Dubai, United Arab Emirates -  September 28, 2019:    Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs, made an evening tour to the Customs Declaration Management (CDM) and the Control Room at Dubai Customs headquarters. The tour was part of regular inspection visits plan put in place to ensure the smooth running of Customs centers and customer service centers across Dubai. 

Dubai Customs Director General directed that DC departments should exchange visits  to raise awareness and increase employees’ knowledge about all aspects of Customs work and business processes. When touring the Control Room of the Intelligence Department, Musabih took several CDM night-shift staff along as he underlined the integration of services among various Customs functions and the importance of internal communication and information sharing.

Ahmed Mahboob encouraged everyone to work harder and smarter towards enhancing performance and productivity and boosting customer service standard to meet Dubai Customs strategy that is aligned with the objectives of UAE Centennial Plan 2071 and Dubai Plan 2021. “We aim to ensure a prosperous and sustainable future for the UAE and achieve number one positions in all fields. Our smart customs services and processes are proudly acclaimed by the international customs bodies.”     

In the tour, Director of Dubai Customs was accompanied by Juma Al Ghaith, Executive Director of Clients Management Division; Shuaib Al Suwaidi, Director of Customs Intelligence Department; Eman Badr Al Suwaidy, Director of Customs Declarations Management; Khalil Saqer bin Gharib, Director of Corporate Communication Department; Ahmed Al Khuroosi, Director of Tariff and Origin Department; Farida Fadel, Director of Valuation Department, alongside a number of heads of departments and customs centers

Eman Badr Al Suwaidi said: “CDM employees work around the clock to process all declarations received through the risk engine and oversee customs clearance transactions on Mirsal electronic system, in addition to feeding the risk engine system with collected information to increase risk targeting efficiency. Around 98% of customs declarations are completed and finalized in less than 2 hours.”

Customs declarations grew by 11% to reach a total of 4.1 million declarations in the first half this year, compared to 3.7 million in the same period last year, Al Suwaidy added. 

Saleh Al Hammadi, Manager, Control Room section, walked the Director General through the functioning of the room and how it ensures around-the-clock control and monitoring of work in all Customs centers through specific risk engine indicators and smart systems that receive and handle customs-related intelligence from the WCO and other stakeholders.  

“There are 23 customs security programs in place that work harmoniously to cover all customs operations, including inspections and inquiries about containers, tracking suspicious shipments and vessels, receiving reports and complaints, and disseminating security alerts to different ports of entry and border exits,” he explained.