RIYADH: Saudi Customs will reduce tariffs on 122 items effective Saturday, including chemicals, perfumes, shampoo, tooth paste, shaving creams, glue, pesticides, thinners, plastic crystals and plastic products. The current tariffs on these products range from 7.6 percent to 20 percent and will now be slashed to between 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent. Saleh Al-Khelawi, Director General of Saudi Customs, said this move is the fifth and last phase of an agreement signed with the World Customs Organization (WCO) when it joined in 2005. Al-Khelawi said in a statement Wednesday that its agreement with the WCO was to reduce tariffs on a total of 816 items. He said the Kingdom has stuck to the timetable fixed by the organization which stipulates tariff reduction in five stages. In 2005 it reduced tariffs on 472 items, in 2007 on 22 items, in 2008 on 180 items, in 2009 on 20 items and finally this year on 122 items.
