After reviewing the law No. 23 of 2005, related to the ratification of FTA (Free Trade Agreement) between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the USA and in pursuant to His Majesty the King's orders to implement the Agreement effective from 1st August 2006, the following requirements will be enforced:

1-Customs duties exemption under the FTA:

All American goods will be exempted from customs duty, provided these goods fulfill the provisions of Rules of Origin stipulated in the Agreement, with the exception of the following:

( i )Goods listed in Attachment (1), for which the duty shall be reduced gradually, starting from 1.8.2006, until it is completely exempted after
10 years from the date of implementation of the Agreement.

( ii )Tobacco, Cigarettes and Alcohol, as listed in Attachment (2), will be exempted from customs duty after 10 years from the date of the implementation of the Agreement.

2-Customs Requirements for the exemption of American goods:
( i )Submission of invoice for the goods which indicates that The Country of Origin is "USA".

( ii )Country of Origin "USA" to be clearly marked on the goods.

( iii )The Importer shall request for exemption of customs duty by stating in the customs declaration that " The imported goods satisfy the provisions related to customs exemption prescribed in the Agreement and the relevant regulations as per the following phrase: The goods satisfy the provisions of the FTA between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the USA".

N.B.: Under the provisions of this Agreement, Certificate of Origin is not required when importing or exporting goods.

3-Re-Exporting of American origin goods to other GCC countries:
American origin goods which are exempted from customs duty in accordance with this Agreement and re-exported to other GCC countries will be liable for customs duty at the final destination.

4-Contact points:
For any further information or queries relating to the customs requirements or exemptions of duty, please contact the concerned Customs Officials listed below.

All Directors, Customs Officials at all Customs Points are requested to implement these requirements effective from 1st August 2006.

Hassan Ali Al Majed
Acting Director General of Customs

Contact Points