Oman Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in oman, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Import Requirements & Documentation
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In line with the digital transformation initiatives of the national logistics strategy, the Directorate General of Customs has moved to a paperless supply chain, introducing e-delivery and e-cargo release orders.  Companies can search the latest import and export requirements on the ROP Customs website. Certain classes of goods require a special license (e.g., alcohol, firearms, pharmaceuticals, and explosives). Authorities may examine media imports for censorship. The Ministry of Culture, Heritage and Sport may reject or expunge morally or politically sensitive material from imported media. The Ministry of Information delays or bars the entry of magazines and newspaper editions if it takes exception to a story on Oman or deems the content morally inappropriate. In practice, the effect of this censorship on non-pornographic materials is usually mild. Authorities restrict imports of pork products and alcoholic beverages. 

Oman has been applying the GCC Laws on Veterinary Quarantine and Plant Quarantine since 2004. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources’ (MAFWR) quarantine section inspects imports, exports, and domestic production of plants and animals. The MAFWR also examines and issues Sanitary-Phytosanitary (SPS) certificates for all agricultural products prior to their export. The MAFWR requires SPS certificates and prior permission from the Directorate General of Agricultural Development for imports of agricultural seeds, plants, plant parts, and plant products. 

Customs authorities require a health certificate and prior permission (in the form of an import permit) from the Directorate General of Animal Wealth (DGAW) at MAFWR to import live animals; meat and meat products; table, hatching, and liquid eggs; dairy products; frozen, chilled, and canned fish; and feeds. In addition, MAWFR requires halal certificates for meat and meat products. 

In line with GSO 1943 standards implementation, Oman employs additional import requirements for cosmetics and personal care products, which include obtaining a conformity certificate from a third-party agency, and labelling requirements. It also added additional personal care product categories under the import approval process purview. Municipal officials are responsible for the inspection of domestic products. These officials analyze all imports of consignments before release. Authorities assess the results against GCC and Codex Alimentarius standards to ensure that imported food items are safe for human consumption. Customs officials reject unfit foodstuffs at the port of entry, either destroying them or returning them to the country of origin per the preference of the importer.

To settle customs valuation and classification disputes, an operator may appeal to the Directorate General of Customs under the ROP, then to the Inspector General of Police and Customs, then to the Minister of Finance, and lastly, to the Omani Court of Arbitration.

To look up duties and tariffs use, use the Customs Info Database tariff look-up tool, available on trade.gov (free registration required), to estimate duties and taxes.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

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The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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