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The paperwork that saves six figures
The wrong HS code alone can mean paying duty at the wrong rate on every shipment — a gap that adds up to six figures a year for an active importer. Most of it is catchable before the first container moves.
You’ve heard the stories.
A shipment held for a permit nobody applied for.
Duty charged at the wrong rate because the code was wrong.
A week of paperwork for a form that should have taken an hour.
We tell you what the shipment actually needs — before it leaves the port.
01WHAT WE HANDLE
Getting the trade file right
Customs registration
Import and export codes registered with customs, and the authority filings that have to exist before your first shipment moves.
HS code classification
The tariff code determines duty, restrictions and paperwork. Misclassified goods are the most common reason a shipment gets held.
Import and export licensing
Activity-specific licences and permits where your goods require them, arranged before you commit to a shipment.
VAT on trade
Import VAT, the reverse charge mechanism, and free zone versus mainland treatment — understood before the invoice lands, not after.
Free zone trade structuring
Using a free zone for re-export or storage in a way that is actually compliant, not just cheaper on paper.
Documentation review
Bills of lading, certificates of origin and commercial invoices checked before they reach customs, not after a shipment is delayed.
Why shipments actually get held
Almost never because of bad luck. A licence that does not cover the goods being imported, an HS code chosen for convenience rather than accuracy, or VAT treatment nobody checked before the invoice was raised. Each one is fixable in advance and expensive to fix at the port.
02WHO THIS SUITS
Traders, not just manufacturers
Companies importing stock for resale, re-exporting through a UAE free zone, or bringing equipment in for a project. The advice is the same whether the volume is one container or fifty: know the classification and the licence before you commit to the order.
A NOTE ON DUTY
Duty and VAT treatment depend on the goods, the jurisdiction and the route. Nothing on this page is a quote for your shipment — that comes once we have seen the classification.
Start with the advice, not the invoice
Thirty minutes, a written recommendation, no obligation. If the UAE is not right for you, we will say so.