المملكة: A maximum of five years to store goods in warehouse areas in the Kingdom

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority proposed Proposed amendmentsto the rules of the depository areas through the Istisara platform, with the aim of regulating the regulatory environment for customs and logistical activities, and the operations that take place within the depository areas, including storage and handling, e-commerce, value-added operations, maintenance and assembly, in addition to defining the controls related to the entry and exit of goods and their periods of stay within those areas.

The amendments included a detailed definition of the procedures and activities that take place within Warehouse areas, where storage and handling operations include all procedures performed on goods within these areas, including preserving the goods and keeping them in designated warehouses, loading, unloading, arranging and sorting them, in addition to any process necessary to preserve them without resulting in a change in the nature or condition of the goods, in accordance with the provisions of the system and the organizing rules.

Entering goodsand damaged goods from inside or outside the Kingdom into the warehouse areas for the purpose of repairing them, provided that customs duties are collected on the parts that are used in maintenance operations when the good is taken out of the area into the local market.

The amendments clarified that simple assembly operations within the warehouse areas include activities aimed at assembling, collecting, or coordinating components or packages of completed or semi-finished products into one commodity, without resulting in any change in the nature of the goods, their basic characteristics, or their customs item.

The rules defined mixing and merging operations as any process of mixing or merging similar or close goods with the aim of unifying them into one shipment or package, provided that these operations do not result in any change in the nature of Goods, their basic characteristics, or customs classification.

The amendments included specifying the types of licenses for depository areas and the activities that can be carried out through them, as the depository area license includes a number of basic activities, including storage and handling, value-added operations, e-commerce, and maintenance, in addition to simple assembly operations.

As for the depository tanks area license, it includes the activities included within the depository area license, in addition to additional activities that include storage of liquid petroleum and petrochemical derivatives and bulk products, in addition to mixing and merging operations.
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The rules for issuing the license required the submission of proof of ownership of the property or a rental contract concluded with the property owner, provided that the duration of the contract is at least equal to the duration of the license, with the owner having to agree to use the rented property as a deposit area.

The amendments allowed employees of other government agencies to enter the depository areas to carry out their work according to the specializations specified for each agency, ensuring the integration of supervisory and regulatory roles between the relevant government agencies.

According to Article Eleven of the amendments, goods are entered into and removed from the warehouse areas according to the forms approved by the Authority, with the need to present the approved form when entering or removing the goods, provided that the form includes all the distinctive elements of the goods.

The rules stipulate that the Authority shall issue a procedural guide clarifying the procedures and requirements for entering and removing goods into the warehouse areas and removing them from them, in a way that ensures uniformity of procedures and facilitates compliance with regulatory requirements.

The amendments set the period for the goods to remain within the warehouse areas to a maximum of five years, after submitting an entry request that includes clarification of the nature of the goods to be stored.

The Authority studies the request and confirms the nature of the goods before approving the storage, and if the nature of the goods does not allow them to be stored for long periods, the Authority has the right to accept the request while reducing the storage period as it deems appropriate.

As for dangerous or radioactive goods, their storage period is determined in accordance with the relevant rules and regulations, with the possibility of extending the storage period for other goods for a similar period. After submitting a justified request and obtaining the Authority’s approval.

The rules permitted the entry of goods from outside the Kingdom into the warehouse areas without completing the procedures for issuing clearance permits, after coordination with the competent clearance authorities.

They also required obtaining approval or a permit from the competent authorities when entering or storing some types of goods, including flammable goods, radioactive materials or dangerous chemicals, in addition to weapons, ammunition and explosives of various types, as well as goods that are required to be cleared in advance by the authorities. Competent.

The amendments included allowing the storage of complete and closed containers inside the warehouse areas temporarily until they are taken out to the transshipment docks and loaded onto ships.

Materials may be used and consumed within the zone for the purposes of carrying out the necessary operations for preserving goods, value-added operations, maintenance, and other activities related to the operation of the zone, without being subject to customs duties or taxes, in accordance with the procedures specified in the rules.

The rules clarify that it is permissible to consume some materials and goods within the warehouse areas, such as papers and ink used in office work or petroleum derivatives used to operate machinery and equipment, provided that they are deducted from the stock according to specific procedures.

These procedures include creating an approved form with the Authority for consumption by the operator, then evaluating the request by the Authority to verify that the consumed items match the actual reality and approve them, with the payment of customs duties, taxes and any other fees due when necessary.
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The amendments stipulate that customs duties are not due on items consumed for the purpose of carrying out value-added operations within the region.

On the other hand, the rules confirmed the collection of customs duties, taxes, and fees on goods imported into the warehouse areas for the purpose of consumption, such as foodstuffs intended for the daily consumption of workers within those areas.

And they permitted the suspension of customs duties and taxes on goods imported into the warehouse areas with the intention of using them in the operation of the area, provided that they are items that can be re-exported in their original condition, such as belts, transportation tools, and machinery.

The rules clarify that the forms approved by the Authority must be prepared to remove the goods before the ship leaves the territorial waters of the Kingdom, in order to ensure the completion of the regulatory procedures associated with the exit of shipments from the warehouse areas.

The amendments specify a number of obligations that fall on the responsibility of the operators of the warehouse areas, the most prominent of which is conducting a periodic inventory of the inventory and providing the Authority with periodic reports in accordance with what the Authority decides.

The operator is also obligated to cooperate with the Authority’s employees during inspection tours within the warehouse areas, and to submit all required documents and data, in addition to submitting the approved forms when bringing goods into or taking them out of the area.