Qatar customs is the best in GCC regarding integritycustoms.gov.qa/eng/Prints/file/58_web_Eng.pdfThe...

Seizing a transit passenger trying to smuggle 6 kg of gold

The Economist report

The customs employees participating in a healthy programme for the perfect weight.

The standards of measuring the customs performance

Qatar customs is the best in GCC regarding integrity

October 2015 - Edition No.

A quarterly publication of the general authority of customs - qatar CUSTOMS

58

Ahmed bin Ali Al MohannadiChairman of General Authority of Customs

The GAC pays a great attention to the standard of integrity because

it considers one of the issues which endorses global concern from

various international institutions and organizations , both public and

private, that it has a direct impact on achieving the economic develop-

ment, public money management and international trade freedom, the

integrity issue started to be important in the world in recent years so the

institutional works become proudly the reason in instilling the integrity

values and the affiliation among the employees. When we as customs in-

stitutions raises the subject of integrity , it comes on our mind “revised

Arusha declaration” which contains the basic principles of the integrity of

the customs employees at the global level.

In this context, the GAC made a great efforts on the world and local

level where the economic information unit has received a report from

“economist” said that the standard of integrity in Qatar customs considers

the best at the GCC level. Qatar customs has got 79.9 average versus 65.8

of general GCC average.

This happened by implementing a strategic plan for the years (2014-

2017) which focuses on integrity concept among its employees, and pre-

paring a brochure entitled “the ethics of the customs officer” . First release

was in January 2010 and was distributed to customs employees , believ-

ing that the ethics are the image of the employee, note that the GAC has

made a serious of achievements that enhanced the standard of integrity

such as developing the staff and building the customs institutional ca-

pacities and employment distillation of 100%. In addition to developing

the GAC electronic systems to meet the principals partners ambitions and

improving the customs clearance system “single window” in order to fa-

cilitate the procedures and shorten the time and efforts as well as im-

plementing the standards of security and facilitation of supply chain in

international trade.

Integrity is a group of values and rules that control behaviors in work

and include honesty, sincerity and stay away from any action might harm

the customs reputation. The GAC should protect the country through the

customs ports of Qatar (sea, land, air) and stood up firmly against that is

harmful for the ethics , faith , health, environment and public money. The

customs official considers the guardian and the first defense line of the

country’s security and economy.

In conclusion, I extend my thanks to all the customs staff for the efforts

they made to protect the society, combating illegal business activities and

implementing the principles and values of integrity based on our religion

, government instructions and Qatar vision 2030.

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The integrity in Customs work

5 The Chairman of the General Authority ofCustoms welcomes the Swiss Ambassador

18 Risk Section: 22 Control of NarcoticSubstances during First 6 Monthes of 2015

General Supervisor

Ahmed bin Ali Al Mohannadi

Chief Editor

Ahmed Mohamed Omran

Editing Secretary

Mohamed Nageeb

Job Team

Khaled Al Aqeedi

Emad Nosseir

Mona Zainal

Abdulrahman Al-Noemi

Shoaa Al-Moftah

Design and Direction

Nabil magdy.. Tamer Dief

A quarterly publication of the

general authority of customs - qatar

Tel: 44457477

Fax: 44457015

P.O. Box: 81 Doha - Qatar

Email: [email protected]

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MagazineCUSTOMS

14 WCO accredited manager of customs affairs as an expert in rules of origin

22 Mohamed Khalaf Al-Atiq summarizes 40 years of service in Customs

11

16

24 Customs PerformanceMeasurement Standards

Start of 12th founding sessionof the new customs officers

Through programs to provide staff with technical experiences

CUSTOMS Magazine - EDITION 58

Jaber Alsulaiti, the speaker of the strategic plan of the GAC

4

The GAC has participated in the 12th meeting of the Gulf Customs Union , that has been held

during 5-6, 2015, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, through a delegation headed by HE Ahmad Almuhanadi , the chairman of the GAC.

It has been discussed during the meeting the min-utes of the charged committee of reviewing the uni-fied customs law regarding the amendment , dele-tion, adding some articles related to the law and its executive rule, as well as discussed the exemption of fixed price packages and personal dispatches and the exemption of commercial samples and specific duties on tobacco and its derivatives and transfer-ring the results to the competent committees.

The meeting also discussed the preparation of the third mutual meeting among the customs union authority and the representatives of the private sec-tors in the Gulf states through customs procedures committee that has discussed the study of unifying the gold procedures which produced inside the Gulf states, and activating the supreme council decision regarding the ports procedures with the outside world , and unifying the preview and inspection sys-tems in all customs ports, and avoid the repetition of tracks inspection operations at all border crossing ports in Gulf states.

The meeting included the adoption of the customs work among GCC in the field of single windows in accordance with the best international practices that helps achieving facilitation by adopting the approv-als electronically and creating a cooperation environ-ment between the customs and the private sector which will reflect positively on the trade exchange among the Gulf states as well best facilitation of the goods movement.

The meeting discussed the resolutions of the eco-nomic and financial cooperation committee about

collecting the added tax by the customs directorate, and making studies about the unified system of the selective taxes of the Gulf states, and other topics on the customs field and a several technical applica-tions from some of the Gulf states.

It is worth mentioning that the importance of these meetings is developing the customs work and im-proving capability, that reflects positively on trade facilitation and ensure security, and helps adoption of best international practices in implementing the WCO tools through improving all the processes and procedures in order to achieve the desired goals.

The GAC participated in the 12th meeting of the Gulf customs union

The GAC Witnessed a significant discussions about the unified customs law


The Chairman of the General Authority of Cus-toms, Mr. Ahmed bin Ali Al-Mohanadi has wel-

comed Mr. Martin Aeschbacher, Ambassador of Switzerland, in a visit that aimed to discuss the enforcement of the Free Trade Agreement be-tween the European Free Trade Association “EFTA” and the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council “GCC”, which had officially been established lately, and also to discuss other issues related to the mu-tual economic relationship.

The meeting included a discussion about some issues related to Customs work, and its role in en-hancing the cooperation between the two coun-tries and facilitating the trade traffic movement.

The Chairman of the General Authority of Customs welcomes the Swiss Ambassador

.. And welcomes the South African Ambassador

During a visit that aimed to enforcing the Free Trade Agreement between (EFTA) and the (GCC)

The Chairman of the General Authority of Cus-toms, Mr. Ahmed bin Ali Al-Mohannadi has wel-

comed Mr. Saad Kachalia, the Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa in the Qatar. The visit aimed to enhance the communications between the two countries, and to discuss the current aspects of co-operation.

The meeting included a discussion about some is-sues related to Customs work, and its role in enhanc-ing the cooperation between the two countries and facilitating the trade traffic movement.

The Chairman of the General Authority of Customs, Mr. Ahmed bin Ali Al-Muhannadi has welcomed

The Ambassador of the Republic of France. During the meeting they discussed the aspects of the economic cooperation and the customs role in handling the commodities and the facilitation of procedures be-tween the two countries through the elimination of all the obstacles they may encounter. 5

Al-Muhannadi welcomes the French Ambassador

66

HE Ahmad Almuhanadi, chairman of GAC presided the Qatari delega-tion, which participated in the two meetings that have been held in the headquarters of the WCO in Brussel, Belgium from 11-13 June 2015, which included all meetings of WCO 125/126 and the regional meeting No.42 for North Africa and Middle and near east.

The meetings discussed several ar-ticulated topics about developing and modernizing the customs work and adopting the best standards of security field and facilitating the supply chain in the international trade such as digital revolution ,global competitiveness package , global customs net, customs broker , trade facilitation agreement , per-formance measurement, the effect

of electronic trade on revenue col-lection, reviewing (SAFE( standards, the partnership with the private sectors, and security initiative and other topics.As for the regional field, it has been discussed the acceptance of pala-tine membership in WCO , the 73

recommendations of public policy committee , the report of the pro-fessional attachment in capac-ity building directorate, WCO elec-tions, approve the Jordan’s training center as a regional training center , and training plan of the countries of the regions.

It should be noted that the annual report about the region activities has praised obviously the impor-tant role of the GAC in holding several of regional workshops that affected the institutional capacity visits for the regions countries, the obvious progress was also men-tioned through the diagnostic task of the 3rd phase of the Columbus program in many fields, including the implementation of the WCO means and tools.

The Chairman of the General Authority of Customs, Mr. Ahmed bin Ali Al-Muhannadi welcomed a del-egation from the Chinese company “Newk-Tech” which is specialized in x-ray screening inspection equipment, during their visit to the State of Qatar.

This takes place as part of their mutual cooperation that lasted for ten years. The head of the delega-tion, who is deputy CEO, said that this visit aimed to strengthen the relationship and the mutual coopera-tion for the next decade, in order to enforce the fu-ture security and safety and to increase the efficiency of the Customs related issues.

It is noteworthy that the Authority has recently, in co-operation with the Chinese company, built two vehi-cles the purpose of which is to inspect trucks. They

were built according to the specifications adopted

by the Authority in cooperation with the Internal Se-

curity Force - Lekhwiya.

The GAC participated in WCOmeetings 125/126

The Agency’s Chairman welcomes the delegation of the “Newk-Tech” X-Ray Screening Equipment Company

After over 10 years of cooperation


77

“Customs systems analysts’’ meeting reviews the experience of companies “Oorado” and “Meeza”

In the context of checking the technical environments that might be an alternative to customs information center

Amending the name Systems Analysts Team to “Committee of Direct Automatic Transfer of Customs Duties”Abbreviating direct automatic transfer of customs duties into (DT)The activities of the eleventh meet-ing of the GCC systems analysts team who is in charge of putting the procedural and technical frame-work for the implementation of direct transfer of customs duties mechanism in the Customs Union were concluded in Doha. The meet-ing was organized by the General Authority of Customs over the past week.During the meeting, the heads of delegations addressed a number of themes in this regard of which the most important is the adoption of list of contacts controller in the de-partments of customs and General Secretariat to follow up any poten-tial technical obstacles in the direct conversion system, in addition to coordination with specialists in the state in the procedure departments of customs, computer and financial affairs. Furthermore, the subject of amending the structure of data

exchange files that are exchanged between the member countries of customs and the Customs Informa-tion Centre of the General Secre-tariat.Based on the recent meeting held in the Customs Union Commission and as for the work of the GCC sys-tems analysts, modification of the current name Clearing Committee to “Committee of settling customs duties between the GCC countries” and modification of the name sys-tems analysts team in the member countries who is in charge of putting the procedural and technical frame-work for the implementation of the mechanism of direct automatic transfer of customs duties in the Customs Union of the GCC countries to “Committee for direct automatic transfer of customs duties” have

been approved. Also the abbrevi-ated name (DT) replaced the direct transfer system of customs duties.

Field VisitsThe Committee team had technical field visits to (Oorado) and (Meeza) in the State of Qatar. This came in the context of checking the out-standing technical environments that might be an alternative to cus-toms information center as a sub-stitute in the event of service inter-ruption or disaster (DR). The team reviewed the characteristics and technical services that the company provides.

8

Experts from WCO establish Customs Departments

Among the third phase of Columbus Program

The General Authority of Customs (GAC) hosted the third phase of Columbus Program of the

World Customs Organization (WCO) within the pe-riod 17-21 May, 2015. The third phase of the mission was implemented by two experts from the General Secretariat of the Organization.

Qatari Customs hosted the two experts who had held meetings with senior managers in the GAC in

the head office and Navy Customs office. In addition, the two experts met representatives from the private sector and Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Indus-try.

The mission of the third phase of Columbus Program of the WCO discussed the comprehensive regulatory issues which are used as references for the diagnos-tic structure of the Organization and knowing the obstacles that face the strategic planning.

The two experts praised the achievements of Qatari Customs in the advanced strategic planning, devel-opment of single-window system, successful imple-mentation of the borders coordination department, the academic study programs which were executed with Community College in Qatar, improvement of the infrastructure in many customs establishments, in addition to improving the institutional capacities of the staff.

They also praised many remarkable developments on the customs website and the effective use of social communication methods, in addition to en-hancing the relations significantly with the foreign stakeholders, especially with the business and trade community. The WCO team concluded its tour by presenting a number of recommendations that aim to enhance the work in customs departments.


9

“Lekhwiya” signed with the Chinese company “Nyuktk” an agreement to develop security systems in both sea and land ports in Qatar as represented in New Hamad Airport project and General Authority of Customs.During a visit by the Chinese firm delegation headed by its Vice President, the agreement was signed on the Qatari side by Lekhwiya Security Technology Division Head Captain Engineer Ali Hassan Al Rashed, and by Mr. Lee, Vice President of “Nyuktk” on the Chinese side. This came after holding a number of meetings with stake-holders to follow-up mechanisms to implement the project on time.The agreement aims to develop security systems in the New Hamad Port project, Abu Samra border and the port of Ruwais and enhance the ability of these ports through the introduction of modern security systems in the field of radiation detection and increase the effi-ciency of border controls using the advanced technol-ogy that is compatible with the latest operating systems in place.The visit of the Chinese firm delegation resulted in the

agreement

t o develop

the security

systems by providing radiation detection devices that would be supplied during the upcoming period to New Hamad Port and checking devices to the central inspec-tion area of the General Authority of Customs, including the up-to-date operation systems. It shall be the first of its kind that the firm will develop. The firm will take into account in the modern devices that they have superior capabilities in detecting drugs, explosives and arms. This will result in increasing the detection ability of products and goods check devices of the General Authority of

Customs.It is worth mentioning that Lekhwiya has earlier

supplied to the General Authority of Customs through a joint committee two advanced X-ray

machines to screen containers. These ma-chines are advanced scanners that detect the components of the container through the rapid movement over it and identi-fying the places of banned items easily. This aims to closely control and inspect the exports and imports that enter into or exit from the State ports.These two vehicles are characterized with their ability to detect organic and inorganic materials making it much easier for a customs inspec-tor to determine where prohibited substances or hazardous materials are. This is done through a rapid electronic scanning over the con-tainer externally.

Lekhwiya signs agreement to developsecurity systems in both sea and land ports

In coordination with customs and New Hamad Airport project

10

Delegation of Qatari Customsvisits Hamriyah Center in UAE

To check their experience in dealing with radiation inspection

“Customs Affairs” meet the owners of modern clearance companies

Based on their application to obtain clearance practicing license

A delegation of Qatari Customs visited the sisterly UAE-based Hamriyah Customs Center (HCC).

The delegation members were Mr. Youssef Motab Al Noaimy, Head of Risks Department at the General Au-thority for Customs, Captain Ali Hassan Al Rashid from Internal Security Force “Lekhwiya”, Captain Abd Al Aziz Nasser Al Yafay, Head of Port Operations Department, Michael Jones, Inspection Devices Specialist, Ehab Anany and Mohannad Al Dorby from Hamad Port Pro-ject. They were received by Mr. Yakoub Gabsh, Director of HCC, and a number of customs inspectors from the HCC.

The delegation moved to the Inspection Service build-ing where it was briefed on how to operate and use containers examination device (scanner) and on the followed systems used in the monitoring room and the technical abilities of the device to detect prohib-ited and hazardous items which are banned by laws to enter the state territory. The delegation also was briefed closely on the ray device and its properties.The Qatari delegation praised the technical skills of in-spectors in the building and the advanced techniques that the HCC uses in short-time detection of contain-ers.

The Customs Affairs Department met the owners and representatives of customs clearance companies who applied to obtain a license to practice the customs clearance pro-fession. It was an open meeting at the General Authority of Customs (GAC) building to explain the study conducted by the GAC and to set the appropriate customs controls to develop the profession of customs clearance officers.

The speech, that was managed by Mr. Sultan Al Nuaimy, Director of Customs Affairs Department, Mr. Gaber Al Sulaity, Director of Plan-ning and Quality Department, in-cluded an open discussion aiming to improve and develop ways of cooperation between the two par-ties. During the meeting, each side listened to its remarks that relate to the process of customs clearance and the obstacles encountered.

The meeting was attended by around 50 representatives and del-egates of various companies, in ad-dition to a number of customs clear-ance officers. In an open meeting, they discussed with customs de-partments officials their remarks in customs clearance process, which is supposed to be useful in the devel-opment of workflow and to speed up the procedures in the form sought by both parties.

“Such open meetings is useful for work,” Mr. Sultan Al Nuaimy said, assuring that the customs work in-tegrates with clearance companies’ work and it is necessary to have pe-riodic meetings between the two parties to know the notes of one party about the work of the other, in addition to listening to the com-plaints of those dealing with cus-toms in an attempt to correct and upgrade work tracks.


11

The General Authority of Customs (GAC) started the 12th founding session of a new group of officers at the GAC headquarters. Such a session aims at making the new officers acquainted with the various customs tasks and technical experiences necessary for customs work.Mr. Hamad Al Kubaisy, Head of Training and Continuing Education Department, has opened the session. In the beginning, he urged the participants to make effort and be dedicated in order to gain the expertise supportive to a customs officer. Al Kubaisy considered training is a main element in gaining officers’ experiences and sup-porting them to face the requirements of the customs work in different fields, pointing out that Customs is keen to prepare cadres with the latest training theoreti-cal and field programs.He pointed out that the customs work is one of the most vital jobs in the state as it is the first bulwark in fighting smuggling attempts of banned goods inside the coun-try and an important economic tributary for the coun-try. Hence, the GAC seeks to present an integral train-

ing through presenting theoretical training specialized about customs and security subjects for 6 weeks at the GAC headquarters. Afterwards, sports field training for 3 weeks at Police Training Institute, Ministry of Interior, shall be held.86 new officers participate in the founding session. Elite group of experts from the GAC and outside will teach it. The session addresses subjects concerning the customs law, customs procedures, customs inspection, customs tariff as well as customs exemptions, report of seizure and customs inspection.It also addresses a number of topics concerning radia-tion prevention, security sense, risk management, falsi-fication, forgery, revenues, customs auditing, integrity and anti-money laundering, art of dealing with the pub-lic, rules of origin and drugs, and other topics related to dealing with chemical substances, customs value and explosives.

Start of 12th founding session of the newcustoms officers

Training Course on “Customs Act and its Executive Regulation”

Through programs to provide staff with technical experiences

To enhance participants’ experience

General Authority of Customs or-ganized a course under the title “Customs Act and its Executive Regulation.” A number of different customs departments staff of the Authority joined with the aim to support their legal knowledge and enhance the level of their career competence. The course was taught by Mr. Majid Ahmed Taher, Legal Expert in the Department of Legal Affairs.The course included several themes. In the first theme, participants knew the terms of the Customs Act No. 40/2002 and other customs leg-islations (Definitions and General Provisions). The second theme dis-

cussed the outstanding conditions of customs duties (Temporary En-try) and customs exemptions and types. While the third theme ad-dressed “Customs Crimes” and how to dispose of them during which the lecturer discussed different types of crimes such as (customs smuggling – customs vio-lations) and reviewed the executive reg-ulation of the Customs Act and its impor-tance in prac-ticing the cus-toms work.

The fourth them discussed the rights and duties of customs em-ployees, minutes of the customs seizure, types of spatial scale, pow-ers of law enforcement officers and other topics relating to the basics of the Customs Act.

12

General Authority of Customs organized two courses about “Risks Management” and “Customs Value” dur-ing the period from 6th to 8th of September 2015. 37 employees from the Authority and customs land, sea and air ports participated in the courses.

This is the result of the Authority care about support-ing its employees with the theoretical and field ex-pertise in all fields related to customs work, and its interest in the fields of risks management and cus-toms value which are two of the important issues pursued by the countries customs in terms of security. They contribute to the provision of human cadres’ efforts for customs and care at the same time about facilitating the smooth-ness of entry of goods and supporting the movement of trade.

The first course discussed all issues related to risks management from definition, impor-tance, forms of customs controls and reasons for its terms and legislative supports. It also discussed the types of risks, their stages, anal-ysis and treatment, the process of customs intelligence and its steps and finally the sub-sequent review and its elements and stages.

Some participants assured that those cours-

es had important role in enhancing their expertise about the concept of customs risks management and value for commercial purposes as well as the methods that customs departments adopted in ap-plying such systems. The courses also focused on the risks work in the customs context including the prin-ciples, framework and the operational process itself. Operations of intelligence gathering and analysis op-erations were also discussed, in addition to the role of communication and notification in supporting and ensuring the success of risk departments’ work.

Two Courses about“Risks Management” and “Customs Value”

Participated by a number of inspectors of customs ports


13

I joined work at General Authority of Customs on 12/ 03/ 1997. I began in the air freight (as a Trainee Inspector). After one year, I finished the training

session (in land transport) and was first in place. I continued working and was gradually promoted from Customs Inspector to Shift Supervisor then to Export Unit Head in air freight.

I had ambitions and hopes to finish my academic study, but for circum-stances beyond my control, I could not complete my study. In 2012, I had the opportunity to join the first year in customs Diploma in Applied Customs Science (Community College). I passed the scheduled tests at the authority and college.

The academic experience was the best experience in my life. I got to know university life more closely, new teachers and colleagues, the academic study experience and its studying programs in different fields such as (ad-ministration, economics, accounting, language) as well as customs side. I cannot deny that I faced many challenges in terms of tests and projects re-quested by teachers. However, thanks to God, I was graduated and got excel-lent grade; I was second in the first year among the students that obtained the diploma. Hence, I advise senior employees to join the academic study program (Diploma in Applied Customs Science) as it opens new and many horizons for employees studying in the field.

A letter of thanks: Thanks to God, first and last, for giving me the opportunity to begin and finish the study, then thanks to HE Chairman of the Authority for giving me the opportunity, and thanks to all officials at the training cent-er I also thank the teaching staff, headed by the President of the College Dr. Ibrahim Al-Naimi as well as all classmates of customs and college students.

The Best Experience

Ahmed Saleh Al Kuwari

14

World Customs Or-ganization accredited

World Customs Organization ac-credited Mr. Sultan Abdellatif Al-Naimi from Qatari customs as an approved training expert for Arabic speakers, after he had successfully completed three specialized work-shops that aiming at accrediting Arabic speakers experts in rules of origin. The workshops have been re-cently held in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Moreover, he took over post of man-ager of customs affairs administra-tion. In this interview, Mr. Sultan Al—Naimi talked about the award and the most prominent issues and subjects he would address as being manager of customs manager:

Congratulations for being an expert

in the World Customs Organization, please tell us the details of the ac-creditation

I got the certificate by the grace of God and support of head of the authority Mr. Ahmed Bin Ali Al-Mohandy and planning and quality department represented by Mr. Mo-hamed Al-Maadid, Mr. Gabr Al-Sali-ty and Mr. Abdel Hady Al-Sahly who were supporting me constantly.

A workshop was held in Qatar and I participated actively. After that, I knew that I was nominated to par-ticipate in course of accreditation of experts in which all talented of the workshops held at Qatar and U.A.E participated. Many tests were

carried out at these workshops. I presented worksheet and detailed presentation in a specialized sub-ject about rules of origin.

After being accredited as a training expert in rules of origin for Arabic speakers, I would like to say that my name is on the certificate, but the real success is for the General Authority of Customs. I want also to thank all those who congratulated me and I thank U.A.E for greeting me, as being the first one in Gulf countries who got the accredita-tion.

What do you think about low num-ber of accredited Arab experts?

Actually, the number of Arab ex-

manager of customs affairs as an

expert in rules of origin


15

perts cannot be compared with West experts. Thus, we should exert more efforts to achieve better rates in this regard. However, we, the gulf countries, have experts in several customs fields including harmo-nized system and capacity building. I except that new Arab experts in all fields of customs work will appear in the gulf area during the coming period.What is the opinion of customs af-fairs administration about you as an employee at the past and as a current manager? At first, I would like to thank all the previous managers I worked with them and taught form them. They all made good efforts during their work and they left a fertile land for me. I thank God; I have not faced any problem in the work. I am tak-ing responsibility of an administra-tion that does not need anything.I think that Customs Affairs adminis-tration is the root of customs work. I ask God to help me in managing it with cooperation of my colleagues. I started to determine system of the work and I did not deviate from the framework set by the previous managers, because they are all ex-perts in their fields and they had a prominent role in developing per-formance of the administration. What are the departments of cus-toms affairs administration and

what is the nature of each depart-ment? The role of the customs affairs ad-ministration is applying customs policies and systems in outlets and following up them. The adminis-tration is composed of five depart-ments. “Tariff and origin” depart-ment is responsible for codes of goods and application of rules of origin. “Customs brokers” depart-ment is responsible for affairs of customs brokers and their work and training permits. “Exemptions and outstanding conditions for fees” department is responsible for exemptions issued under laws, any financial issues and customs set-tlements such as temporary sav-ing and others. “Organizations and agreements” department is respon-sible for executing and following up agreements applicable in Qatar. “Value” department is responsible for prices of goods and updating them. Moreover, there is secretariat that provides services for public in general.How is the coordination done to meet the internal and external ad-ministrations needs (Outlets)? The administration properly fol-lows-up the communication policy and all administrations are cooper-ated in continuous communication and mutual cooperation and coor-dination with external administra-

tions. We follow-up customs pro-cedures at outlets. We put the policies and they apply them.

What is the importance of origin for customs work?

The rules of origin represent the first basis of agreements among countries. Without them, we cannot execute any agreement. They point out the sources of goods inputs. They are impor-tant in terms of security.

* What are the most important topics discussed by the Direc-tor of Customs Affairs?Currently, our concern is to pro-vide a comprehensive service

that is better in speed and qual-ity and that depends on facilitating and achieving the procedures for all dealers, whether individuals or traders. Now, I exert effort for im-proving the work in general in the departments of management and dependence on technology.

What are the most significant pro-jects required to be achieved by Customs Affairs in the strategic plan?International conventions, labora-tories in the ports and programs re-lated to customs value are the most significant strategic projects of the Authority.

How will the Custom Affairs De-partment achieve the comprehen-sive quality in customs action?The most important thing is that the employees do their work well and know all work aspects. We passed the routine work stage and now we depend on strategic plans and specializing programs that can achieve quality in work. Quality comes as a result of meeting our cli-ents’ requirements in the best form and earliest possible time. I thank all employees for their cooperation and urge them to work hard in or-der to implement their role serious-ly and positively and to achieve the desired work.

16

Customs Plan Projects are a Part of the National Development Strategy of the StateImplementation of the General Authority of Customs

(GAC) strategy plan 2013-2016 in April 2013 AD is on a steady pace to achieve the GAC strategic objectives of which the most important is caring about the human element and building and developing its abilities. It is its most prominent characteristic. It was the first build-ing block for our projects to build institutional abilities of the Authority was to establish the very first strategic goal, building institutional capacity and an efficient workforce with a high motivation to work”. As for the other strategic objectives, their projects are specialized in nature and their work term spans over several years. It is noteworthy that the Amiri Decree No. 37 of 2014 to establish the General Authority of Customs and al-locating its authorities has made it inevitable to review the strategic plan act, which was done, as there was an act that was developed into the strategic plan of 2014-2017 which includes all authorities of the created ad-ministrative units and the re-distribution of projects on

such units without compromising the strategic objec-tives of the Authority.

The Authority as part of the institutional structure of the State and being one of the public policies imple-menters, it had to adapt its goals and projects with these polices which are represented in the goals of national development strategy of the state, we worked on adapting these goals and to integrate this (Adop-tion) attitude in the institutional culture of the Author-ity.

The Strategic Objectives of the Authority were set after studying the national vision and its pillars, and mak-ing sure that goals’ output shall serve the pillars of the national vision in way that contributes to the achieve-ment of Qatar National Vision 2030.

On the other hand, in relation to the strategic plan, the most important projects and aspirations of the Author-ity for 2015 was to achieve a qualitative progress in the

Jabr Al Sulaiti about the Strategic Plan of the Authority


17

implementation of its strategic plan by launching a number of (49) projects. First and foremost; establish-ing a new corporate identity for the Authority, wel-coming the first academic customs specialized group of the Authority staff after having obtained Customs Sciences diploma from Community College of Qatar, launching the certifief “accredited” economic partners’ project, and launching the Customs Training Center project.Regarding the frequently asked question about the role of preparing for hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Authority has the honor to be one of the impor-tant elements in the process through its membership in all of the essential committees assembled on a na-tional level to complete all preparations for hosting

the event. Through realizing the quantity of the pro-jects accompanying such preparations, one can imag-ine the volume of works that await all employees of governmental offices. The most prominent challenges the Authority encounters is to work in a balanced way between facilitating the transit of imports of herit-age projects and contributing to the preparations in order to provide an unforgettable experience for all participants in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and between maintaining society security and providing a safe en-vironment for all participants, which will be applied by constantly qualifying the customs staff through high-standard training and enhancing programs and ben-efiting from the global experiences in this field.

18

Risk Section: 22 Control of Narcotic575 Reports of Customs Network Presented

Risk Section of the Operations and Risk Analysis De-partment, General Authority of Customs, presented, during the first quarter of 2015, 575 reports in Customs Enforcement Network (CEN), in addition to the inclu-sion of a number of local and external warnings and re-ports concerning the various seizures from 1st January till 31st June 2015. The first semi-annual report, which was prepared by the Risk Department, pointed that the total reports Qatar has presented and entered into the network ranks it second after KSA which submitted 1148 report during the aforesaid six months.

Narcotic Substances

As for the local seizures of narcotic substances, Customs was able to achieve 170 seizures of narcotic pills total-ing 10815, and 27 seizures of narcotic substances that included various items: 2 kg and 884 gm of hashish, 1 kg and 37 gm of heroin, 538 gm of Shabu drug, 4 grams of opium drug and only the total seized marijuana was 22 kg and 815 gm.

Various Seizures

In addition to narcotic substances, the total number of various seizures put Air Customs on the top as it was able to do 106 seizures during that period, followed by the land port with 63 seizures, then the sea port with 63 seizures. The seizures varied to include tax evasion, alcohol and tobacco, intellectual property rights, weap-ons and ammunitions, fireworks and pornography, commercial fraud and other contrabands.The role of the sea customs has emerged in seizing the largest percentage of commercial fraud reports. The role of air customs has emerged in seizing the largest percentage of tobacco. While the role of the land port “Abu Samra Customs” has emerged in tax smuggling cases. The report included the smugglers’ nationality during

that period, and specified the most dangerous nation-alities in smuggling, the most important itineraries of smuggled goods and the narcotic substances that have been seized mostly and are popular in smuggling to closely searching for them by means known to customs officials.

Bill of Lading

Risk Section presented, in its report for the mentioned period, a number of submitted bills of lading on Al Na-deeb Program. 14977 bills of lading have been submit-ted in the general manifesto through air and sea ports while the number of printing manifesto reached 23369 bills of lading.

General Manifesto

As for the “General Manifesto”, the number of bills of lading submitted on Al Nadeeb Program during the first half of 2015 was 35255, while in the printing mani-festo the number of bills of lading submitted on Al Na-deeb reached 60674.

Customs Data

As for the customs data in Land Customs Department

Air Customs is the biggest port in terms of the number of various seizure cases of which the most notably “Commercial Fraud”.

Substances during First 6 Monthes of 2015


The statistics included seizure of 10 kg marijuana and 1 kg opium“land shipment”, the port has witnessed issuing of 95092 customs statements during the first half of 2015. It varied to include 76954 importing statements, 11924 exporting statements, 27 temporary importing state-ment, 143 temporary exporting statements and 6034 re-exporting statements.In air customs, the port has witnessed issuing of 56687 customs statements during the first half of 2015. It var-ied to include 48116 importing statements, 282 export-ing statements, 35 temporary importing statements, 261 temporary exporting statements and 7765 re-ex-porting statements.In sea customs, the port has witnessed issuing of 43919 customs statements during the first half of 2015. It varied to include 33903 importing statements, 6483 exporting statements, 115 temporary importing state-ments, 70 temporary exporting statements and 3287 re-exporting statements.

Traffic of Vehicles

As for, the traffic of vehicles across Abu Samra port during the same period, the port witnessed entry of 141631 vehicles and exit of 133931 vehicles, so the total entry and exit movements reached 275562.The report included a number of important warnings

received from regional offices in other countries with the aim of reviewing, taking caution and taking the nec-essary actions. The warnings set forth a description of a number of contrabands smuggling cases in new ways in addition to a brief about some attempts to smuggle the money with the seized currencies.The periodic report is useful in raising the awareness of a customs inspector of smuggling ways and methods through available means such as booklets and CDs. It is also useful in providing assistance when needed for local offices within the territory or other territories.During this period, Risk Section received warnings from participating countries explaining that these countries seized various smuggling cases, in addition to the se-cret ways of hiding narcotic substances. This comes within the scope of exchanging information between countries customs.The Relo Qatar Office of the Risk Section collects sei-zures data including the relating details of customs of-fenses of all kinds from all the sources and ports on the local level. It also enters seizures data in CEN. Those who work at the office also share information with the regional office and local offices in the area of smuggling and local seizures data analysis to know the smuggling ways and get the common points among smugglers as well as their characteristics.

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Customs Officers Participate in Healthy Program of Ideal Weight

Primary Health Care Corporation provideda comprehensive health report for each employee

General Authority of Customs hosted a medical team from the Primary Health Care Corpora-

tion (PHCC), as part of their implementation of the program (Ramadan is health, wage and gift), which is organized by the PHCC for the second year re-spectively. It aims to raise the health and nutritional awareness and to introduce to the staff of ministries and government and private entities information re-garding their physical condition in terms of ratio of fats, fluids, salts and other useful information.The program is summarized in having two visits to every point. The first visit is to measure the weight and take biometrics of employees who are interest-ed in measurement and give them ideal programs in order to reach an ideal weight, along with providing

the necessary health tips for food habits proper to their health. In the second visit, which comes almost a month after the first, the team re-measures the weight of the same staff and presents a symbolic gift and a certificate of thanks and appreciation for each one that managed to reach the ideal weight through following food tips.“The GAC has deemed it useful to cooperate with the PHCC and to use this valuable program in show-ing the GAC staff their health condition and assisting them in consolidating the healthy behavior through their direct communication with a group of doctors who specialize in health food. It provides reliable in-formation and supports staff to pay attention to their health and care about improving it by following a


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proper diet program presented to them,” Mr. Ahmed Al Qubaisi, Director of Public Relations and Commu-nications, said, indicating that the health program found a large turnout of staff. For her side, Dr. Heba Abu Halawa, Head of Health Awareness at the PHCC, said, “The program (Rama-dan is health, wage and gift) depends on the provi-sion of a food program to every participant that fits his own health status which has been measured to him. It relies on motivating employees to take ad-vantage of the month of Ramadan to do the required diet and to follow the right diet program for them to lose weight.”She said the turnout of the GAC’s staff was large as statistics indicate that 75 employees, males and fe-males, of the GAC had full examination and received medical reports. “Customs is one of the largest enti-ties that participated in the program. The first shift

was allocated for men and the second for women where the examination processes were done in an orderly, smoothly and fast way,” she confirmed.Dr. Heba pointed out that healthy nutrition rules in the month of Ramadan are not different from any other month: eating a variety of foods, eating only the quantity of food needed by the body, mean-ing not eating too much, being careful to eat a lot of grains, vegetables and fruit products and eating little fat and cholesterol-rich foods as well as reduc-ing the eating of sweets and sugary foods, with an emphasis on eating what the body needs of calories. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, a normal person needs about 1800 calories as a minimum every day. The need of the body for calories varies depending on the mus-cular activity difference. An active person that moves much needs calories more than a lazy person.

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My first salary was 1400 riyals, all inclusiveMr. Mohamed Khalaf Al-Atiq is one of the senior Customs employees who have an extensive experience in all as-pects of Customs work. Ever since he was hired in Qatari Customs in 1975, he worked with diligence and dedica-tion. He has several contributions to the improvement of the work; he worked in the old air freight sector, moved to Doha Port and then to the Auctions Committee through a series of positions from which he gained his broad ex-perience in Customs work. We would like, through this episode of (Memoirs Talks), to run over this experience as a testament to an elegant era and a significant period in the history of Customs.First we would like you to introduce yourself and your key positions in your career in Customs?I am Mohamed Khalaf Al-Atiq, I was employed in customs in 1975 in the position of an inspector in the old air freight sector, during the chairmanship of Mr. Ahmed Al-Uthman of the Customs Administration. By the year 1998 I had be-come Chief of the Examination Department. Then I was transferred to Doha Port as chief of the Examination De-partment, and by the year 2006 I had become Doha Port’s Chief of Customs. Then I moved to the position of Chief of the Air Freight, then to Revenues, then to Legal Affairs, and currently I work in the Auctions Committee in the Land Transportation Center.What is the difference between Customs work in the seventies and the same now?Although the air traffic and passengers volume in the seventies and eighties were slim, the work pressure was sizeable due to the small number of inspectors. A single employee did several jobs in finalizing clearance and inspection procedures etc., cargos were a few, most of which were foods and textiles form countries such as In-dia, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Brit-

ain.How many inspectors were there at the beginning of your work? And how much was an inspector’s salary back then?The total number of inspectors was 20 people; each shift comprised only 5 inspectors. Therefore they exerted tre-mendous efforts in their work. The salary was almost 1400 riyals, all inclusive. I had a 1976 Peugeot, the installments of which I had to pay from my monthly salary.Who was your first manager when you first joined Cus-toms, and who were your co-workers? My first manager was Mr. Jumaa bin Hamad Al-Masnad, I hold him dear to my heart, I learned so much from him. My co-workers back then were Hamad bin Abdulrahman Al-Nuaimy, Jamaan Salem Al-Abdullah, Ali Meteib Al-Marry, Abdullah Mohamed Al-Maleky, Sultan Mohamed, Mr. Abdullah Saleh Abu Matar Al-Muhannady, Chief of the Airport Customs, Ahmed Abu Abbas Al-Jaber, Abdulmajid Eissa Al-Rumaihi, Abdullah bin Jasim Al Thani, Abdullah Ahmed Al-Saaiy, Abdullah Helal Al-Khalify, the late Rashed Saadon Al-Kawary and many others of good colleagues.What were the most significant seizures you have

The Smart Inspector is the cornerstone of Customs Work

Mohamed Khalaf Al-Atiq summarizes

40 years of service in Customs:


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made when you were an inspector?I made a large number of seizures, the most significant of which were in 1982, it was 5 kg of pot in the old air freight sector, my colleagues too made some seizures during that period e.g. firearms, liquors and khat.How was the luggage inspections conducted given the frailty of inspection equipment back then?In the late eighties there were only one device that checks the contents of large pieces of luggage in the passengers’ terminal, and two devices for the small luggage and hand bags. No doubt that the modern x-ray devices which were invented afterwards had gradually made the inspection easier for us, all the way through to the devices we have now, which are able to identify everything in a bag with the utmost accuracy.Did you use to inspect every bag manually to make sure they don’t contain any forbidden items?We did not inspect every flight manually, but there were flights from certain countries that were fully inspected by both ways. We also used “Evidence Research Division” but not quite like the way it is used nowadays. I would like to confirm that the smart inspector is the cornerstone of Cus-toms work and its main pillar of support, not the technol-ogy and scanning equipment. Back in the day we depend-ed on ourselves in inspection operations and on our study of the case before us. We have many examples of cases of fees payment evasion and drugs smuggling which we pre-vented thanks to the grace of God and the inspectors’ wits.Which Customs port was the most active in the seven-ties? And what are the key agencies that complement the Customs in ports?The Airport is the most active, given its factors of speed, which is why most citizens, residents, guests, visitors and delegations depend on flights in their movements, except for cases of shipping goods and road trips, such cases are handled through the port or through Abu Samra point. As for the other agencies, it is the nature of the work of Cus-toms ports that require the constant complementation of security agencies. Ever since the beginning of our work in Customs, there have been police, health and security offices among other agencies. There has been a sense of unity amongst all and everyone was keen on his part in protecting the country from any danger.How much was Customs Fees when you started your work in Customs? And which country had the busiest economic relationship with Qatar back then?Customs fees were 2.5% on all substances except for ciga-rettes; recently it has been increased to 5%. As for the countries that had the busiest economic relationship with

Qatar, they were mostly Asian countries and some Arab countries, mostly U.A.E. and KSA.What do you think about the use of technology to man-age Customs operation and Customs clearance? Did you use the single-window System (Al Nadeeb) for electronic Customs clearance?No doubt that technology had accomplished a large por-tion of the daily work. Inspection and clearance opera-tions are conducted in a doubled pace and accuracy. As for the Single-Window system, I have not worked on it. I expect it to be a huge success in the future, because the trade volume and economic traffic and prosperity in be-tween countries of the world nowadays require the pres-ence of such modern systems. However, I want its makers to resolve the problems from which it suffers so it would not have glitches or imperfections and do its operations more accurately.What is it that you would like to say to the youth who are now working in Customs?Customs work requires acute discipline, dedication and accuracy, in addition to honesty and punctuality. I urge all of the youth who are now working in Customs to be sure of their great role which the play for their coun-try to be a motive in their careers.My word to the senior officials is that to keep the basic and accu-mulative process of training. The basic process is the preparation of the employees for their work through basic courses, I recom-mend forming smaller groups from every new group hired in Customs. These groups are to circulate the procedures of Cus-toms points to attain knowledge of their operating system. I think such practical exercise would help their know-how of the Cus-toms procedures in general and also help expedite the pace and smoothness of the Customs agents’ work.

The total personnel number

in the early eighties was 20

employees, 5 per shift

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Customs performance measure-ment standards is an objective method used by all organizations to measure their abilities to achieve their objectives efficiently as speci-fied in the executive action plan which relies basically on use of quantitative statistics and indica-tors. Usually, customs agencies measure the performance of their personnel to estimate their com-petence and the quality of their work. This is not what modern and developed customs agencies seek, because measurement of person-nel performance is one of the tradi-tional mechanisms that are carried out in all organizations, not only customs. But what a modern and developed customs agency should do is to apply good, accurate and scientific mechanisms to measure the performance of customs itself. Such mechanisms include proce-dures, standards, steps and activi-ties that collectively aim to answer three important questions: Are the objectives achieved? Are the objec-tives achieved efficiently? Where is the glitch?Most of the developed customs agencies use several performance standards and measures in all or some of the following:*Shipments Value: This indicator

is useful for iden-tifying the value of imports and exports, which al-lows personnel to recognize the importance of the customs role in the national economy and economic trends of the country.*Shipments Size: It means number of consignments that are imported. This indicator is useful for running a comparison between customs administrations and for identifying performance on various functions’ levels.*Number of Complaints: This is an important indicator in which the satisfaction level of customers is measured; low number of com-plaints in comparison with number of shipments reflects high level of customers’ satisfaction. *Number of complaints refereed to arbitration: This is also an impor-tant indicator, because it reflects satisfaction level of the customers. It is different from the previous in-dicator, because it indicates the vol-ume of such group that drastically objects to decisions of customs for

any reason and resorts to a higher level of litigation.Number of smuggling cases: The rise of this number in comparison with the number of shipments im-ported in a certain period can re-flect such tariff items or commodi-ties’ qualities that require sharper observation or amendments to the legislations thereof.Ratio of custom outcome staff number/certificates number: This is one of the traditional indicators that all customs agencies use for demonstration of the degree pro-portion between their personnel and their work volume. Although it does not reflect any positive results in terms of economic analysis, it is used for the purposes of compar-ing between customs agencies lo-

A method to achieve objectives, identify weak points and to develop work

Customs Performance Measurement Standards


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cally within the same country or internationally between countries customs. Clearance Time (average monthly rate of clearance): This is one of the most common and positive indicators to measure the service efficiency performed by a customs administration for the business community; as it reflects the cus-toms professionalism in perform-ing its functions without delay. Clearance time of private systems shipments (average monthly rate): It is one of the common indicators to be used to assess how com-petent the service performed by the customs department is for the traders and importers who deal through private customs systems such as temporary permit, draw-back, etc. This indicator reflects how competent customs is in im-plementing specializing functions.Release time for serving senior cli-ents of importers: This indicator is the most important performance measurement indicator as this im-porters category represents more than 50% of imports. Therefore, shortening the release time for this category means necessarily lower-ing the general rate of all imports release time.Release time for serving senior cli-ents of exporters: This indicator is one of the indicators complemen-tary to the previous one that reflects multi-interest for such category of

local exporters and producers who export more than 50% of exports. Therefore, shortening the time of their shipment export procedures means necessarily customs legal encouragement and support to the national industry and economy.Monthly neglected rate average: Some think that this indicator is a secondary or good for nothing. However, it is one of the important indicators through which we can know how clear and transparent the customs procedures applied to all categories are. The rise of im-ported goods rate that their own-ers leave for any reason whatsoever reflects a procedural fact that is not understandable or clear to dealers with customs. * Ratio of evaluation methods ac-cording to the first article: This indicator reflects how customers are committed and how Customs is confident in customers as the Customs acceptance of the actual value means accepting the infor-mation provided by the importer. Therefore, the confidence rate is determined between the two sides through this rate. * The pre-query system and its service pro-gress (rate, fast response ac-complishment after receiv-

ing a request): The measurement in this system is done through the number of letters issued by cus-toms departments to respond to customers’ questions in the field of pre-query of any customs work matter whatsoever.* Rate of the infringing goods seized on the borders: The increase of this rate, which is measured by the number of seized goods com-pared with the total shipments passing through the border port, expresses that this port needs more oversight and control as smugglers consider it a good place for the pas-sage of contrabands.* Ratio of actual detection of goods under the pre-release system: The pre-release system is one of the sys-tems that customs developed to fa-cilitate or make it easier for custom-ers. According to this indicator, the number of cases of goods that are actually detected gives a true per-ception about how responsive the business community is with mod-ern customs systems and how the development processes are benefi-cial for them.

A report of Economist Intelli-gence Unit at “The Economist” as-sured that Qatar Customs was the least affected by bribery among GCC countries.

On a scale of 0 (the worst)-100 (the best), Qatar Customs stood at 79.9, compared to the general average of GCC at 65.8, followed by the UAE and Oman, according to Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas. Bahrain took the fourth place with 61.2 while Saudi Arabia ranked fifth.

This came as an outcome of the General Authority of Customs’ efforts to develop its staff ethi-cally and professionally at various levels. GAC has been promoting integrity as a key priority among the values of work. A booklet distributed to all GAC staff titled, (The ethics of the custom officer) highlights the ethics of the profession. It includes a big number of situations that the officer may encounter and how his reaction should be, in case of being offered a bribe or any other material incentives. This is in addition to the excellent ethics of the GAC’s staff which are praised by all dealers with the GAC. The GAC believes that ethics are the title of man and it is necessary that its staff have good ethics as they are the forefront of the state.

As for the human cadre rehabilitation practically, the GAC has achieved great progress and essential achieve-ments in Qatarisation side and employment of nation-als. One of the most prominent successes fulfilled by the GAC is 100% Qatarisation in the customs staff at the land, sea or air ports. This assures its policy that aims at depending on nationals especially in customs jobs which are the basis of customs work. In the field of training, during 2014 the number of staff that partici-pated in training sessions was about 1909 employees. They participated in internal and external training ses-sions.

As a part of the GAC’s interest in developing electronic systems, and automation of all services to be a key trib-utary provided to improve services and meet the needs and deals of customers, partners and affiliates to enable them to get a set of vital services, the GAC has launched many projects and strategic initiatives for the develop-ment of information technology and to facilitate the procedures and at the top of which is the application of the single window project known as “Al-Nadeeb” to de-velop customs clearance system. It facilitates customs clearance electronically. It increases the actual coopera-tion between customs and other government authori-ties with regard to importing and exporting goods. The system also is useful in tightening control over goods and documentation of all procedures that would im-pose further controls on all customs transactions that are done to each shipment or package.

It is worth mentioning that (The Economist) is an Eng-lish weekly newspaper that cares about publishing news and international affairs. It is known for special-izing economic reports of states. It is owned by “The Economist Newspaper Ltd.” and is released in London.

Qatar Customs is the Best in GCC in Integrity

The Economist Report:

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A woman at the General Authority of Customs contrib-uted to achieving lots of achievement. She was keen to have a key and effective role on the works she performs. She participated in many areas and received the high-est scientific and practical ranks in various disciplines. Therefore, we find that a woman has proved her exist-ence and effectiveness in the posts she occupies.“Customs” magazine conducted a dialogue with this Ms. Dana Mohammed Hussein, employee at Human Re-sources Department. From her speech, we have seen her active role and excellence in her job performance.How was your career beginning at the GAC?I started working in customs on 25/04/2004 AD, imme-diately after I was graduated and obtained the bachelor degree in administration and economics. In the begin-ning, I was working in the field of human resources. Later, I moved to work in the Planning Department to update employees’ data. Then, I moved to the Depart-ment of Finance and Administration Affairs, and finally to the Human Resources Department. The nature of my work in the human resources is to prepare salaries and audit them and prepare the first section budget. Does your job require you to deal directly with the staff?Yes. At the beginning of my work, dealing directly was difficult. However, by proceeding in work, practice and be patient and diplomatic, I gained more expertise in dealing with male and female employees due to the prevailing colleagueship and cooperation among us day after day. This means that the work environment at the GAC is wonderful and stimulating for pro-duction, success and excellence.What are the courses did you learn? Did you ben-efit from these courses in your work field?The GAC cared about staff training and development to ensure their direct contribution to preparing qualified person-nel who are able to ap-ply the best services internally and e x t e r n a l l y . Advanced an-

nual plans for training have been developed according to the needs of staff. I was nominated to attend a large number of courses, including accounting about salaries and wages and a workshop for staff training and devel-opment. In addition, I attended the external course of preparing salaries mechanism in Dubai. I benefited a lot from these courses that have contributed to raising the level of performance and acquisition of skills and experience.Throughout your career, have you been awarded a cer-tificate of honor? Tell us about it.Praise be to God, I got a certificate of thanks and appre-ciation. It was presented by the former President of the GAC. It was in recognition of my efforts exerted in work. This honor pleased my so much because I felt appreci-ated and satisfaction.Tell us about your professional ambition .. What do wish to be in the future?I see that the doors are open to women in the GAC to assume leading positions. This shows that Qatari wom-en have become an essential element in the develop-ment of work. First, I wish that I develop and enhance my professional abilities, then I reach the best grades and acquire more knowledge and experience.What is the final word to your colleagues in the GAC?I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to every official who provides unlimited support to activate the role of women through confidence in their abilities and potentialities and giving them the opportunities to demonstrate their role in what they do through en-

couragement and continuous support to provide the best and create a spirit of fair compe- tition.

Authority Doors Open before Womento Assume Leading Posts

Dana Mohammed Hussein .. Employee in Human Resources Department

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With a passenger coming from an Asian country

Customs foils an attempt tosmuggle 11 kg marijuana

The General Authority of Customs (GAC) cadres work-ing at Hamad International Airport (HIA) have foiled

an attempt to smuggle 11kg of marijuana. This hap-pened after a customs officer working at Hamad Inter-national Airport suspected the contents of the bag of an Asian passenger coming from a transit flight from a GCC country for the purpose of deception.In this context, HE, GAC president Ahmed bin Ali al-Muhannadi later honoured the Customs officer who foiled the smuggling bid and thanked him for his ef-forts and his dedication to work. He also thanked the efforts exerted by customs officers to care about and stay up to protecting borders and encountering anyone that harms the society through such harmful items. He referred that Qatari Customs is keen on being a bulwark against many drug smuggling operations that have been failed by our watchful youth whose work honest and seriousness have had a significant role to prevent entering of such harmful items into the country. He stressing on going on exerting efforts to support and train officers through joining the ongoing training pro-grams which are done in cooperation with the compe-tent authorities serving all fields of customs work.By his insight, the customs officer suspected the bag.

Consequently, this required transferring the bag for inspection to make sure of its contents. During inspec-tion, the narcotic substance was brought out from the bag. Cooperation among customs officers was the rea-son for easing the seizure. The Department of Devices and Control observed and pursued the bag since it was suspected till it reached the area of inspection.“I observed the bag and suspected it contained some-thing. I informed the colleague observers till the bag ar-rived the inspection area and the banned items were brought out. The narcotic substance was wrapped in carbon paper,” Customs Officer Al Dossari said.


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Seizing 5 Kilograms of Marijuanain Hamad International AirportThe General Authority of Customs had prevent-ed the attempt to smuggle a large amount that weighed 5 kilograms of marijuana, upon the sus-picions of a Customs employee in Hamad Inter-national Airport about the contents of a bag that belongs to a passenger arriving from an Asian country and transferring it to inspection.

On his part, Mr. Ajab Mansour Al-Kahtany, Direc-

tor of Customs in Hamad International Airport, confirmed that the employee, due to his percep-tion, had suspicions about the passenger, and examined the contents of his luggage, which was packed in a suspicious way that required it to be transferred to inspection to check its contents. Upon inspection, the narcotic substance, that was tightly wrapped and mingled among some food substances, was found.

He hide 84 gold alloy under his clothes

Qatar Customs: Seizing transit a passenger trying to smuggle 6 kg goldGeneral Authority of Customs was able to seize a transit passenger trying to smuggle 84 pieces of gold with a total weight of 6 kg, following the suspicion of Revenue Officer at Hamad International Airport Customs of the passenger and referring him to self-inspection.

It happened when an Asian passenger coming from a GCC country disclosed some pieces of gold in his bag. He said that he wanted a transit flight. The golden pieces in his bag were examined and a transit state-ment was given to him. When the passenger went to complete the remaining procedures, the Revenue Of-ficer suspected him and referred him to the compe-tent office for self-inspection. The officer in his turn found small packages wrapped and hidden in the pas-senger’s clothes lower his abdomen. And other pieces were found on the right and left thighs. When opening the packages, there were a variety of gold bullions, 84 pieces, weighing six and a half kilo grams, with a total value exceeding 600,000 riyals.

From his side, Mr. Agab Mansour Al Qahtani, Director of Customs of Hamad International Airport, assured that the Revenues Officer suspected by his skill the passen-ger and referred him to the competent inspector whom in his turn gets the golden pieces out of his clothes. He stressed that the secret behind discovering this smug-gled consignment was the professional competencies of the human cadre in Qatar customs,

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The General Authority of Customs (GAC) seized a large amount of narcotic ‘Tramadol’ tablets, 2894,

after a customs officer at Hamad International Airport inspected a suspected bag belonging to a passenger coming from an Arab country. Also two officers of the Land Customs Department could seize 600 bullets from a passenger coming through the Abu Samra border port.Chairman of the GAC Ahmed bin Ali Al Mohannadi hon-ored inspectors who detected the two seizures, stress-ing on continuing the efforts for protecting the country security and fighting such harmful items the smugglers of which aim to harm society. He emphasized that the customs is supporting its employees in all ports and providing them with continuous training in coopera-

tion with the competent authority in all customs work fields.By his insight, the customs officer of Hamad Interna-tional Airport suspected the passenger and focused on the item inside the bag which was packed in a strange way. Consequently, the bag was transferred for inspec-tion to make sure of its content. After inspection, the narcotic substance was brought out of the bag.Cooperation among customs officers is a reason for easing seizure. The Department of Devices and Con-trolling observed and pursued the bag since it was sus-pected till it reached the area of inspection. He pointed out that once the seizure was done, legal actions were taken immediately, a report was filed, the consignment was confiscated, and the security authorities that are

responsible for receiving such a seizure were called. The GAC followed up the subject.

Seizing a passenger holding 600 bullets during crossing the land port

Foiling Attempt to Smuggle 2894Tramadol Tablets


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Back pain.. the most common amongemployees

Back pain is the second most common cause of chronic ailment, in some countries, right after stress. People may lose many work days because of work related back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders.The most common causes of back pain include muscles or ligaments stress and wear, bad positions and fatigue. Most of us suffer from back pain during a certain period of our lives. Although back pain is annoying, it is not dan-gerous in most cases; as it usually lasts from a few days to a few weeks and is often healed after about six weeks.Generally, the best treatment is to keep active or to use pain killers that are used, when necessary, without a medical prescription. You may feel better when you go to bed, but this will not help, it may make it worse.The more a person remains still the more his muscles will be weakened and his pain will increase on the long run.One of the best ways to deal with the pain and help heal a back is to keep on moving; by doing the usual activities and returning to work as soon as possible. In addition, any exercise that strengthens the legs, back and stom-ach will help keeping the back healthy.Sitting to the computer, in a bad posture, for hours is a cause of problems and troubles; as the body may bear a single position for only a short period of time before feeling the need to adjust such position.The factors of work position that may affect the back in-clude:• Seat posture.• Position of computer monitor.• Seat height. • Keyboard position.• Mouse position.• Stationary design.If a person works in an office where he uses a computer, he can avoid injuries by sitting in an upright position and providing the office with the proper equipment.If a person is not sure about his sitting posture in work-place, he should ask his manager to properly equip it. A good posture while sitting to the office may help pre-venting the reoccurrence of fatigue related injury which is the cause of back pain. Therefore, seat posture has to be in an upright position and the lower back has to be

supported.Seats in workplace must be, by law, steady and firm, the standard office seat must be five legged in the form of a pentagram, seat height must be adjustable and the back part (the back rest) must be adjustable in height and tilt. Ideally, the back rest should be able to move indepen-dently from the seat allowing a more comfortable posi-tion. When a person sits, thighs should be in right angle on the body or slightly oblique downwards.If a seat is properly adjustable, the feet should be put firmly on the ground; however it is preferred, for more comfort, to use a footrest. The basic rule is to flattening the feet on the ground and support the back.Taking periodic breaks from the office or work.Changing activities throughout the day.Sitting upright.Working out regularly. Losing extra weight.One of the most important reasons of back pains, par-ticularly at work, is lifting things or handling them incor-rectly. Therefore, Learning and applying the right way to lift things and handling them may help preventing back pains.But there are some basic points for safe lifting:• Thinking before lifting things.• Starting after taking a good position.• Keeping the weight close to the waist.• Keeping the back as straight as possible.• Avoiding twisting or tilting the back.• Keeping the held up.• Realizing the one’s own limits and not pushing

them.• Pushing heavy things instead of pulling or dragging.• Weight equalization.It is preferred not to sit in the same position for a long time. Therefore, position should be changed as much as possible.

Date post:	02-Apr-2018
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