Porhibited And Restricted Items

UPS International (Kuwait)

Additional Import Documentation
Electrical items for commercial use require Certificate of Conformity.
A Certificate of Origin is required for all shipments valued over US$2,000.00 and/ or weighing over 90kgs. The Certificate of Origin must have a stamped (legalized) seal from the origin country or territory's Chamber of Commerce.

Shipments arriving without the original Certificate of Origin and original invoice will be seized by customs until both original documents can be submitted. If not received, Kuwait customs will not release the shipment and it will be RTS'd.

Goods destined for U.S. Air Force installations do not require a Certificate of Origin, regardless of value.

The shipment will automatically be returned to the origin at shipper's expense in cases where the information and documents (see additional clearance information) are not provided within 10 days.

Goods under IATA Special Provisions A67 require a MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet).

It is not required for all, however shipments can be held by local authority in United Arab Emirates after screening due to lack of MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) or NON DG (Dangerous Goods) declaration letter from the shipper resulting to misconnections and impacting end-to-end service.

It would be advisable for all shipments originating, transiting and terminating for UAE to have MSDS or NON DG declaration from shipper enclosed in the shipment and copies to be uploaded in IDIS.

Additional Export Documentation
No Information found on this topic for the selected country or territory.
Additional Clearance Information
Import shipments above 3 Kgs. in weight have to have separate customs entry made-(e.g. if there are 100 shipments above 3 Kgs, then each shipment will have an indiviual Tasfiya; which amounts to 100 Tasfiyas per time). Each bayan will have an additional cost of KD1 as revenue stamp payable to the government of Kuwait and KD 2 as bank charges. These charges are according to the customs procedure, and are similar to what the competition does. This additional amount will be billed to the consignee.

If the quantity of pieces inside a shipment is above 20 pieces, these will not be considered as express shipments, but will still be considered as a commercial shipment. This shipment will be held up and will take 3 to 4 days to clear, provided the consignee can provide all the valid import documents and the necessary approvals from the ministry.

The quantity of each shipment being held up has to be physically counted and advised to the Customs Auditors.

Shipments stopped by customs for further checks require one additional day to prepare the delivery order and inspection for the shipment in order to process the shipment for clearance.

The importer must provide additional documents for shipments held by customs:

  • Iqrar (the address of the company typed in Arabic letters with a signature of the owner of the company)
  • Import Licenses (Valid)
  • Commercial License (Valid Registration done with the Chamber of Commerce in Kuwait)
  • Itemaad Tawqeea customs 2014 (a government document signed by the owner of the company)
  • Civil ID (Identification to identify the importer)
Please note that not only the value(s) of the commodity/commodities have to be considered when calculating duty and tax, but also the freight charge and other fees.
Consignee's full name and a valid telephone number, company name (if applicable), building name and or number, and apartment number (if applicable), street name, area name, and city are required. A valid phone number (preferably mobile) is vital to recover any missing clearance documents and/or validate the delivery address if needed. Please note that missing address requirements will cause a delivery delay. A P.O. Box address is not valid as we do NOT deliver to a P.O. Box.

Important Note: Shipments addressed to a P.O. Box are excluded from the UPS International guarantee regardless of the payer. A delay in delivery may occur due to the need for the consignee's physical address in order to complete delivery.

Areas Served
Service is provided to and from various cities.
Consignee's full name and a valid telephone number, company name (if applicable), building name and or number, and apartment number (if applicable), street name, area name, and city are required. A valid phone number (preferably mobile) is vital to recover any missing clearance documents and/or validate the delivery address if needed. Please note that missing address requirements will cause a delivery delay. A P.O. Box address is not valid as we do NOT deliver to a P.O. Box.

Important Note: Shipments addressed to a P.O. Box are excluded from the UPS International guarantee regardless of the payer. A delay in delivery may occur due to the need for the consignee's physical address in order to complete delivery.

Friday, and official holidays.
Spring +0300/ Fall +0200
Arabic
Kuwaiti Dinar(KWD)
Billing Options
  • Shipping charges can be billed to the shipper, receiver or a third party.
  • When billing the receiver, either the shipper or receiver's account number is required.
  • When billing to a third party, the third party's name, country or territory and account number are required.
  • Duties and taxes can be billed to the shipper, receiver or a third party.
  • When billing a third party, the third party's name, country or territory and account number are required.
  • If the duties and taxes are billed to an account outside of the destination country or territory, a "Duty and Tax Forwarding" surcharge will be applied.
  • Please note the following third party billing exceptions:
    • Shipments to and from the same country or territory (domestic shipments) cannot be billed to third party payors in other countries or territories. For example, shipments from Mexico to Mexico or Canada to Canada cannot be billed to a third party payor in the U.S. This rule does not apply to UPS domestic services in European Union countries or territories. For example, shipments from Germany to Germany can be billed to a third party payor in the U.S. (as long as the payor is a business and has a VAT or Tax/EIN ID on file with UPS).
  • When paying by credit card, check, or cash, only the shipper can be billed the shipping charges
Commodity Specific Stipulations

There are special stipulations on the following commodities when shipping to Kuwait. If you plan to ship one of the commodities listed below, be sure to adhere to the following stipulations in order to avoid delays and holds at customs.

Require appproval from the Public Authority of Environment. Consignee has to provide the approval. Average possible clearance delay of 4-5 days.
Diaries which contain any pictures, advertising or other content considered offensive will be destroyed. Shipments of over 1500 diaries require a Certificate of Origin. Diaries may be delayed for 3 to 4 days for censorship purposes. Ministry of Information will censor the diaries.
Any kind of medication which are directly categorized as health items are subject to a special treatment. That might include nutritional supplements, herbs,capsules and cosmetics.

Shipments of medicine require approval from the Ministry of Health. The consignee must obtain the approval and provide it to customs. If the consignee fails to provide the approval within five days or if the Ministry of Health requests the shipment for physical inspection, the shipments will be transferred to the Ministry of Health by the customs authorities. In both cases it is the consignees obligation to collect the shipment at the Ministry if it is finally released for importation. Delays may occur.

Shipments of electrical items requires special permission from the Ministry of Electricity. UPS will provide the approval from the ministry. Only in certain cases will the consignee be asked to obtain the approval. A charge of 50 USD can apply. UPS will disburse the fee and charge it later to the consignee. Average possible clearance delay of 3-4 days. A Certificate of Origin is required for all shipments exceeding 1000 USD.
Approval from Municipality is required. The consignee must provide the approval and get the shipment cleared from Customs themselves.

Please see additional information on food supplements.

Shipments of food supplements require an approval from the Ministry of Health. The importer must obtain the approvals and provide them to customs. Clearance may be delayed.

Shipments of food supplements and nutritional supplements with physiological effects, typically used by body builders and athletes cannot be imported by private individuals or companies. The only authorized importer is the company Genoa General Trading Company. Shipments of these types of food supplements or nutritional supplements destined to importers other than Genoa must be returned or abandoned.

Nutritional supplements can be classified as medicine. Please see 'medicine' for more information.

Data shipments to Kuwait require an invoice with the value of the CD-ROM or disk only.
Shipments of any kind of medical equipment require approval from the Ministry of Health. The consignee must obtain the approvals and provide them to Customs. Clearance may be delayed.
Shipments of any kind of medical equipment require an approval from the Ministry of Health. The consignee must obtain the approvals and provide them to customs. Clearance may be delayed.
Following items/products can only be imported by the Agent and no one else:
  • Samsung Branded - all items
  • Sony Branded - all items
  • Philips Branded items
  • Toyota Branded items
  • National Panasonic Branded items
  • Toshiba Branded items
  • Ericsson Branded items
    • Shipments of parts require an invoice with complete descriptions of the part itself, the part's components, and for what machine the part will be used.
    Shipments of software requires approval from the Ministry of Communication that has to provided by the importer. Average possible clearance delay of 3-4 days. Accessorial charge of 65 USD will apply.
    Approval from the Ministry of Information is required. UPS will provide the approval, only in certain cases will the consignee be asked to provide it (e.g., import of registered software, pirated movies). Average possible clearance delay of 3-4 days. The tapes have to be given to the Ministry of Information for inspection (censorship purposes). After inspection, the ministry will provide approval if appropriate. Tapes which contain any pictures, advertising or other content considered offensive will be destroyed.
    All telephones, telephone equipment and cellular telephones require approval from the Ministry of Communication and may take an additional 3 to 4 days for clearance. The consignee has to get approval from the ministry that all their telephone bills are settled (no objection certificate).
    Shipments of televisions require approval from the Ministry of Commerce, approval will be provided by UPS. Average possible clearance delay of 3 to 4 days.
    Data shipments require an invoice with the character of the USB stick (storing intercompany data) and the value of the USB Stick.
    Empty cartidges, bullet proof vest, guns require Ministry of Interior approval. Average possible clearance delay 4-5 working days. Consignee has to provide the approval.
    Gift Exemptions
    0.00 US Dollar USD
    no gift exemption
    no gift exemption
    Invoice Requirements
    Non-document shipments to Kuwait must include 1 original and 2 copies of an invoice.

    The invoices must be typed on company letterhead,signed/stamped in blue ink and contain the following information:

    • Carrier
    • Country or Territory of origin
    • Currency
    • Shipment type and detailed description
    • Name of manufacturer
    • Net and gross weight
    • Number of items in each box
    • Number of packages
    • Trade and shipping marks
    • Unit and total price (invoices with "0," or zero value will be rejected)
    • Harmonized Tariff Code

    Shipments of documents do not require an invoice.

    The consignee's telephone number, mobile number and email address, if available, should appear on the invoice. Any handwritten invoices will be forwarded to a Customs hold cage which will result in lengthy and complicated release procedures and delays.


    Items Classified as Documents

    The destination country or territory considers the following items document shipments. If criteria are listed, the shipment must meet those criteria to be considered a document shipment.

    Diplomas are considered as documents. unless a value is entered.
    Tickets for events like stage performances, football matches or concerts can be sent as documents.

    Event tickets coming from a printing company and sent to the organizer of the event or ticket sales offices can not be sent as documents.

    Commercial films are classified as documents. Promotion and training films are classified as non-documents. Films which contain any pictures, advertising or other content considered offensive will be destroyed. Shipments of over 1500 films requires a Certificate of Origin.
    Must be non-commercial with a value of zero; you must write "intercompany mail" on the waybill
    Commercial mail with value greater than zero is considered a non-document and requires an invoice.
    Only labels not marked with "made in" are accepted as documents. Those marked with "made in" are prohibited.
    Shipments of magazines may require approval from the Ministry of Information.
    Must be personalized to be considered documents.

    UPS can recommend which forms you need based on a few simple criteria. Forms can be completed online or printed. See which forms you need.
    Prohibited or Restricted Commodities

    In addition to the prohibited commodities listed here, it is prohibited to ship the following commodities to Kuwait.

    The import of alcoholic beverages is prohibited.
    Bodybuilding supplements need to be imported by a licensed person. The importing company should have an import license and have the required documents from the Ministry of Health.

    Bodybuilding supplements comes directly under the control of customs, if any approvals or testing is required it is given to the Ministry Of Health for further investigation.

    Private individuals cannot apply for such licenses therefore, only licensed companies are allowed to import bodybuilding supplements.

    KW is not an International Special Community (ISC) destination country or territory. Electronic cigarettes cant be shipped to KW.

    Original documentation,Approvals From the Chamber of Commerce, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Environment and Import license is required to import into Kuwait.

    Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) - Kuwait under the Ministry of Communication (MOC) has issued a statement to prohibit the import of any of listed goods per attached into Kuwait as it considered a critical threat to national security.
  • GSM Repeater Dual Band 900 1800
  • Dual Band Repeater Amplifier
  • Signal Repeater Booster Amplifier
  • LCD screen Dual Band Cell Phone Signal Booster 900mhz/1800Mhz
    • Goods originating in Israel are prohibited.
    Shipments of jewelry require Ministry of Commerce approval. UPS presents the jewelry to the Ministry, the Ministry inspects the jewelry, and then the Ministry issues a stamp of approval. This process applies to all gold, silver, and diamond jewelry. Clearance may be delayed 4 to 5 working days.

    Jewelry that is below 14 karats is prohibited and will be seized by the Ministry

    Only below LIBA (Batteries contained in equipment as per below packaging) are permitted, anything else cannot be moved.

    Below are sections acceptable on Emirates:

    UN3481- Lithium Ion batteries PI-966 & PI967 section II

    UN3091-Lithium metal batteries PI-969 & PI970 section II.

    Any kind of medication which are directly categorized as health items are subject to special treatment, which may include nutritional supplements, herbs, capsules and cosmetics.

    Shipments of medicine require approval from the Ministry of Health. The consignee must obtain the approval and provide it to customs. If the consignee fails to provide the approval within five days or if the Ministry of Health requests the shipment for physical inspection, the shipment will be transferred to the Ministry of Health by the customs authorities. In both cases, it is the consignees obligation to collect the shipment at the Ministry if its finally released for importation. Delays may occur.

    Shipments of medicine addressed to private individuals require a temporary import license, a prescription from doctor (med.) and an approval from the Ministry of Health. The documents must be available prior to shipping. Copies of these documents should be part of the shipping documents.

    Kuwait does not have a temperature controlled facility, therefore medicine that requires a temperature controlled storage should not be accepted for shipping to Kuwait.

    When arriving in Kuwait, the shipments are transferred to the Ministry of Health where the consignee must have customs clear the shipments based on the above mentioned documents. After clearance the consignee can pick up the commodities. The clearance of these types of commodities takes up to 8 days. Nutritional supplements can be classified as medicine. Please see additional information under 'food supplements'.

    Military items can be shipped addressed to the Ministries of the Interior or Defense, Camp Doha, U.S. Military or Air Force. Exempted from all duties and taxes. Military items are prohibited to be sent to private individuals.
    Personal effects cannot be shipped between these countries or territories.
    The import of Snus are prohibited for Kuwait.
    Shipments of vitamins cannot be imported by private individuals or companies. Only the company Genoa General Trading Company is the authorized importer for any kind of nutritional supplements, vitamins and food supplements with physiological effects, typically used by body builders and athletes.

    Shipments destined to importers other than Genoa must be returned or abandoned.

    Saturday Delivery Available

    Saturday Delivery Available: Yes

    Not available in all areas. Always check the international time in transit system for details of service availability within a country or territory.

    Service Options

    Always check Calculate Time and Cost for details of service availability and guarantee information within a country or territory. All Service Levels may not be available to or from every address within a country or territory.

    • UPS Worldwide Expedited
    • UPS Worldwide Express
    • UPS Worldwide Express Plus
    • UPS Worldwide Express Saver
    • UPS WorldWide Express Freight
    Special Clearance Requirements
    Military shipments are exempt from customs duty provided the shipment is addressed to Camp Doha, Camp Arifjan, Camp Victoria, Camp Buehring, Virginia Camp or the US Air Force - Ali Aaleem Air Base.

    All military shipments to Kuwait must have the following information on the UPS waybill and invoice:

    1. Complete physical address of the consignee - must also mention specifically "U.S. Military" on waybill
    2. Contact name with department
    3. Contact telephone number, mobile number and if possible, DSN number
    4. Name of camp or base with department and phone number

    In order to accelerate the clearance process, the origin site should pre-alert UPS Kuwait before the shipment is exported. Once UPS Kuwait receives the pre-alert, the operations department will prepare the request form for the standard customs clearance letter and will forward it to the US Air Force and all the US Military Departments at the camp/base who are awaiting the shipment. Once the clearance letter is signed by the consignee, it will be submitted to the Host Nation Department at Arifjan Camp for verification and signature of the CNO Director. The Host Nation Department at Camp Arifjan will verify, sign and forward the same to the director's office of Kuwait Head Customs.

    These formalities normally take approximately 4 to 5 working days (Thursdays and Fridays are non working days for the government in Kuwait).

    Telecommunication Items:

    Shipments (excluding phones) that require Ministry of Communication (MOC) approval now ALSO require below documentation for customs clearance.

    1. Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) form to be duly filled by the consignee (whether personal or business) with all shipment details and signed and stamped by business authorized personnel ; see attached form

    2. Catalogue of the product.

    Shipments of repaired goods require an invoice that states the commodity's value before the repair and the value of the repair itself. An export bayan must be prepared by the consignee in advance to avoid Customs duty charges for repaired goods.
    Shipments of returned goods require an invoice that states the country or territory of origin and the reason for the return. An export bayan must be prepared by the consignee in advance to avoid Customs duty charges for the returned goods.
    New requirements have been implemented for small package shipments and are based on the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) 15, which is entitled "Guidelines for Regulating Wood Packaging Material in International Trade". ISPM 15 was adopted internationally in 2002, and is gradually being introduced by countries or territories worldwide. Wood or wood products covered by ISPM 15 include items such as packing cases, boxes, crates, drums or similar packing, pallets, box pallets and other load boards, pallet collars and skids, but exclude such processed woods as orientated strand board, particle board, plywood or veneer, created using glue, heat and pressure or a combinations thereof, and, raw wood which is 6mm or less thick. It is recommended that if a question arises on this issue, please check with the authority that issues the Phytosanitary certificates in your country or territory.
    Value Limits

    Private Shipments

  • 0.00 US Dollar (USD)
      • All non-document shipments may be assessed duty or tax or both regardless of the shipment value.

    Commercial Shipments

  • 0.00 US Dollar (USD)
      • All non-document shipments may be assessed duty or tax or both regardless of the shipment value.

    Weight and Size Limits
    70 kg (150 lbs.) per package
    274.00 cm (107.9 in.)  per package
    400.00 cm (157.5 in.)  per package
    Length and girth combined


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