Customs Clearance
Nat’s MacBook Pro arrived to Kuwait but got held up in customs so today I woke up early and headed to the cargo terminal outside the airport to clear it. I was expecting the process to be long and difficult but surprisingly it was pretty easy. The hardest part was knowing where to go first after that everyone just points you in the direction you have to go next. These are the steps I had to take, click on the map for a larger version:
1) I headed to the NAS building (National Aviation Service)
2) Once you go up the steps into the NAS building you will be greeted by a security desk where you have to exchange your civil ID card for a pass
3) You then have to walk through the cargo bay and head to the back offices
4) One you enter the office head to the counter marked on the map. I paid KD3 here.
5) After paying the KD3 fee and getting a print out I was sent to an adjacent window to get another stamp
6) I then had to go back to the cargo bay where I gave my papers to a worker who went and got my package from inside their warehouse. Once the package comes out a customs officer has to check it. After checking the package gets taken away again and I got another paper I needed to go with to a building across from NAS.
7) When I entered the building across from NAS I headed to a window at the far end corner where I presented my papers. I had to buy a stamp for KD1.
8) After getting another paper with the stamp I had to go to the window in front of him where I handed in my papers and paid KD1.
9) I then headed back to the NAS offices and back to the window on the far end where my paper was stamped one more time.
10) I then had to take that paper into the cargo area and get another stamp from this small desk in the middle.
11) They sent me to a window in front of them where I got another paper printed out
12) I finally went back to the middle desk where I got my last stamp and they told me to pick up my package.
All in all it took me around an hour to clear my MacBook Pro and only paid KD5 in total. Now that I know what I have to do I think I could clear a package a lot quicker next time around. Everyone there was pretty helpful and it was very crowded. I was there around 9:30-10 but the earlier the better I guess.
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25 Comments, add your own...
1. Some1SomeHow | April 2nd, 2008 at 1:01 pm
anything interesting/new to know ?
2. Some1SomeHow | April 2nd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
congratulations on the new mac :)
3. K.TheKuwaiti | April 2nd, 2008 at 1:11 pm
This looks different from the last time I was there ..
4. Rakan | April 2nd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
hehehe .. how many kilos did u lose?
5. Explorer | April 2nd, 2008 at 1:24 pm
should u clear your stuff personally or could aramex do that for u
6. jooj | April 2nd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
yes, i have cleared stuff twice with them and it was quicker and more efficient than i expected..
7. 3azeez | April 2nd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
this kind of posts is exactly what keeps me coming to this blog. well done Mark.
I have a question though, you had to pay only 5 dinars? dont they usually take some kind of percentage on computers? as I’ve mentioned before I ended up paying 60 dinars for my macbook. now i’m about to order a thinkpad and been worried about customs again.
8. Explorer | April 2nd, 2008 at 2:12 pm
good point 3azeez, would it cost less if someone clears it himself? any scams involved?!? :s
9. Kuwait | April 2nd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
1. So is this THE place to go to when a package is held by customs?
2. Do they call you informing you that a package is held? Or its upto you to track it and figure that its arrived in Kuwait and held up?
3. Any other info on customs charges? As mentioned above, someone paid 60kd and you paid 5kd.
10. Mark | April 2nd, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Well I didn’t ask about that, total came up to KD5 so I wasn’t going to go ask people why it wasn’t more lol
11. Mark | April 2nd, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Kuwait: Yes this is where to go when customs get held. USWS called me and told me the package was held so i passed by them, picked up the papers I needed and headed to the cargo terminal at the airport. I only paid KD5 to clear a 2000$ laptop.
12. q8dizer | April 2nd, 2008 at 3:22 pm
you mean you only paid KD 5 for delivering a laptop?
no weight charges?
no delivery charges?
I mean I paid KD 5 for 3 dvds delivered from aramex which I orderd from Amazon
13. Mark | April 2nd, 2008 at 3:32 pm
No I paid 5KD to clear the items from customs, shipping fee is different and thats handled through your shipping company like Aramex or in my case U Shop We Ship.
14. ChuBBy-Doll | April 2nd, 2008 at 3:41 pm
oh gosh !!!! DHL pay me 10 kd custom clearance for 2 tshirts which cost me 19 kd both !!!!!!!
DHL @ HOME IS SHITTTT they r new though but they really stealling money for nothing .. i want my 10 kd back loool
15. Mark | April 2nd, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Chubby: What you paid probably also includes their fee for clearing the stuff for you. Shipping companies can clear the stuff but they usually take longer to do and charge you a fee to do it. Since I needed the laptop urgently I did it myself.
16. gannon | April 2nd, 2008 at 4:17 pm
When you need to create a “government job” for every Kuwaiti, you get this nonsense. From what I understand, at the age of 21, every Kuwaiti is handed a red ink pad and a rubber stamp. At that point, a policy is changed to somehow “include” them in the stamping process.
3azeez: Exactly.. This is why I come back here… for the humor.
17. Burhan | April 2nd, 2008 at 4:29 pm
This should be a case study for streamlining operations.
Just look at how many buildings you had to go to; if all those operations were in one place, it would have probably cut your time by a good 40 - 50%.
18. gannon | April 2nd, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Burhan, it’s not about streamlining. It’s about getting rid of the “BS” in the process.
Another example:
Draw a map of how many police stations and stamps you need to get a police report. Bonus credit: List the times each station is open.
19. Tan Go | April 2nd, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Mabrouk Mark,,
You were lucky customs did not ask you for a “bayan”, because then,
it would take you 2-3 days and at least 5% local taxes (but may be
computers are exempt),, I am not sure
20. Explorer | April 2nd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Mark, I have a package with USWS at customs and they sent me an email just asking me to fill a form plus invoice and ID copy and send it back for them to process… why did they ask you personally to follow up?
21. Explorer | April 2nd, 2008 at 9:50 pm
edit: I just read your post about you wanting to clear it yourself, but they did not ask me if I wanted to do so, hence it appeared as if I did not have a choice! hope they (usws) do not charge me much :s
22. Angelo | April 3rd, 2008 at 1:34 am
My dear God! It seemed it took you forever. Oh well, Congrats on the New MacBook Pro Nat :)
23. AMQ | April 3rd, 2008 at 10:30 am
i love the fact that u actually took the effort inactually drawing a map.
24. Mark | April 3rd, 2008 at 10:44 am
i wanted to share my passion for drawing with everyone ;)
25. Ophy | April 3rd, 2008 at 2:09 pm
i cleared items before there . it was ramadhan and i was fasting , it was my first time and it was harddddd i was there around 1 P.M or 2 PM the customs were closed :D but the indian guy told me talk to ilthabe6 he might let you take it without customs , ilthabe6 was shayeb and nice and signed the paper and i took my laptop and iphones without paying more than 1 KD. law imkhaleet-hum 7ag il DHL ibyakhthon more than 50-80 KD .
DHL fees for clearnce and hadiling + NAS fees + TAX madre shino + 5% of the bill + CBK fees …. bla bla bla !! witha wasla weekend ibyakhthon NAS artheya ba3ad !!
but now i prefer sara7a EMS , ilmumtaz .. kaifan .. sij iylaw3on ilchabd .. o eydawkhon ilras .. wil mukan eyeeb ilyahad .. but still you will pay nothing + finishing the process within 10 mins + the shipping fees is nothing compared to aramex and dhl + kaifan not airport + open until 7:30 PM + i send the driver to bring my stuff + with USPS Express international i get my items within 3-4 days maximum and sometimes 2 ! with priority 6-10 days Max . if its less than 2-3lb will be delivered to ur home :D
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