RIYADH — The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has announced its intention to expand the scope of customs duty exemption for a number of industrial products and materials effective from April 1. All industrial firms that have a valid industrial license from the ministry will be benefited for their imports of a number of specific materials and products. The ministry stressed that these industrial products include raw materials, semi-finished materials, finished materials, packaging materials, machinery, equipment and spare parts, which are directly required for industrial production operations without any restriction. The duty exemptions will not cover those items of materials that are produced by industrial establishments locally as outputs for their factories, or import them as inputs for their factories. The industrial firms shall submit sufficient justifications in their requests for customs exemption, and to add them to the list of industrial capabilities for local products. The ministry called on the owners of industrial establishments that have justifications for availing of customs duty exemption to apply through the ministry's Senaei platform. After entering the platform, choose the service of requesting "add a customs item" to the list of industrial capabilities for local products, and to enhance their requests with supporting justifications for duty exemption. The submission can be made effective from March 14. The most important data required for the submission are: the average selling prices, the name of the product, the costs and prices of imported and local inputs, the customs clause for inputs and final products, the equivalent weight of the designated energy, in addition to the reasons for requesting the addition and the image of the product, and finally the actual production and the most important suppliers and customers. It is noteworthy that expanding the scope of customs duty exemption for industrial products emanates from Saudi Arabia's support for the industrial sector, and its orientation to raise manufacturing capabilities in Saudi Arabia so as to achieve the goals of Vision 2030, and the goals of the National Strategy for Industry. This also shows an affirmation of the ministry's role in stimulating, enabling, and accelerating the growth of the industrial base in Saudi Arabia.
