Doha, November 08 (QNA) – HE Chairman of the General Authority of Customs Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Jamal affirmed the readiness to receive the huge numbers of arrivals and goods expected during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022; pointing to years of preparation and the appropriate measures undertaken to contribute to the success of this event.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Al Jamal explained that the standing committees responsible for ports in the country developed joint plans adopting the best mechanisms and methods to manage this event in accordance with the best international practices.
The committees also learned about the experiences of previous countries in cooperation with partner government agencies working in the country’s ports, within the framework of joint coordination with the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.
Regarding the planning aspect, the Chairman of the General Authority of Customs explained that scenarios have been proactively developed within the context of the Authoritys responsibility of monitoring the events taking place in the country.
Customs administrations made different assumptions about what may happen in the future and evaluated the impact on their daily work, benefiting from the different experiences gained by the preparations for past major sporting events, most notably the FIFA Arab Cup 2021, 2021 Qatar Grand Prix – Formula 1, Lusail Super Cup, and others.
In view of the expected surge in temporary imports of goods related to sports equipment, logistical supplies, technical equipment of sports teams, organizers and specialized task forces for all projects of the State, Al Jamal noted that the General Authority of Customs took the appropriate measures to simplify the procedures for temporary entry, and coordinated with the competent authorities to promote the application of intellectual property rights, whether to protect trademarks related to the World Cup or other goods and products. The Authority also updated the information of customs officials about the rules of intellectual property rights of different trademarks to ensure their protection and set rules for addressing any problem in this regard.
He added that the Authority has also intensified its security measures in view of the increase in the volume of imports and travel in the pre-World Cup period. For that end, the Authority anticipated potential risks that may pose a significant risk and a threat to security, public health, and safety, including narcotic substances, counterfeit goods, chemical and radioactive hazardous substances, and crimes or operations of terrorism and money laundering, in order to ensure control of all suspicious financial operations through customs procedures and the competent government agencies operating at the ports.
Al Jamal pointed to the Authoritys keenness to take all necessary technical measures. Therefore, it has launched an electronic platform for dealing with important sporting events, including the World Cup. The ” Sports Events Management System” serves as a special window that includes the specific requirements for easy registering for entities participating in the World Cup and facilitates customs procedures for imports and shipments coming to the State of Qatar for those entities.
The Authority also launched the new platform for Al Nadeeb system for customs clearance to keep pace with the highest international standards in customs services. In addition, due to the increase in the number of travelers coming to the country, the Authority launched an electronic self-service system to declare movable funds (whether cash or in circulation, or jewelry, metals, and precious stones) that are equal to or exceeding the value of 50,000 riyals.
The service is available through mobile phones or through the Authority’s website, in addition to the ready-to-fill declaration forms at customs ports in case passengers wish to fill in the forms manually.
On the other hand, Al Jamal added that the General Authority of Customs formed trained working teams to provide support related to the Authoritys readiness and preparations for important international events, with the aim of facilitating and simplifying customs procedures, supporting the country’s air, land and sea ports in cases of emergency or exceptional events (sports, economic and others), and providing comprehensive support to customs ports 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
He pointed out that the General Authority of Customs took part in the comprehensive expansion process carried out by Abu Samra Administration Committee in cooperation with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), by developing customs facilities for passengers and the movement of commercial goods, and inspection devices and increasing the number of inspectors in order to contributes to absorbing larger numbers of vehicles and goods and facilitating the procedures for visitors of the country.
Al Jamal added that the General Authority of Customs, represented by the Operations, Risk Analysis and IT Department, completed the electronic link between the Authority and the Insurance Office at Abu Samra to accelerate the process of insurance for vehicles coming through the port.
The electronic link provides many facilities, most notably the completion of the insurance process within one minute for each vehicle after it needed more than 10 minutes before, which accelerate the process of entering vehicles without delay or congestion on the gates.
On the training aspect, the Chairman of the General Authority of Customs referred to a series of workshops and training courses discussed coordination mechanisms among government agencies related to the work of customs.
Held under the title “International Events – World Cup 2022”, the workshops were prepared by the Customs and Regional Training Center in cooperation with Charles Sturt University for customs and tax studies in Australia, with the participation of specialized cadres of the Authority and other entities in the country, including the General Tax Authority, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Public Health and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.
He explained that the workshops dealt with scenario planning and the current reality of work within the context of monitoring all passengers and goods entering the country; the management of temporary imports related to sports and technical equipment and supplies for teams, organizers and the media; privileges that can be provided to FIFA and its affiliated entities; economic facilities granted within the trade and supply facilitation chain; VIPs protocol; health, safety and environmental protection mechanisms; and other related matters.
In this regard, Al Jamal pointed out that the Authority held a series of internal training courses for members of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Security Operations, in order to study the expected scenarios of high risks in general, and mechanism for addressing and controlling these risks, in addition to establish an easy and comfortable work system for customs officials and other parties. (QNA)