Yemen enforces customs duty on all vehicles

In a bid to improve national security and raise money for the state, the Yemeni Customs Authority has offered all vehicle owners who have not paid customs duty a grace period in which to register their vehicles.

Vehicle owners have until the end of January to pay customs duty on their cars, trucks and motorcycles -- at discounts of up to 80%.

After this, the General Traffic Administration will be conducting a sweep, and will seize any vehicle that is in default of customs duty payment or has no license plates, pursuant to Traffic Law No. 46 of 1991 and its amendments.

The administration has advised all vehicle owners who have not paid customs duty to take advantage of the discounts offered by the Customs Authority.

"The Customs Authority opened the door for the payment of customs duty on cars for security and economic reasons," said Yahya Sharaf al-Kibsi, Customs Authority undersecretary for technical affairs.

"This would generate revenue for the state and at the same time contribute to the maintenance of the country’s security," he told Al-Mashareq.

The perpetrators of acts of terrorism typically use unregistered vehicles -- often smuggled into the country across its long land borders -- to carry out their crimes, which makes it more difficult to identify them and bring them to justice.

The current discounts on customs duty are intended to encourage car owners to pay it, which will in turn help to curb security violations that could potentially occur through the use of unregistered cars, al-Kibsi said.

"The Customs Authority is working to eliminate the difficulties citizens face in paying custom duties for their cars to obtain official documentation and iron out the legal status of their vehicles," he said.

Security is top concern

"Security concerns are the top priority and have led the Customs Authority to announce a discount period on vehicular customs duty," said Mujahid al-Tahif, assistant undersecretary for anti-smuggling at the Customs Authority.

There has been high turnout to take advantage of the discount, he told Al-Mashareq.

"The number of cars whose customs duty has been paid as of mid-December totaled 22,000, about 12,000 of which are smuggled cars that entered the country illegally," he said.

Unregistered cars that have been smuggled into Yemen across its various borders "create a heavy burden for security agencies in the country", he said.

"The Customs Authority is doing its part in fighting crime within the scope of its work, and reduces custom duties on cars from time to time, also for security reasons," al-Tahif said.

Collected customs duties totaled 8.8 billion Yemeni riyals ($35 million) as of mid-December, he said.

"The extraordinary circumstances the country is experiencing contributed to a surge in smuggling in general and of cars in particular," said Col. Mohammed Hezam, deputy director general of the Interior Ministry's moral guidance department.

"Opening the door for the payment of customs duties on cars that are in default and announcing an 80% discount stemmed primarily from security reasons," he told Al-Mashareq.

Huge response to campaign

"Despite the economic difficulties people are experiencing, we saw a huge response and high turnout at customs duty offices," Hezam said.

The large number of vehicles that enter Yemen illegally "place a heavy burden on security agencies, as the country has suffered from the use of these cars in the commission of crimes of all kinds", he said.

When the grace period for the payment of customs duty on vehicles ends on January 31st, Interior Ministry agencies will be carrying out an inspection campaign, he said, and cars that are in violation will be seized.

The discounted customs duty rates reveal the magnitude of the cross-border smuggling taking place, said political affairs researcher Adnan al-Humairi.

The primary beneficiaries of these smuggling operations are terrorist groups, who seek to carry out attacks using these cars, he told Al-Mashareq.

Unregistered vehicles have been used to commit numerous crimes in Sanaa, Aden, Hadramaut and other provinces, he said, which underscores "the importance of opening the door for payment of customs duties".

This contributes to the "maintenance of society’s security and stability", he said.