Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has announced that alcohol will not be allowed at the newly established duty-free shops at air, sea, and land ports, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
This is in response to a question sent to it through its official account on Twitter about whether alcohol will be allowed to be sold in free shops.
The Saudi Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority on Friday issued customs rules, conditions, and procedures for establishing duty-free shops at entry ports.
According to the rules, only goods and products that are permitted to be traded in the Kingdom will be allowed at duty-free shops.
According to the authority’s statement, all these requirements come in accordance with the unified customs system of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC), which includes the requirements related to the operation of free markets, in addition to the provisions related to the requirements of operating licenses and other related controls.
It stressed that the decision will contribute to supporting supply chains and improving logistical services provided to free shops by providing a wide range of goods and products for shopping while travelling.
The authority explained that the duty-free shops will grant additional sales channels to local companies by selling their products to duty-free operators, which supports and contributes to the promotion of national products by displaying them in the sales halls.
The authority also clarified that duty-free shops are currently located in the departure halls of a number of airports, including the airports of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Fahad International Airport in Dammam and Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Airport in Madinah.
In this regard, it indicated that it is seeking to expand according to need in the air, sea and land ports, in coordination with the legal authorities in the customs ports.
Duty-free shops at customs outlets are retailers that allow travellers to purchase goods and products that are permitted to be traded in the Kingdom, and which are subject to exemption from customs duties or taxes.
Tax exemption systems differ from one country to another according to the location of the free shops (arrival or departure halls) in accordance with the provisions of the unified customs system and its executive regulations and any of the relevant laws, regulatory and legislative regulations in each country.
