UAE Customs Clearance in 2026: Jebel Ali, Fujairah and Khor Fakkan Step by Step

TL;DR

• The rules are federal and identical at every UAE port: 5 percent duty on CIF, 5 percent VAT on the duty-paid value, MOFAIC attestation of invoices worth AED 10,000 or more. What differs in 2026 is where the cargo lands: Fujairah and Khor Fakkan on the Gulf of Oman instead of Jebel Ali.
• Six documents drive the file: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, certificate of origin, the consignee’s import code under a valid trade licence, and a conformity certificate for regulated goods.
• A clean file clears in one to two working days once the container is available. Add one to three days for a yellow or red inspection channel, and plan for the road leg from the east coast.
• Under an all-in service the forwarder clears in its own name and you never touch this process. The trade-off is that you do not get a VAT invoice in your company’s name.

Where UAE imports clear in September 2026

Jebel Ali handled about 70 percent of the UAE’s containerised imports until the Strait of Hormuz closed in March 2026. In the second quarter the port moved 374,000 TEU against 3.8 million a year earlier. DP World keeps the terminal staffed and says it can restart within 48 hours, but the ships are not coming through the strait.

Sea cargo now enters through Fujairah, cleared by Fujairah Customs, and Khor Fakkan, cleared by Sharjah Customs, both on the Gulf of Oman side of the peninsula, plus Sohar in Oman for overflow. Air cargo continues through Dubai International and Al Maktoum without disruption. The customs code, tariff and VAT treatment are the same everywhere in the country; the practical differences are the port systems, the truck queue and the road leg of about 130 km to Dubai.

Documents that make up the file

Document	Issued by	What matters in 2026
Commercial invoice	Supplier	English or Arabic, HS code per line, value, currency, consignee exactly as on the trade licence; attested by MOFAIC if AED 10,000 or more
Packing list	Supplier	carton-level count, gross weight and dimensions; must match the bill of lading
Bill of lading or air waybill	Carrier	original, telex release or express release
Certificate of origin	Chamber of commerce at origin	recommended for all cargo, required for GCC preferential treatment
Import code and trade licence	Consignee	registered with Dubai Customs, Sharjah Customs or Fujairah Customs; an expired licence blocks clearance immediately
Conformity certificate	UAE regulator	ECAS or EQM for electricals, toys, cosmetics and more, MOHAP for medical items, TDRA for radio devices

MOFAIC attestation. Since 2023 every import invoice of AED 10,000 or more must be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the eDAS portal: AED 150 per invoice, 14 days after the declaration to comply, AED 500 penalty if you do not. Invoices under AED 10,000, free zone imports, personal effects, GCC-origin goods, transit and B2C e-commerce parcels are exempt.

The procedure, step by step

1. Pre-arrival declaration. The broker files the import declaration in the port’s customs system, Mirsal 2 for Dubai, within the arrival window, with the HS codes, values and the consignee’s import code.
2. Risk assessment. The system assigns a green, yellow or red channel. Green releases on payment, yellow means document review, red means physical or scanner inspection.
3. Duty and VAT. 5 percent duty on the CIF value, then 5 percent VAT on CIF plus duty, paid from the consignee’s customs account. From 1 January 2026 VAT-registered importers no longer issue a self-invoice for the reverse charge; they keep the supplier invoice and the customs declaration as evidence.
4. Inspection, if selected. 24 to 72 hours at the terminal. Inspection fees and any re-handling are charged to the consignee.
5. Release and delivery order. The customs release is issued, the carrier’s delivery order is exchanged for the container, and trucking is arranged. From Fujairah or Khor Fakkan the road leg to Dubai takes 1.5 to 2 hours once the truck is out of the port; the wait to get out has reached 12 hours on busy days.
6. Free time and demurrage. Lines allow three to seven free days depending on the contract, then demurrage in rising daily tiers. Port storage is settled with the terminal, not the line.

HS codes decide the bill

The UAE applies the GCC Common Customs Tariff, an 8-digit extension of the 6-digit international code. Most goods pay 5 percent; a few chapters differ.

Category	Duty
Most consumer and industrial goods	5 percent
Basic foodstuffs, books, registered pharmaceuticals	0 percent
Tobacco products	100 percent plus excise
Alcohol	50 percent plus excise
Energy and sweetened drinks	5 percent plus 50 to 100 percent excise

Almost every clearance dispute traces back to a contested code or a value that looks low against the customs database. Confirm the code with the broker before the vessel sails, keep the supplier’s price list on file, and never let the invoice say “gift items”.

Free zone or mainland

Question	Free zone entry	Mainland entry
When is duty paid	when goods physically enter the mainland	at import
VAT at import	suspended under designated zone rules	5 percent on CIF plus duty
Re-export	no duty paid, nothing to refund	duty refundable with proof
Who can use it	free zone licence holders	mainland licence holders
Typical user	distributor re-exporting 20 percent or more to KSA, Oman, Africa	retailer or brand selling only inside the UAE

With sea cargo arriving on the east coast, free zone entry now usually means a bonded truck movement from Fujairah or Khor Fakkan to the zone, which adds paperwork; for cargo sold entirely inside the UAE, mainland clearance at the port of entry is simpler.

Timeline for a clean file

Day	Event
Arrival	vessel discharges at Fujairah or Khor Fakkan, container available 12 to 24 hours later
Day 1	declaration filed, channel assigned, duty and VAT paid
Day 1 to 2	green channel released
Day 2 to 4	yellow or red inspection completed
Day 3 to 5	delivery order exchanged, container out of the port
Day 4 to 6	delivered in Dubai, Sharjah or Abu Dhabi

Air cargo through Dubai International clears in hours for a green file and one to two days with inspection.

What clearance costs, own-name route

Component	Typical 2026 cost
Customs duty	5 percent of CIF
VAT	5 percent of CIF plus duty
MOFAIC invoice attestation	AED 150 per invoice of AED 10,000 or more
Customs declaration fee	AED 90 to 200
Broker fee	AED 250 to 600 per file
Inspection, if selected	AED 150 to 300 plus handling
Delivery order fee	AED 150 to 400 per container
Container deposit, refundable	AED 1,500 to 3,000
East-coast trucking to Dubai	AED 400 to 800 per truck, more in congestion

Our own customs service for cargo you ship on FOB or CIF terms is priced at $95 to $150 per declaration in the UAE plus $45 terminal handling, and $150 to $220 in Saudi Arabia; details on the customs clearance page.

The all-in alternative

Under our consolidated sea and air services the carrier is the importer of record: one declaration covers the whole container, duty and VAT are inside the per-CBM or per-kg price, and you receive the goods at your door with nothing to file. Two things to know before choosing it: the customs declaration is not in your company’s name, so there is no VAT invoice for you to reclaim input tax against, and regulated products still need their ECAS, MOHAP or TDRA registration, which stays your responsibility as the seller in the UAE.

For a VAT-registered trader importing high-value goods, own-name clearance and input VAT recovery usually win. For samples, small and mid-size consignments and anyone without an import code, all-in is faster and predictable.

Common holds and how to avoid them

• HS code mismatch between invoice and goods. Fix: agree the code with the broker before shipment.
• Missing conformity certificate for electricals, toys, cosmetics or radio devices. Fix: register with MoIAT, MOHAP or TDRA before the goods leave China.
• Value challenge. Declared CIF far below database values. Fix: keep price lists, contracts and previous invoices ready.
• Consignee mismatch. Invoice says one company, bill of lading another. Fix: send the draft documents to the broker before the supplier issues them.
• Expired trade licence or import code. Fix: check both before the vessel sails.
• No MOFAIC attestation. Fix: attest within 14 days of the declaration, or budget AED 500 extra.

Next steps

• Cargo already on the water on FOB or CIF terms: see customs clearance.
• Want one number that already includes clearance and delivery: see DDP door to door and the China to UAE route.

Sources

• Semafor, 2 September 2026: Jebel Ali waits for the war to end
• Seatrade Maritime: Jebel Ali volumes plummet 90.1% in second quarter
• Middle East Briefing: Hormuz disruptions, GCC economies reconfiguring cargo routes
• MOFA UAE: commercial invoice attestation via eDAS 2.0
• Global Investigations and Compliance Review: mandatory attestation of import invoices
• Middle East Briefing: customs duties and import taxes in the UAE
• ClearTax: new VAT rules in the UAE 2026, reverse charge and deadlines
• OOCL Middle East: detention and demurrage free time
• Dubai Cargos: Fujairah port in the 2026 Hormuz crisis