Industrial inputs imported to Abu Dhabi will be immediately exempted from customs duties effective January 15, a media report said.

Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and the General Administration of Customs in Abu Dhabi announced the tax waiver at a media briefing yesterday (December 26) as part of a stimulus provided by ADDED to the industry sector in the emirate, reported Emirates News Agency Wam.

The exempted imports include raw material, machinery, equipment and spare parts.

Ali Al Humami, Director of the Industrial Organisation Department at the ADDED Industrial Development Bureau, and a number of officials from the General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs announced the development.

Ali Al Humami said that immediate waiver relies upon the annual balance system of beneficiaries via direct e-connection between the systems used by the General Administration of Customs in Abu Dhabi and Industrial Development Bureau.

He said the volume of transactions pertaining to exempting industrial inputs from customs duties received by the Bureau in 2017 amounted to 26,000 transactions with a total value of Dh1.5 billion ($408 million), noting that the total amount has been waived.