GCC Customs Revenue Sharing Agreement Near

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

10 November 2010

Gulf Cooperation Council countries are nearing an agreement on the terms for a regional customs union that would establish a free trade zone within the six-party bloc with harmonized tariffs of 5% on imported goods.

Director-general at the UAE Finance Ministry, speaking at the sidelines of a conference on the GCC common market in Dubai, said according to Reuters that “following the unification of customs at five per cent in 2003, a common market would require these customs barriers to be removed [within the GCC].”

“We are in the final stages of agreeing on how to distribute the amount received from the customs [collected],” the UAE diplomat added.

Progress towards establishing the free trade zone has been slow with members continuing to dispute where the GCC Central Bank should be placed; the removal of non-tariff barriers intra-GCC; and how revenues should be distributed amongst signatories.

The GCC comprises of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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