms benefited from the earlier 120-day extension issued in June. The new add-on aims to preserve cash flow, ease warehouse congestion and keep supply chains fluid while regional security issues disrupt shipping schedules and overland trucking via Jebel Ali and Hatta. For global-mobility and relocation managers, the notice matters because suspended-duty regimes are widely used to move household goods, exhibition equipment and project cargo into the UAE before re-export to final postings. The longer grace period reduces the risk of unexpected duty payments if onward assignments are delayed by visa holdups or project-site readiness. Companies can also continue to leverage Dubai’s “Green Corridor” fast-track—a land route to Oman that handled over 3.16 million tonnes of goods in H1 2026—to reposition cargo regionally without triggering duties. However, compliance teams must diary the new 180-day limit; further extensions will require fresh justification under Dubai Customs’ control procedures. Dubai’s wider economic-support package includes 80 % penalty reductions and instalment plans for duty settlement, illustrating how customs facilitation is being deployed as a competitiveness lever alongside immigration reforms such as new long-term visas.
Source: Khaleej Times
