There are special stipulations on the following commodities when shipping to Saudi Arabia. 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.
- Cows, goats, sheep, and pigs are considered domesticated animals.All other animals are considered non-domesticated animals. Items or products made from non-domesticated animals are restricted in the UPS system and only allowed with a UPS ISC contract. CITES permit and additional restrictions may apply, please check with your local ISC Coordinator.
Animal feeds are subject to strick Ministry of Health inspections. If the customs authorities are not satisfied with the initial inspection, they will forward the shipment to the Central Lab for analysis. Clearance is done based on the final report from the Central Lab.
- If the country or territory of origin is not specified on the internal labels, clothing will not be allowed to import.
Import of military uniforms may require an Import License.
The importation of garments showing religious symbols is strictly prohibited.
- All telephone sets and related parts require an import license from the concerned Saudi Ministries and are subject to inspection before release from customs.
- Computer Equipment.
All computers and computer eqipment requires a Certificate of Conformitiy (CoC) to ensure product safety. The CoC has to accompany the shipments. For further information see 'Additional Import Documentation' in section 'Clearance Information'.
- Cosmetics are subject to strict Ministry of Health inspections. If the customs authorities are not satisfied with the initial inspection, they will forward the shipment to the Central Lab for analysis. Clearance is done based on the final report from the Central Lab.
All cosmetic products should be accompanied by a Certificate of Conformity. For further information see 'Certificate of Conformity' under section 'Additional Import Documentation'.
Production and expiration date must be on the packs, bottles, cans or containers.
All ingredients and constituents must be listed on the packs, bottles, cans or containers preferably in Arabian letters.
The country or territory of production must be affixed in irremovable manner on the packs, bottles, cans or containers and on the outer package as well.
- CD-ROMS may be held by the Ministry of Information for several days prior to release. If considered offensive, they may be destroyed.
- Audio and video compact discs (CDs) and digital video discs (DVDs) with content that is considered offensive will be destroyed.
- Any type of medicine in the form of tablet /powder/Liquid or herbal is strictly prohibited for import into Saudi Arabia for private individuals.
Shipments require a certificate from the City Health Authority Department in the origin country or territory. This is required for all medicine shipments (prescription or non prescription). This certificate must state articles used, names of each product, formula, date and number of the permit for manufacture. A letter from the Health Authority containing the necessary information may be used if a formal certificate is not available.
Small shipments of medicines and vitamins imported into the country or territory, (4-5 bottles would constitute small) are taken directly to the Ministry of Health, which is located inside the Saudi Airlines Terminal where the goods are stamped as cleared, returned and released.
Larger shipments or shipments needing further inspection, are transferred to the Ministry of Health downtown by the Customs duty manager. The consignee must collect all the paperwork from UPS and then verify the reason for import, present any paperwork for legal reasons, and all medical related documents. Once this is finalized, the Ministry of Health will stamp release (all medicines duty exempt) and will return to UPS at the airport. UPS will arrange delivery or the consignee can collect.
Commercial shipments of Nutritional Supplements / Food Supplements / Vitamins / Medicine / Drugs require an import permit from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and or Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) and must be obtained by the importer prior to shipment arriving to any port of entry.
Prior to export, the shipper is responsible to check and confirm with the importer that all import permits are submitted to UPS brokerage prior to import of shipment for customs clearance.
If import permits are incorrect or not available upon import, shipment will be immediately seized by customs authorities with no RTS or future clearance option.
Additional accessorial charges (disposal) will be determined by the customs authorities and this will be charged back to the shipper.
- Films containing pictures that are considered offensive will be destroyed.
- The importer of fire detectors & fire alarms must have an import license for customs clearance.
- Food items are subject to strict Ministry of Health inspection. If the customs authorities are not satisfied with the initial inspection, they will forward the shipment to the Central Lab for analysis. Clearance is done based on the final report from the Central Lab.
For additional clearance requirements see 'Cosmetics'.
- A whole range of products are considered to be food supplements like vitamins, mineral supplements and supplements used for supporting athletics (e.g. protein blends, sports drinks, amino acids).
For clearance details see 'Medicine'.
- Shipments need clearance approval from Communications And Information Technology Commission (CITC).
- For commercial shipments, shipper must send Certificate of Conformity (CoC) with the shipment. For further information see 'Additional Import Documentation' in section 'Clearance Information'
- Data shipments to Saudi Arabia require an invoice with the value of the CD-ROM or disk only.
- Accessories made of precious metal (for example, rings, earrings, bracelets) must have the country or territory of production engraved.
Import is not allowed for any gold item having a purity of less than 18 carat.
Accessories consisting of different metals, the degree of purity (for example, carat of gold) or the portions of the metals must be indicated.
Accessories made of silver or gold must show the logo of the consignee (for example, the trading or marketing logo or the company stamp) to avoid import delays and penalties or fines. Once a shipment arrives, it will be sent to Lab check to check the purity of Silver /Gold
Samples accessories are subject to tests to ensure that they are free of toxic materials or radiation. Only if shipment passes the test, will it be cleared finally.
The importation of jewelry showing religious symbols is strictly prohibited.
The following documentation must be provided for clearance purposes:
Original COO (Legalized ) and Original CI ( Legalized ) . The exporter should mention the weight and quantity of each item separately on the invoice.
- The invoice must provide the description of the part, the partÂ’s components, and the machine that will use the part.
- Magazines containing pictures that are considered offensive will be destroyed.
- Any type of medicine in the form of tablet /powder/Liquid or herbal is strictly prohibited for import into Saudi Arabia for private individuals.
Shipments require a certificate from the City Health Authority Department in the origin country or territory. This is required for all medicine shipments (prescription or non prescription). This certificate must state articles used, names of each product, formula, date and number of the permit for manufacture. A letter from the Health Authority containing the necessary information may be used if a formal certificate is not available.
Small shipments of medicines and vitamins imported into the country or territory, (4-5 bottles would constitute small) are taken directly to the Ministry of Health, which is located inside the Saudi Airlines Terminal where the goods are stamped as cleared, returned and released.
Larger shipments or shipments needing further inspection, are transferred to the Ministry of Health downtown by the Customs duty manager. The consignee must collect all the paperwork from UPS and then verify the reason for import, present any paperwork for legal reasons, and all medical related documents. Once this is finalized, the Ministry of Health will stamp release (all medicines duty exempt) and will return to UPS at the airport. UPS will arrange delivery or the consignee can collect.
Commercial shipments of Nutritional Supplements / Food Supplements / Vitamins / Medicine / Drugs require an import permit from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and or Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) and must be obtained by the importer prior to shipment arriving to any port of entry.
Prior to export, the shipper is responsible to check and confirm with the importer that all import permits are submitted to UPS brokerage prior to import of shipment for customs clearance.
If import permits are incorrect or not available upon import, shipment will be immediately seized by customs authorities with no RTS or future clearance option.
Additional accessorial charges (disposal) will be determined by the customs authorities and this will be charged back to the shipper.
- Microfiche may be held by the Ministry of Information for several days prior to release. If considered offensive, they may be destroyed.
- Shipments of newspaper are subject to censorship. Any offensive material will be subject to delay.
- See 'Medicine' for clearance requirements.
- Two-way radios, communication radios, wireless radio equipment and their parts are prohibited for importation into Saudi Arabia.
Only normal radios used for entertainmant purposes are allowed.
- Software may be held by the Ministry of Information for several days prior to release. If considered offensive, the software may destroyed.
- The importer of surveillance cameras must have an import license for customs clearance.
- Audio and video cassette tapes, as well as other media, are subject to a strict inspection from the Ministry of Information.
- All communication equipment requires an import license from the Saudi Ministries. All telecommunication equipment requires a Certificate of Conformitiy (CoC) to ensure product saftey. The CoC has to accompany the shipments. For further information see 'Additional Import Documentation' in section 'Clearance Information'.
- Data shipments require an invoice with the character of the USB stick (storing intercompany data) and the value of the USB Stick.
- See Medicine, earlier in this section, for details.