But, amendments can be introduced to the GCC law in a way that could match the circumstances of each Arab nation, Mona al-Qallaf, chief of the Kuwaiti Customs Administration’s legal section, told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), on the sidelines of the committee meeting.
During the gathering, the GCC delegations presented the Gulf uniform customs law as a key working paper for the ad hoc committee technical committee, she said.
The GCC customs law has been in effect since 2003, al-Qallaf said.
As per the law, the GCC member countries have been imposing a uniform customs tariff of five percent on all imports, with necessary commodities being exempted, she added.
Representatives from all Arab countries voiced their remarks on the requirements of a planned pan-Arab customs union, she said.
The GCC members have been seeking to push the union forward, she said, pointing to a meeting in Riyadh in May 2008 in this respect.
The uniform Arab customs draft law will act as a springboard for effectuating the customs union and, thence, a common Arab market targeted by 2020.
