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Import/Export

United States to Kuwait

Country or Territory Regulations Topics:

Commodity Specific Stipulations

There are special stipulations on the following commodities when shipping to Kuwait. If you plan to ship one of the commodities listed below, be sure to adhere to the following stipulations in order to avoid delays and holds at customs.

Chemicals require approval from the Public Authority of Environment. The consignee must obtain the approval and provide it to Customs. Clearance may be delayed 4 to 5 days.
Diaries that contain any pictures, advertising, or other content considered offensive will be destroyed. Shipments of over 1,500 diaries require a Certificate of Origin. Clearance may be delayed 3 to 4 days for censorship purposes. Ministry of Information censors (inspects) the diaries.
Any kind of medication which are directly categorized as health items are subject to a special treatment. That might include nutritional supplements, herbs,capsules and cosmetics.

Shipments of medicine require approval from the Ministry of Health. The consignee must obtain the approval and provide it to customs. If the consignee fails to provide the approval within five days or if the Ministry of Health requests the shipment for physical inspection, the shipments will be transferred to the Ministry of Health by the customs authorities. In both cases it is the consignees obligation to collect the shipment at the Ministry if it is finally released for importation. Delays may occur.

Shipments of electrical items require permission from the Ministry of Electricity. UPS will obtain approval from the Ministry and provide it to Customs. Only in certain cases will the consignee be asked to obtain the approval. A charge of US$50.00 can apply. UPS will disburse the fee and charge it later to the consignee. Clearance may be delayed 3 to 4 days. A Certificate of Origin is required for all shipments exceeding US$1,000.00.
Electronics branded by the following companies can only be imported by the Agent and no one else:
  • Samsung
  • Sony
  • Philips
  • Toyota
  • National Panasonic
  • Toshiba
  • Ericsson
    • Approval from Municipality is required. The consignee must provide the approval and get the shipment cleared from Customs themselves.

    Please see additional information on food supplements.

    Shipments of food supplements require an approval from the Ministry of Health. The importer must obtain the approvals and provide them to customs. Clearance may be delayed.

    Shipments of food supplements and nutritional supplements with physiological effects, typically used by body builders and athletes cannot be imported by private individuals or companies. The only authorized importer is the company Genoa General Trading Company. Shipments of these types of food supplements or nutritional supplements destined to importers other than Genoa must be returned or abandoned.

    Nutritional supplements can be classified as medicine. Please see 'medicine' for more information.

    Data shipments to Kuwait require an invoice with the value of the CD-ROM or disk only.
    Shipments of any kind of medical equipment require approval from the Ministry of Health. The consignee must obtain the approvals and provide them to Customs. Clearance may be delayed.
    Shipments of any kind of medical equipment require an approval from the Ministry of Health. The consignee must obtain the approvals and provide them to customs. Clearance may be delayed.
    Shipments of parts require an invoice with a complete description of each part, the part's components, and the machine that will use the part.
    Shipments of software require approval from the Ministry of Communication. The consignee must obtain the approval and provide it to Customs. Clearance may be delayed 3 to 4 days. An accessorial charge of US$65.00 is applied.
    Approval from the Ministry of Information is required. UPS will obtain and provide the approval. The tapes are delivered to the Ministry of Information for inspection (for censorship purposes). After inspection, the ministry provides approval, if appropriate. Tapes that contain pictures, advertising, or other content considered offensive will be destroyed. Clearance may be delayed 3 to 4 days.
    For certain tapes, such as registered software or pirated movies, the consignee will be asked to obtain and provide the approval.
    All telephones, telephone equipment, and cellular telephones require approval from the Ministry of Communication and may take an additional 3 to 4 days for clearance. The consignee must obtain approval from the Ministry that all their telephone bills are settled (no objection certificate).
    Shipments of televisions require approval from the Ministry of Commerce. UPS will obtain and provide the approval. Clearance may be delayed 3 to 4 days.
    Data shipments require an invoice with the character of the USB stick (storing intercompany data) and the value of the USB Stick.
    Empty cartridges, bulletproof vests, and guns require approval from the Ministry of Interior. The consignee must obtain the approval and provide it to Customs. Clearance may be delayed 4 to 5 working days.

    Prohibited or Restricted Commodities

    The import of alcoholic beverages is prohibited.
    Bodybuilding supplements need to be imported by a licensed person. The importing company should have an import license and have the required documents from the Ministry of Health.

    Bodybuilding supplements comes directly under the control of customs, if any approvals or testing is required it is given to the Ministry Of Health for further investigation.

    Private individuals cannot apply for such licenses therefore, only licensed companies are allowed to import bodybuilding supplements.

    KW is not an International Special Community (ISC) destination country or territory. Electronic cigarettes cant be shipped to KW.

    Original documentation,Approvals From the Chamber of Commerce, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Environment and Import license is required to import into Kuwait.

    Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) - Kuwait under the Ministry of Communication (MOC) has issued a statement to prohibit the import of any of listed goods per attached into Kuwait as it considered a critical threat to national security.
  • GSM Repeater Dual Band 900 1800
  • Dual Band Repeater Amplifier
  • Signal Repeater Booster Amplifier
  • LCD screen Dual Band Cell Phone Signal Booster 900mhz/1800Mhz
    • Goods originating in Israel are prohibited.
    Shipments of jewelry require Ministry of Commerce approval. UPS presents the jewelry to the Ministry, the Ministry inspects the jewelry, and then the Ministry issues a stamp of approval. This process applies to all gold, silver, and diamond jewelry. Clearance may be delayed 4 to 5 working days.

    Jewelry that is below 14 karats is prohibited and will be seized by the Ministry

    Only below LIBA (Batteries contained in equipment as per below packaging) are permitted, anything else cannot be moved.

    Below are sections acceptable on Emirates:

    UN3481- Lithium Ion batteries PI-966 & PI967 section II

    UN3091-Lithium metal batteries PI-969 & PI970 section II.

    Any kind of medication which are directly categorized as health items are subject to special treatment, which may include nutritional supplements, herbs, capsules and cosmetics.

    Shipments of medicine require approval from the Ministry of Health. The consignee must obtain the approval and provide it to customs. If the consignee fails to provide the approval within five days or if the Ministry of Health requests the shipment for physical inspection, the shipment will be transferred to the Ministry of Health by the customs authorities. In both cases, it is the consignees obligation to collect the shipment at the Ministry if its finally released for importation. Delays may occur.

    Shipments of medicine addressed to private individuals require a temporary import license, a prescription from doctor (med.) and an approval from the Ministry of Health. The documents must be available prior to shipping. Copies of these documents should be part of the shipping documents.

    Kuwait does not have a temperature controlled facility, therefore medicine that requires a temperature controlled storage should not be accepted for shipping to Kuwait.

    When arriving in Kuwait, the shipments are transferred to the Ministry of Health where the consignee must have customs clear the shipments based on the above mentioned documents. After clearance the consignee can pick up the commodities. The clearance of these types of commodities takes up to 8 days. Nutritional supplements can be classified as medicine. Please see additional information under 'food supplements'.

    Shipments of military equipment can be addressed to the Ministries of the Interior or Defense, Camp Doha, U.S. Military, or Air Force. Military items shipped to private individuals are prohibited. Military items are exempt from all duties and taxes.
    Negotiable bonds and drafts are prohibited.
    Customers must use an authorized UPS / MBE (Mail Boxes Etc) Store or UPS Customer Center to ship personal effects.

    The UPS Store, Mail Boxes Etc. or UPS Customer Center will be required to identify personal effect shipments on the shipping label by placing "Personal Effects" in the Reference Field of a UPS "smart" label or in the Special Instructions Field of a UPS waybill. They must also clearly indicate 'Personal Effects' shipment on the Commercial Invoice.

    Personal Effects are classified as used items (owned for a minimum of 6 months) intended for the consignee's personal use. Any items intended for any other use, such as wholesale or retail sales, business purposes, or for distribution are not considered personal effects and cannot be shipped on this basis. "Personal Effects" must be clearly stated on the invoice and goods description.

    All of the following documents must be scanned into DIS/SIR and originals on the package:

    • An inventory list with estimated values with the reason for importation (holidays, move, relocation)
    • A confirmation that the goods are older than 6 months and that they are intended for personal use only
    • A photocopy of passport or ID card

    Any items intended for any other use, such as wholesale or retail sales, business purposes, or for distribution are not considered personal effects and cannot be shipped on this basis.

    Excisable goods (for example, perfume, alcoholic drinks, tobacco), medicine and perishable food can not be cleared as personal effects.

    Personal effects shipments are not allowed in combination with Return Services.

    Products made in Iran are prohibited in our service due to a current embargo.
    The import of Snus are prohibited for Kuwait.
    Shipments of vitamins cannot be imported by private individuals or companies. Only the company Genoa General Trading Company is the authorized importer for any kind of nutritional supplements, vitamins and food supplements with physiological effects, typically used by body builders and athletes.

    Shipments destined to importers other than Genoa must be returned or abandoned.

    NOTE: Information provided by UPS is provided AS IS, may not be current, and does not constitute legal advice. In no event shall UPS be liable for any errors in the information, forms or features made available by UPS, or by any third party site linked to from UPS. Selection and completion of proper forms for any given shipment is the sole responsibility of the shipper. All shipments are subject to the UPS Terms and Conditions of Service in effect at the time of shipping for the country or territory of origin.
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