Agreement to facilitate and develop trade exchange between Arab countries

Agreement Name

Agreement to facilitate and develop trade exchange between Arab countries

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Ratified by Royal Decree No. 72/97 issued on October 29, 1997

  Agreement details

Unify the understanding of all those dealing in commercial exchange within the framework of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area of the texts of the articles of these provisions, in a way that guarantees the ease and correctness of their application and guarantees the flow of commercial exchanges between the party states. This agreement aims at the following:
  1.  Liberalizing trade exchange between Arab countries from the various fees and restrictions imposed on them according to the following bases:
    I. Complete liberation of some Arab commodities and products exchanged between Member States from the various fees and restrictions imposed on non-Qatari products.
    II. Gradual reduction of the various fees and restrictions imposed on some other exchanged Arab commodities and products.
    III. Provide gradual protection for Arab goods and products to face competition from similar or alternative non-Arab goods.
    IV. Determining the commodities and products referred to in paragraphs (a, b, and c), in light of the guiding criteria contained in Article 4 or those decided by the Council.
  2.  A coordinated link between the production and exchange of Arab commodities, through various means, in particular, the provision of the necessary transformational facilities for their production.
  3. Facilitating the financing of trade exchange between Arab countries and the settlement of payments arising from this exchange.
  4. Granting special facilities for services related to mutual trade between the party states.
  5. Adoption of the principle of direct exchange in trade between the party states.
  6. Taking into account the development conditions of each of the state parties to the agreement, in particular the conditions of the less developed countries.
  7. Equitable distribution of the benefits and burdens resulting from the implementation of the agreement.
  1. Agricultural and animal commodities, whether in their original form or after making changes to them to make them suitable for consumption.
  2. Mineral and non-metallic raw materials, whether in their primary form or in the form appropriate to them in the manufacturing process.
  3. Semi-manufactured commodities included in the lists approved by the Council if they are used in the production of industrial commodities.
  4. Goods produced by joint Arab projects established within the framework of the League of Arab States or Arab organizations operating within its scope.
  5. Manufactured commodities agreed upon in accordance with the lists approved by the Council.
The documents referred to in paragraph (3) of Article (16) that are used to prove that the products included in the Arab certificate of origin are considered to have the quality of originating in any of the Arab member states and fulfill the rest of the requirements of these rules, and may consist of:
  1. Direct evidence of the manufacturing that took place with the knowledge of the exporter or supplier to obtain the concerned goods, through his accounts or internal books.
  2. Documents proving the origin of the used resources, issued or prepared in any of the Arab member states, where these documents are used in accordance with national law.
  3. Documents proving the processing, operation or manufacturing operations that took place on the materials in the Arab member state, issued or prepared in that country, where these documents are used in accordance with the national law.
  4. Arabic certificate of origin attached with a copy of the invoice for the goods.
  1. That the goods are imported directly from the Arab member states of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, and the direct import shall be the goods imported (transit) through the ports of other neighboring countries, and if they pass through the territory of a third party, a declaration from the customs authorities in the third country must be attached confirming that The goods were under customs control during transit. Provided that the Goods shall not be cleared by Customs or subjected to any processing, production, manufacture, improvement or any subsequent operation outside the territory of either Party except loading, unloading, transshipment or any other operation necessary to keep the Goods in good condition for the carriage of the Goods to the Sultanate of Oman.
  2. Evidence that all conditions set forth in paragraph (1) have been fulfilled must be presented to the customs authorities of the importing country by:
  • One transport document covering transit from the country of export through the country of transit.
  • A certificate issued by the customs authorities of the transit country, including:
1. Accurate description of products.
2. The date of unloading and reloading of the products, and in cases where this applies, the names of the vessels or other means of transport used.
3. A certificate of the conditions in which the products remained in the transit country.
  • in the absence of the above, any alternative documents satisfactory to the customs authorities.
  1. The certificate of origin according to form (1) must include the name and address of the factory, the number and date of the shipping invoice and be signed by the exporter.
  2. The Arabic certificate of origin must be filled out according to form (1) and this certificate must be filled out in Arabic, and it is fully translated and certified by the same authority if necessary, and it is written in printed letters, and the product description data must be filled in the fields designated for that without leaving any empty spaces, When the allotted space is not completely filled, a horizontal line is placed under the last line of the description, and the empty spaces are deleted.
  3. The importer should attach a certificate of origin issued by the competent authorities, his signature, and stamped with the approved stamp forms, and on which the local added value or the rule for changing the customs classification is proven.
  4. The exporter applying for the issuance of the Arabic certificate of origin must be ready to submit, at the request of the competent authority in the country issuing the Arab certificate of origin, all documents necessary to prove the origin of the concerned products, as well as the fulfillment of the rest of the requirements of these rules.
  5. The certificate of origin shall be issued from the country of origin of that commodity when the goods are exported, and it may be issued in exceptional circumstances after export or from the country of the place of export when there is an error or unintentional omission in the certificate. In this case, the certificate must bear a special mark indicating the circumstances in which it was issued.
  6. Customs authorities or the competent authority in the importing country have the right to review a subsequent random sample of the documents proving the origin, or when they have reasonable doubts about the validity of the documents or the origin of the products concerned, or to fulfill the rest of the requirements of these rules.
  7. In order for a good to be considered Arab, it is required that it fulfills the rules of origin, in which the added value resulting from its production in the State Party is not less than 40% of the final value of the good upon completion of its production.
  8. The validity of the Arabic certificate of origin continues for a period of (six months) from the date of its issuance in the exporting country, and it must be submitted to the importing country during this period.
  9. The exporter can obtain a copy of the Arabic certificate of origin according to an application submitted to the authority that issued the certificate, explaining in it the reason for requesting this copy and the authority to which it will be submitted, and clarifying in his request the place and date of exporting the products and the reasons for not accepting the certificate upon import, whether for technical reasons or in case of loss or If the certificate of origin is damaged, the word (a second copy of the original) (replacement of damaged or lost) (issued retrospectively) must be clearly written in the remarks field of the Arabic certificate of origin.
  10. The exporter must submit a copy of the certificate of origin to the customs authorities in the country importing the goods at the time of clearance within a period not exceeding four months from the date of its issuance.
  11. A clear and non-removable indication of origin must be placed on the goods according to the nature of the goods
  12. The invoice issued by a broker in an Arab country can be accepted, provided that the certificate of origin is indicated in the remarks box No. (7) in the following format: “The final seller of this goods (the name of the Arab broker) in (the country of the Arab broker) and that the broker’s invoice includes a reference to the number and the date of the exporter's invoice No. (10) referred to in the certificate of origin.
  13. In case of doubt about the validity of the origin of the goods or the documents submitted to obtain preferential treatment, the goods shall be released against a customs guarantee of the value of the tax for the goods similar to them in the customs tariff schedule, until the importer brings proof that they have achieved the added value.
  14. The following are excluded from submitting a certificate of origin:
  • Passengers' personal effects, provided that they are of a personal nature and in non-commercial quantities, whose value does not exceed 1,200 euros.
  • Small personal parcels or postal ones, provided that they are of a personal nature, in non-commercial quantities, whose value does not exceed 500 euros
To view the agreement, please visit the website of the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs at the following link: https://mjla.gov.om