As from July 2025, Dubai Customs will begin offering trade operators exporting goods the possibility to have their shipments inspected at their warehouses or distribution centres. By participating in Customs’ “Seamless Inspections” initiative – offered at a cost – they will no longer need to transport goods to a Customs centre for inspection. The new service is expected to reduce their costs and improve the overall efficiency of their supply chain.

Businesses wishing to benefit from the new scheme must submit an application to Dubai Customs. They must hold the appropriate licence to carry out their activity, have been operating for a certain period, and have no record of Customs infringements. In addition, companies should be large-scale businesses with substantial operations.

Once approved to participate in the scheme, they must designate an area within their warehouse that will be dedicated to the inspection of cargo and containers and set up, at their own cost, a surveillance camera system connected to Dubai Customs’ control room.

The programme offers companies two options, depending on their needs:

1. Full-site inspection, where Customs officers are permanently stationed at company premises, providing consistent support for high-volume operations requiring regular field inspections.
2. On-demand inspection, which dispatches officers to company sites as needed, offering flexibility for businesses with variable inspection requirements.

In both cases, the activities of Customs officers conducting inspections are also monitored via body-worn cameras. Once an officer has inspected the goods to be exported, these can be loaded into a container which will be secured by Customs officers with an electronic lock. The movement of the container will then be monitored via satellite through Dubai Customs’ digital “Shahin” platform until it reaches the port of exit.

Companies no longer need to book an inspection appointment and transport their goods to a designated inspection centre at the specified time – a process that can be time-consuming and may delay operations. They can now integrate inspections at export into their workflows without disrupting other critical processes, leading to smoother and faster Customs clearance. Goods are now inspected on-site, and Dubai Customs seals the containers or shipments directly, making them ready for export without the need for additional handling. The service is fee-based, with charges to be determined by Dubai Customs according to the volume of work and other considerations.

To test the new procedure, a pilot was carried out with Aramex, a global provider of logistics and transportation solutions. The company chose the full-site inspection option and reported that it had significantly reduced shipment processing times at export – by over 50% – saving approximately five hours per shipment.

Dubai Customs will begin accepting applications and enquiries for the Seamless Inspections service as of 1 July 2025. The procedure will be particularly useful for companies handling high volumes of goods, such as e-commerce businesses and manufacturers.

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