- Every commercial import into Saudi Arabia is filed on FASAH by a licensed broker, for an importer with a CR or an importer-of-record service.
- You authorise the broker on FASAH yourself, and you can check its licence in FASAH's official broker directory.
- Clear where your stock will live: Dammam for Riyadh and the east, Jeddah for the west, Riyadh airport for air freight.
- On a typical stock shipment, the broker fee is small. Duty and 15% VAT are the big lines, and the VAT is reclaimable once you're registered.
- Every shipment of regulated goods needs its SABER shipment certificate before arrival. There's no clear-now, fix-later option.
Saudi customs runs fully online. A clean file on FASAH can clear in under two hours.
The customs broker is the person who makes that happen. It files your declaration, pays duty and VAT for you and gets your stock out of Dammam, Jeddah or Riyadh airport.
Below you'll find how Saudi clearance works for online sellers, what brokers charge in SAR, which entry point suits your warehouse and 10 independently researched providers. For broker basics and the UAE side, see our main list of customs brokers in the Middle East.
Do you need a customs broker in Saudi Arabia?
For stock, yes. Commercial declarations on FASAH are filed by a licensed broker, for an importer that holds a CR (commercial registration) or uses an importer-of-record service.
What that means for you depends on how you ship:
- Parcels sold to shoppers. Couriers such as NAQEL and Aramex clear these under their own setup. You don't hire a broker.
- Cartons or containers of stock. You need a broker. It can be your own or the one your forwarder or 3PL already uses.
- Regulated goods. Electronics, toys, cosmetics and food need SABER or SFDA approval. A broker that files these every week saves you days.
No Saudi company yet? Start with our guide to importer of record services, because the importer's name goes on every document.
How does customs clearance work in Saudi Arabia?
Everything runs through FASAH, the single window run by ZATCA (the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority). The work splits cleanly between you and your broker:
- 1
You: authorise the broker on FASAH
The importer grants a licensed broker permission to file in its name. On an IOR route, the provider's account is used instead.
- 2
You: hand over the SCoC number
Regulated goods need a SABER shipment certificate for each shipment, at SAR 350. Send its number to the broker before the vessel arrives.
- 3
Broker: file the declaration
Ideally 48 hours before arrival, with your document set attached. Customs then reads the SABER certificate electronically.
- 4
Broker: pay and collect the release
Duty, the customs fee and 15% VAT go through FASAH or SADAD. Then the release order goes to your trucker.
Two newer rules catch first-time importers out:
- Manifest detail. Since May 2026, Mawani wants 6-digit HS codes and cargo volume on the manifest.
- Labels. Since 1 October 2026, products under ten SASO regulations must show the supplier's name and CR. For imports, that supplier is you.
The full process, document file and timeline are in our guide to importing to Saudi Arabia.
Which port or airport should you clear at?
Clear where your stock will live. Trucking cleared goods across the Kingdom adds days and cost.
| Entry point | Best for | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| King Abdulaziz Port, Dammam | Riyadh and Eastern Province warehouses | The Kingdom's biggest import gateway by weight in 2025 |
| Jeddah Islamic Port | Jeddah, Makkah and the west | Busiest container port; Bahri runs a bonded zone here |
| King Khalid Airport, Riyadh | Air freight and urgent restocks | Fastest route for urgent stock into Riyadh |
| Jeddah and Dammam airports | Air freight to the west or east | Same FASAH process as seaports |
| Al Batha land border | Trucks from the UAE | Goods are re-declared at Saudi customs |
Keeping stock in Riyadh? Then Dammam plus a truck or rail run is the usual sea route.
Need time before you pay duty? In a bonded zone, duty is suspended until the goods leave for the Saudi market.
Bahri's zone at Jeddah and Salasa's bonded zones work this way, which helps if you re-export part of the stock or want to spread duty across a busy season. Port choices and transit times by mode are in our guide to shipping from China to Saudi Arabia.
What does customs clearance cost in Saudi Arabia?
The broker's own fee is the small part of the bill. KDL in Jeddah, for example, quotes SAR 300–800 a shipment for its service.
Its all-in clearance prices run from about SAR 400 for a small load to SAR 3,000 for a large one, depending on size and inspections.
Duty and VAT are the big numbers. Here's a typical LCL shipment with a CIF value of SAR 40,000, cleared at Dammam:
| Line | Calculation | SAR |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | 5% × CIF | 2,000 |
| Customs fee | 0.15% × CIF | 60 |
| Import VAT | 15% × (CIF + duty + fee) | 6,309 |
| SABER shipment certificate | SAR 350 + 15% VAT | 403 |
| Broker fee | SAR 600 + 15% VAT | 690 |
| Paid at clearance | 9,462 |
That's about 24% on top of CIF on the day the goods clear. But a VAT-registered importer reclaims the VAT lines as input tax.
So the real cost is about SAR 3,010, or 7.5% of CIF. Extras such as inspection handling, port storage and document changes come on top, so ask for them in writing.
Customs brokers in Saudi Arabia
All 10 providers in our directory clear goods into the Kingdom. They fall into a few types, so match the type to how you ship:
| Provider type | Examples on this list | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi carriers with in-house clearance | NAQEL Express | Parcels and B2B freight with nationwide delivery |
| Importer of record | Starlinks | Foreign sellers without a Saudi CR |
| Clearance plus storage | Salasa, Bahri Logistics | Bonded storage and Riyadh or Jeddah fulfilment |
| Regional networks | Aramex, GAC | Brokerage in every GCC country |
| Global forwarders | DHL, Kuehne+Nagel, Expeditors | Sellers already shipping with them, regulated goods |
| China DDP specialists | Dantful | One landed price from a Chinese factory |
The list isn't ranked. "Best for" is our summary, and the bullet points are what each company says about itself.
NAQEL Express
Best for: E-commerce parcels and B2B freight cleared into KSA by a Saudi AEO carrier
- The company says it is an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) for Saudi customs
- Bundles clearance with nationwide KSA delivery and claims handling online
Starlinks
Best for: Foreign sellers without a Saudi CR who need an Importer of Record
- The company lists Import of Record as an e-commerce service
- Says it is SFDA approved and ISO certified
Salasa
Best for: Sellers who want clearance and Riyadh fulfillment from one Saudi provider
- The company lists customs clearance and bonded-zone storage under cross-border e-commerce
Aramex Customs Clearance
Best for: Sellers wanting brokerage in every GCC country under one regional brand
- Wikipedia lists customs clearance among Aramex's core services; operates across 70 countries
Expeditors
Best for: Brands needing compliance-heavy clearance (classification, regulated goods)
- The company says it has 3,000+ customs employees globally
- Strong compliance consulting (HS classification, tradeflow)
Kuehne+Nagel UAE
Best for: Shippers already moving freight with K+N who want clearance bundled
- UAE site lists customs clearance as a value-added service
DHL Global Forwarding (Customs Services)
Best for: Express and freight shipments needing clearance by a global integrator
- DHL says it offers a broad range of customs brokerage services using customs-clearance technology and EDI (global customs page)
- Hiring customs clearance brokers in Riyadh for customs and trade-compliance work (2026 job listings)
- Oct 2024: DHL Supply Chain launched in the UAE via transfer of some operations from DHL Global Forwarding, adding contract logistics
GAC
Best for: Industrial and project cargo needing clearance at Jebel Ali and Saudi ports
- Founded 1956 in Kuwait (Gulf Agency Company), then expanded to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Qatar
- GAC says 9,000+ people in 300+ offices worldwide (Abu Dhabi brochure); a Gulf News advertorial says 7,500+ in 50 countries
- UAE offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah; group HQ in Dubai
Bahri Logistics
Best for: Importers who want bonded storage at Jeddah before duty payment
- The company announced a Bahri Bonded Zone at Jeddah Islamic Port
- Says it has 40+ years of maritime experience
Dantful International Logistics
Best for: China-origin sellers who want duty and clearance included in one landed price
- Says under DDP it covers Saudi duties and 15% VAT on CIF, and UAE 5% duty plus 5% VAT
- Notes many Alibaba/1688 suppliers do not offer DDP by default
What should you ask a Saudi customs broker?
Send the same questions to two or three brokers. Clear written answers are a good sign.
For the general questions on fees, liability and duty funding, use the checklist on our customs brokers hub.
Notes for UAE-based sellers
- You need a broker on each side. A UAE broker prepares the exit documents, and a Saudi broker re-declares the truck at Al Batha.
- Ask for one team that does both. Regional networks such as Aramex and GAC say they clear in every GCC country, which saves a hand-off at the border.
- Compare the UAE side. Our list of customs brokers in the UAE covers Jebel Ali and the free zones.
Notes for Chinese sellers
- Ask for the FASAH declaration on DDP quotes. A 双清包税 price covers duty and VAT, but the importer named on it holds the VAT credit.
- Book the broker before the factory ships. By sea, it's 5–7 weeks from booking to warehouse check-in, and the SCoC must exist before arrival.
Get customs brokerage quotes for Saudi Arabia
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Frequently asked questions
FASAH publishes an official directory of licensed customs brokers on its OGA portal. Ask any broker you're considering for its licence number and check it there. Then confirm which customs offices it works at, because many brokers only cover one or two ports.
Sources & further reading
- Customs brokers directory (FASAH) — FASAH, Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA)
- Customs broker services (e-service) — Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA)
- New customs fee structure (news 1282) — Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA)
- Customs Clearance in Saudi Arabia: Complete Guide 2026 — Ahmed Bahkali Logistics
- Customs clearance prices in Jeddah — Khalid Al-Dhafer & Bros. (KDL), 2026
- Saudi ports handle 341M tons of cargo in 2025 — Argaam, citing GASTAT (Sep 2026)
- SABER product and shipment conformity platform — Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO)
This guide is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and fees change — always confirm with the official source or a licensed advisor.
Maya is MiddleEastEcom's lead guide and editor. She researches GCC marketplaces, payments and regulations and turns them into practical playbooks for sellers.
Meet Maya