Dubai Customs Notice No. 18/2026: Export from JAFZA, DAFZA and Dubai Logistics City Without a Duty Guarantee

Dubai Customs has reissued the rules for exporting free zone goods without a duty guarantee. Under Customs Notice No. 18/2026, issued and effective on 30 September 2026, goods warehoused in Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai Logistics City Free Zone and Dubai Airport Free Zone may be exported to destinations outside the UAE under an FZ Transit Out declaration without presenting a cash deposit or bank guarantee equal to the customs duty, as long as the goods leave through the same customs office. In return, the Notice fixes firm deadlines for exporting the goods and closing the declaration, with duties and penalties if those deadlines are missed.

The Notice repeals Customs Notice No. 3/2016 and the amending Notice No. 2/2017. From 30 September 2026 it is the single reference for this procedure.

Here is what the Notice allows, which zones and exit points qualify, the three deadlines that now govern every declaration, and what traders and logistics operators in these zones should do.

The short answer

If your company holds goods in JAFZA, Dubai Logistics City Free Zone or DAFZA and exports them abroad, Customs Notice No. 18/2026 means:

1. No guarantee for the duty. Goods can leave under an FZ Transit Out declaration without a cash deposit or bank guarantee covering the customs duty, provided they are exported from the same customs office (Article 1).
2. Only three zones, each tied to specific exit points. JAFZA and Dubai Logistics City via Jebel Ali Port or Al Maktoum International Airport; DAFZA via Dubai International Airport (Article 2).
3. Three deadlines, all counted from the declaration registration date. Export within 30 days. Lodge the closure request and documents within 45 days. A further 45 days is available with a late penalty. After that, duties, penalties and other amounts due are imposed (Articles 3 to 5).

Why a duty guarantee is normally required

Goods in a free zone sit in customs suspension: duty has not been paid because the goods have not entered the UAE market. When those goods move out of the zone to be exported, customs needs assurance that they will actually leave the country rather than be diverted into local circulation. The standard tool is a guarantee, a cash deposit or bank guarantee equal to the duty that would be payable, released once exit is proven.

For a trader moving regular consignments, that guarantee ties up working capital or bank facilities on every shipment. The preamble of the Notice states its purpose plainly: to facilitate and support trade activities in the free zones and to enable goods stored there to be exported through the same customs office, while establishing procedures for clearing and closing the related declarations.

The condition that makes the waiver workable is same customs office. Where the goods exit through the office that administers the zone they are stored in, the consignment stays under one customs office's control from warehouse to vessel or aircraft. That is why the Notice can drop the guarantee and rely on deadlines and exit evidence instead.

Which zones and exit points qualify (Article 2)

The procedure applies in three free zones only, and for each zone the Notice names the exit points.

A consignment stored in JAFZA and trucked to Dubai International Airport for export, or goods in DAFZA routed out through Jebel Ali Port, fall outside the Notice. For those routings the ordinary guarantee requirements under the GCC Common Customs Law continue to apply. If you operate in JAFZA or DAFZA, check your standard export routings against this list before assuming the waiver applies.

The three deadlines (Articles 3 to 5)

The Notice replaces the guarantee with a strict timetable. Every period runs from the date the customs declaration is registered, not from the date the goods physically leave.

30 days to export

Article 3 requires the goods to be exported within thirty days of the declaration registration date. If they are not, customs measures are taken under the GCC Common Customs Law and the instructions issued under it.

45 days to prove exit and request closure

Article 4 requires an electronic request to close the declaration, with the supporting documents, to reach the Customs Refund Management within 45 days of registration. Note the overlap: if you use the full 30 days to ship, you have 15 days left to collect the exit evidence and lodge the request.

A further 45 days, with a late penalty

Article 5(a) allows the declaration to be cleared and closed during an additional 45 days, starting the day after the first 45 day period ends, subject to the late penalty prescribed under the Unified Customs Law and its Implementing Regulations. Article 5(b) is the backstop: once that extended period has also passed without closure, customs duties, penalties and any other amounts due are imposed on the declaration.

Closing the declaration: the documents (Article 4)

Two documents accompany the electronic closure request:

1. A copy of the Free Zone Exit Declaration (FZ Transit Out).
2. An exit/entry certificate, signed and stamped by the authorised officer, confirming that the goods have left the free zone and been exported outside the UAE.

The second document is the one that goes wrong in practice. It is produced at the point of exit, by the officer on duty, and it needs to be signed and stamped. If your freight forwarder or handling agent does not collect it at the time of export, retrieving it later eats into the 45 days. Build the certificate into your shipping checklist and have it returned with the shipping documents.

Who monitors it, and who to call (Article 6)

The Customs Refund and Maqasa Management at Dubai Customs is responsible for monitoring the clearance and settlement of declarations under the Notice, and is the reference authority for resolving disputes arising under it. If a declaration shows as open after you have lodged the closure request, or if an exit certificate is challenged, that is the department to approach.

A note for handling agents (Article 7)

Handling authorities and agents who issue exit permits from the customs office must not issue an exit permit for warehoused goods unless the customs office has authorised it. In practice this means the gate will not release the goods until the FZ Transit Out declaration has been processed in the customs system. Forwarders should sequence the declaration before booking the truck or the slot.

Customs duty is not VAT

The Notice deals with customs duty guarantees only. It does not change how VAT applies to goods in these zones. Jebel Ali Free Zone and Dubai Airport Free Zone are also Designated Zones for UAE VAT, where the movement of goods follows its own rules and record-keeping requirements. An export that is guarantee-free for customs purposes still needs the usual export evidence to support zero-rating for VAT. Keep the two files aligned: the exit/entry certificate collected for customs is useful evidence for the VAT file as well.

What to do now

1. Confirm your route qualifies. Match each regular export lane against the zone and exit point pairs in Article 2. Anything outside the list stays on the guarantee regime.
2. Use the right declaration. The waiver attaches to FZ Transit Out declarations. Check that your broker is using that declaration type for these movements.
3. Diarise three dates per declaration. Day 30 (export), day 45 (closure request), day 90 (end of the extended period). Count from the registration date shown on the declaration.
4. Collect the exit/entry certificate at the gate. Signed and stamped by the authorised officer, returned with the shipping documents, every shipment.
5. Lodge the closure request as soon as the goods have left. Do not batch them to month-end; the 45 days includes the time the goods spent waiting to ship.
6. Reconcile open declarations weekly. Any declaration still open after day 45 is accruing a late penalty, and after day 90 it becomes a duty demand.
7. Update your SOPs. Replace references to Customs Notice No. 3/2016 and No. 2/2017 with No. 18/2026, and brief your forwarders and handling agents on Article 7.

Key takeaway

Customs Notice No. 18/2026 lets goods stored in JAFZA, Dubai Logistics City Free Zone and DAFZA leave for the rest of the world without a cash or bank guarantee for duty, as long as they exit through the same customs office named in the Notice. The price of that relief is discipline on timing: export within 30 days, prove exit and request closure within 45, and never let a declaration drift past 90. Companies that build the exit certificate and the closure request into their shipping routine will free up guarantee capital with no downside. Companies that treat closure as an afterthought will find the duty and penalties arriving without a deposit to cover them.

Frequently asked questions

Trading from JAFZA, Dubai Logistics City or DAFZA?

Stevva helps companies set up and stay compliant in Dubai's free zones, from free zone company formation and licensing through to bookkeeping and VAT compliance. If you move goods under FZ Transit Out, we can help you align your customs, VAT and accounting records so that every declaration is closed on time and the export evidence supports your VAT position.

Speak to Stevva about your free zone trade compliance.