Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 109, which includes the new General Customs Law, replacing General Customs Law No. 38 of 2006 and its amendments, and Customs Police Law No. 37 of 2006 and its amendments.

The law, published by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Monday, May 18, includes 264 legal articles covering administrative organization, the rights of customs workers, appointment mechanisms, customs duties and tariffs, goods clearance mechanisms, and fines imposed on smuggling operations.

The Syrian president also issued on Monday, Decree No. 110, which includes the harmonized customs tariff schedule, to take effect at the beginning of next June.

Duties of the New General Customs Administration

According to the law, the Customs Administration is responsible for several duties, including:

• Implementing laws and regulations related to import, export, transit, and all customs procedures, and implementing international and Arab agreements ratified by Syria.
• Collecting public treasury revenues from customs duties and other fees, taxes, and charges imposed on import, export, and transit.
• Combating smuggling and related acts, recording committed customs violations, and collecting resulting fines and fees.
• Contributing to the defense of the country’s borders, maintaining public order, and supporting other official authorities.
• Proposing strategic and planning policies to advance customs work.

 

Military Personnel in General Customs

The new law stipulates that, except for the assignment of engineers under their own provisions, appointments and contracts in customs are carried out in accordance with the State Employees Law.

The head of the General Authority for Border Crossings and Customs, in coordination with the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Interior, may select military personnel for customs police positions, provided they hold a military rank no lower than first lieutenant.

A “Customs Sciences Academy” will be established within the Customs Administration to train and qualify employees. The results obtained by trainees will be used as a basis for evaluating them and determining their eligibility to hold positions.

60% of Fines to the Treasury, 40% to Customs

Under the section on “distribution of customs fines and the value of confiscations” in the new Customs Law, “the share belonging to the public treasury from amounts collected by the Customs Department from fines and the value of items, goods, and means of transport confiscated or relinquished under a settlement agreement is set at 60%. This share is deducted after expenses, taxes, and fees are subtracted, either before or after deducting the share of ‘informants,’ by decision of the head of the authority.”

The remaining amount, equal to 40% of the fines and the value of items, goods, and means of transport confiscated or relinquished, is distributed to the seizing officers and their superiors, to those who assisted in discovering the violation or smuggling operations or completing related procedures from among the authority’s employees exclusively, and to anti-smuggling funds and the authority’s joint fund.

Any fine not exceeding 50,000 Syrian pounds goes to the joint fund. The distribution rules and the percentage allocated to beneficiaries of this distribution are determined by a decision from the head of the authority.

It was notable that the law’s articles allow the head of the authority, by decision, to regulate the distribution of proceeds from the sale of confiscated goods and means of transport in cases where fines are not collected or are considered, under the referenced regulation, to be too small, making it impossible to reward “informants and seizing officers.”

Committee to Prosecute Customs Workers’ Crimes

Customs workers are considered, in relation to their work, members of the judicial police. Customs police personnel are considered part of the public forces and members of the judicial police within the limits of their jurisdiction.

According to the law, the military judiciary has jurisdiction to criminally prosecute customs workers for crimes arising from their duties, provided such prosecution takes place only after the approval of a committee formed by a decision from the Minister of Justice, as follows:

• A chief prosecutor as chair.
• A judge whose rank is no lower than that of a court of first instance judge as a member.
• A representative of the Customs Administration, no lower in rank than director, named by the head of the authority as a member.

Customs police personnel are required to wear the official uniform, military ranks, and distinctive insignia specified by a decision from the head of the authority and according to the authorization granted to them. They are also required to carry weapons while performing their duties and to use them when necessary.

Smuggling Fines

A customs fine is imposed for smuggling violations, or what is legally considered as such, under the law, as follows:

• Six times the value to eight times the value for specified prohibited goods.
• Three times the value and duties to four times the value and duties together for prohibited or restricted goods.
• Four times the duties to five times the duties for goods subject to duties, if they are not prohibited or restricted, provided the fine is no less than one and a half times their value.
• From 50,000 Syrian pounds to 100,000 Syrian pounds for goods not subject to duties and not prohibited or restricted.

Powers of the Customs Court

The new Customs Law specified what the customs court must rule regarding smuggled goods.

The law obliges the customs court either to confiscate the goods that are the subject of smuggling, or what is legally considered as such, or to rule for the equivalent of their value, in addition to customs duties and other fees and taxes that were at risk of being lost when these goods were not seized or escaped seizure.

According to the law, the customs court may order the confiscation of means of transport, tools, and materials used in smuggling, except for ships, aircraft, and trains, unless they were prepared or rented for this purpose, or may rule for the equivalent of their value when they were not seized or escaped seizure.

The law also allows the customs court to decide to confiscate seized goods and means of transport if smugglers flee or cannot be identified.