Dubai, UAE – Oct. 2026 – Dubai Customs processed 1.36 million requests to refund customs deposits in the first half of 2026, up 3.6 percent from 1.31 million in the same period of 2025.
The total value of requests submitted by customers rose 13.1 percent to AED6.9 billion, from AED6.1 billion a year earlier. The value of approved requests grew 14.8 percent to AED6.2 billion, from AED5.4 billion.
Rashid Al Shared, Executive Director of the Financial and Administrative Affairs Sector at Dubai Customs, said supporting traders’ competitiveness and enabling trusted trade are key pillars of economic growth and of Dubai’s global leadership. He said Dubai Customs is working to turn procedural efficiency into tangible economic impact.
“Shortening transaction times and speeding up the release of due guarantees gives companies greater flexibility in managing their capital, and a greater ability to expand their activities and take advantage of commercial opportunities,” he said. He added that this strengthens Dubai’s position as a global hub for trade and re-export.
Al Shared said customs deposits play an important role in the trade cycle. They allow customers to benefit from facilities for goods under duty-suspension arrangements and to recover their guarantees once requirements are met. Every improvement in these procedures helps reduce operating burdens and lets companies put their financial resources toward developing their businesses and exploring new opportunities, he said.
Ahmed Al Jumri, Director of the Customs Deposits Department at Dubai Customs, said the department completed 99 percent of requests within the set time, against a target of delivering the service within two working days. He said this reflects the effectiveness of continuous improvement of procedures, wider use of smart approvals and electronic linking between services, which raises customer happiness and supports business growth.
On digital transformation, Al Jumri said the department completed 844,500 requests through automatic approval by smart systems in the first half of 2026, up 10 percent from 767,500 in the same period of 2025. Automatically approved requests accounted for about 62.1 percent of all completed requests. He said the smart approval project has helped redistribute tasks and make better use of human expertise.
The department also revised how it handles supporting documents for claims, after studies showed that some companies need extra time to complete their paperwork given recent geoeconomic conditions. It was agreed to extend the deadline for submitting documents from 30 to 90 days. The extension gives companies more flexibility, reduces delays and helps speed up settlement of eligible requests, avoiding forfeiture of the guarantee.
