Frequently asked questions

Origin and destination addresses, what the goods are, gross weight, dimensions or CBM, the HS code if you have it, and your preferred Incoterm. If you do not know the Incoterm, tell us what you want to pay for and we will propose one.

Same working day for standard air, sea and road. One to two days for project cargo, dangerous goods, charters and unusual routes, because we have to confirm with carriers and check permits.

Yes, and broken down by line. Freight, surcharges, terminal handling, customs, delivery and anything else are shown separately so you can see what you are paying for.

Not for questions that take a few minutes. Structured advisory work — landed cost modelling, contract review, supply chain design — is quoted as a defined piece of work.

For air freight, the greater of actual weight and volume in cm³ divided by 6000. For express, divided by 5000. For LCL sea, the greater of CBM and tonnes. It is why a light bulky shipment can cost more than a dense heavy one.

The GCC common external tariff is 5% on most goods, on CIF value. Some categories are zero-rated and a few carry much higher rates. Goods re-exported from a free zone pay no UAE duty at all.

Yes, 5%. Registered businesses can normally account for import VAT through the reverse charge mechanism. Goods in a designated free zone are outside its scope until they enter the mainland.

Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or air waybill, certificate of origin, and any permits or conformity certificates your commodity and destination require. They must all agree with each other and with the cargo.

Yes. Customs brokerage is available as a standalone service.

Goods held in a free zone have not legally entered the UAE. They can be stored, checked, repacked, consolidated and sent onward on fresh documents with no UAE import duty. It is the mechanism most Dubai trade runs on. See transit and re-export.

Air is 2–7 days door to door depending on destination. Sea is 12–35 days port to port for FCL, 5–10 days longer for LCL. Road across the GCC is 1–5 days. Each destination page has a table for its own lane.

Yes. You get the air waybill or bill of lading number and carrier tracking, plus a named contact who tells you about delays before you notice them yourself.

Not automatically. Carrier liability is limited by weight, not value — roughly 22 SDR per kg by air and far less by sea — so on most shipments it is a fraction of the goods' value. We arrange all-risk marine cargo insurance at a small percentage of invoice value. For anything valuable it is worth taking.

We document condition at loading, so a claim starts with evidence rather than an argument. If you have cargo insurance the claim goes to the underwriter; if not, you are limited to the carrier's liability, which is usually disappointing.

Charges that start when free time at the destination port runs out, and they escalate fast. Avoid them by having documents and funds ready before the vessel arrives. We tell you what the free time is and warn you before the clock starts.

Yes. We source, inspect, pay the supplier against your funds and export in your name or ours. Common for cars, spare parts, electronics and building materials.

Verify the trade licence, the ownership, the court record and the physical address before paying anything. A professional website proves nothing. See company verification.

Yes — that is exactly the point of pre-shipment inspection. Quantity, quality, packaging, loading supervision and a photo and video report, delivered in time to stop a payment.

Yes, from a single box to a full container, to Europe, the CIS, Africa and Asia. See personal effects.

Yes, by RoRo or container, including de-registration and the export certificate. See car shipping.

Both. Companies are the bulk of the work, but single cars, household moves and one-pallet shipments are entirely normal.