For business owners: A shipment held at the port, a declaration returned for correction, or a missing certificate holding up clearance? We take over your establishment’s file on Fasah, work with your customs broker and follow the shipment until it is released.
What Fasah is and why it matters to your establishment
Fasah is the Saudi customs clearance platform, run under the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA). Import and export declarations are submitted through it, shipments are tracked from arrival to release, and the approvals that other government bodies require for certain goods are linked to the same transaction. For any establishment that imports raw materials, stock or equipment, or exports its own products, Fasah is where a shipment either moves or stops.
Many importers leave Fasah entirely to their customs broker and look at it only when a shipment is late. In practice most delays are decided before the goods arrive: by the supplier’s documents, the description of the goods and the certificates prepared, or not prepared, in advance. The broker submits the declaration, but the establishment owns the data in it.
What is actually managed on the platform
- Registering the establishment as an importer or exporter on the basis of its commercial registration, and keeping its data current.
- Authorising a licensed customs broker to submit declarations in the establishment’s name, and cancelling the authorisation when the relationship ends.
- Submitting import and export declarations with their supporting documents.
- Linking the conformity certificates and permits that some goods need, such as SABER shipment certificates from the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO) or approvals from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.
- Paying customs duties and fees, following inspection and any samples taken for testing, and receiving the release.
- Tracking the status of each declaration and shipment, and answering requests for correction or for additional documents.
The most frequent reasons a shipment is held
A description or classification that does not fit the goods. A vague description such as “spare parts” or “accessories”, or a tariff classification chosen out of habit rather than for what the goods actually are, leads to a correction request, an inspection or a different duty treatment.
A declared value that does not stand up. The value in the declaration differs from the commercial invoice, or the invoice itself does not reflect the real transaction, so customs questions the valuation.
Documents that do not agree with each other. Quantities, weights, the number of packages or the consignee’s name differ between the invoice, the packing list and the bill of lading.
A missing certificate or permit. The product needs a SABER shipment certificate or another body’s approval, and it was requested after the goods arrived, or not at all.
Labelling or origin details that do not match. The country of origin or the product details marked on the goods differ from what the documents state.
An importer file that is not in order. An expired commercial registration, importer data that differs from it, or a broker authorisation that has lapsed.
Why a held shipment costs more than the delay
Every day a container stays at the port adds storage charges and, often, the shipping line’s demurrage, and these are paid whatever the reason for the hold. Production lines wait for materials, delivery dates promised to customers slip, and goods with a short shelf life lose value. Declaration errors also carry penalties under the customs regulations, and because customs works on risk assessment, an importer with a record of errors can expect closer scrutiny of later shipments.
How to avoid the problem before it happens
- Agree the description and classification of the goods with your customs broker before the supplier ships, not after arrival.
- Check whether each product needs a SABER certificate or another body’s approval, and obtain it before the goods leave the supplier.
- Give the supplier clear instructions for the commercial invoice: a full description, quantities, unit values and the country of origin, matching the packing list and the bill of lading.
- Submit the declaration as early as the platform allows.
- Keep the commercial registration, importer data and broker authorisation valid, and review them before every large shipment.
- Follow every declaration on Fasah from submission to release, and answer correction requests the same day.
- Make one person inside the establishment responsible for each shipment, so the broker, supplier and warehouse are not waiting on one another.
What to do if a shipment is held
Start from the reason shown on the platform and pin down exactly what is missing: a document, a correction to the declaration, a certificate, or the result of an inspection. Sending every document in the hope that one is right usually adds another round. Once the cause is clear, the declaration is corrected or the missing document supplied through the broker. Where the establishment disagrees with a classification or valuation decision, it presents its evidence through the objection route that customs provides.
Customs clearance itself is carried out by a licensed customs broker. For our clients we manage the establishment’s side of the file: reviewing documents before shipping, SABER certificates, importer data and authorisations, and following each shipment with the broker until it is released.
How do I track a shipment on Fasah?
The platform’s tracking service shows the status of a declaration or shipment from submission to release, using a reference such as the declaration number or the bill of lading number. Your customs broker can give you the declaration number as soon as it is submitted.
Do I need a customs broker to use Fasah?
In practice most establishments clear their goods through a licensed customs broker, whom they authorise on the platform to submit declarations in their name. The establishment remains responsible for the accuracy of the data and documents it provides.
Why does customs ask for a SABER certificate?
Products covered by SASO’s technical regulations need a shipment certificate of conformity issued on SABER. Customs checks it during clearance, so a shipment that lacks one waits until the certificate is issued.
Which documents does an import declaration usually need?
The commercial invoice, the packing list, the bill of lading or air waybill, and the certificate of origin where it is required, together with any conformity certificates or permits the goods call for. Your broker confirms what each shipment needs according to the type of goods and their origin.
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