The Saudi Customs

KAD and Customs Relationship

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been executed between the Saudi Customs Authorities (SCA) and KAD & Co. International on 8/2/1401 Hejira, corresponding to 3/2/2009.  This MoU has been entered into in recognition by the Saudi Customs of KAD’s extensive experience in the fields of Intellectual Property protection and enforcement having represented and currently, is representing over 2,500 brand names which are owned by more than two hundred international and domestic companies, and doing business in Saudi Arabia or dealing commercially in the Saudi market

As per the excerpts from the Customs Law of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as amended (Royal Order No. 425 of 5/3/1372 H – November 23, 1952), the Saudi Customs avowed objective that “seeks to provide integrated customs services to meet development ‎requirements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and keep pace with the latest ‎developments at the local and international level”. The Saudi Customs’ mission and slogan are manifested in ‎‎” accelerating the release of permissible goods and preventing entry of prohibited ones”. It ‎requires striking a balance between facilitation of flow of trade for importers and ‎exporters in accordance with the Kingdom’s international obligations on the one hand, ‎and carrying out accurate inspection tasks of consignments, on the other hand, and, to ensure ‎prevention of entry of prohibited and infringing materials such as counterfeit items.

In keeping with this general objective, KAD’s mission and goals in IP protection found relevance in the Saudi Customs’ major policies that include “a) the prevention of entry of counterfeit goods, IPR-infringing goods or substandard goods to ‎ensure consumer protection and support of the national economy; and b) maintain the health of members of the community by preventing entry of banned ‎items from the infested countries”.

The Destruction of 2 Million Counterfeit/Infringing products

In November 2020, KAD has been invited by the SCA to attend and witness the destruction of more than 2 million pieces of counterfeit/infringing goods that have been officially seized/confiscated by Customs officers and have been ascertained and proven to be in gross violation of the Kingdom’s IP Laws and Regulations. 

The process of destruction and the stages that the Customs had undergone and observed in order to accomplish legitimate destruction of the infringing goods/products, included but not limited to the following:

• Inspection and checking all of the containers that are arriving in the different ports of Saudi Arabia
• Whenever any product found contained in that container is suspected to be counterfeit, the SCA would extract a sample of that product and hand it over to a representative of an IP Consultant firm/company, that have executed an MOU with the SCA, such as KAD. The IP Consultant would then send images of that sample to the legitimate Trademark Owner to determine whether it is actually genuine or, in fact, counterfeit.  If the sample has been established to be genuine, then the shipment would be cleared and released by the SCA.
• If the sample has been proven to be counterfeit along with the supporting documents, the SCA would seize/confiscate the entire shipment and serve a Summons to the Importer requiring it to present itself at a date and time specified in the Summons and to submit documentation to support its defence.
• Once the investigation has been concluded, the records of the case would then be endorsed to the Legal Department of the SCA for the issuance of a final decision on the destruction of the counterfeit goods.
• The destruction of goods would be conducted with the supervision and management of the Technical Committee of the SCA who would then also, issue the destruction report once destruction has been executed and completed.

The images shown below were taken during the actual implementation of the destruction of the infringing goods, under the authority and supervision of the Customs Inspectors.

An official video footage, here below were recorded on the destruction of the more than 2 million products

For more information about the Saudi Customs Authorities, please check the SCA’s website: www.customs.gov.sa