About 800 trucks and 2,700 cars are passing through the Abu Samra customs post every day, making it one of the busiest ports of entry in the country, a senior official has said. To meet this heavy traffic, the Abu Samra Customs Department is now gearing up for a major expansion and upgrading of facilities and equipment, says its director Yousuf Ahmed Al Madadi. The Department has completed preparations to implement the much-awaited single window system at the port to ensure faster clearance of consignments. Training of staff is in progress and the new system will be implemented very soon, Al Sharq reported, quoting Al Madadi. About 80,000 cars are passing through the border post every month and 800 trucks every day, he said. This number would further go up during special occasions. He said the Department recently seized a huge quantity of consignments that failed to meet the country’s import requirements, which included a number of counterfeit products. However, the volume of counterfeit products being imported to the country has declined significantly thanks to strict monitoring at the ports of entry, although the phenomenon has not stopped completely, he added. He said the Department is coordinating with the Supreme Council of Heath to check the quality of food items imported to the country and ensure that they meet the Qatari standards. Mostly consignments are cleared without delay. If there is a delay, it will that the products may not have met the quality requirements or importers may have failed to produce the required documents. There are strict rules in place regarding import of birds and animals and such consignments can be delayed due to legal issues. The Department is coordinating with the Ministry of Environment on such issues. As for export of fish from Qatar through land, the authorities have fixed a maximum 50kg per car. Export of petrol, diesel and subsidised food and meat has been banned, said the official. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/235312-800-trucks-2700-cars-passing-through-abu-samra-daily.html

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