Yemeni Government to Collect Duties on Goods Arriving at Houthi-Controlled Ports for First Time Since Central Bank Relocation

Yemen Monitor | Newsroom: The Yemeni government has decided to collect customs duties and taxes on goods arriving at ports controlled by the Houthi group, for the first time since the Central Bank of Yemen relocated its headquarters from Sanaa to Aden in 2016. The National Committee for Regulating and Financing Imports issued a decision requiring the advance payment of customs duties, taxes and other charges on all goods and commodities arriving at ports under Houthi control. According to a copy of the decision, issued on October 29, the processing of currency exchange and related foreign transfers will be conditional on full payment of the legally prescribed charges. The decision also authorizes the relevant revenue authorities and the Customs Authority to calculate and collect the applicable duties, taxes and other charges on invoices for goods shipped to those ports. Pursuant to the committee’s decision, the Aden Chamber of Commerce and Industry notified traders, companies and commercial establishments of the new measure in an official memorandum. Economic journalist Wafiq Saleh described the measures as an important economic tool in the hands of the Central Bank and the National Committee for Import Financing to exert pressure on traders and importers. Commenting on the decision in a social media post, Saleh said that traders and importers seeking to circumvent the mechanism would face difficulties securing documentary credits for imported goods. He explained that the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden is the authority mandated to provide cover for documentary credits and communicate with regional correspondent banks and intermediary banks. No commercial or banking entity, he added, would be able to access the international financial system outside the official monetary authorities. The post Yemeni Government to Collect Duties on Goods Arriving at Houthi-Controlled Ports for First Time Since Central Bank Relocation appeared first on Yemen Monitor.