e-Mirsal 2 Declaration Types in the UAE — All 12 Customs Entries Explained for 2026

What is Mirsal 2? Mirsal 2 is Dubai Customs’ electronic declaration system, filed through the Dubai Trade portal. Every commercial shipment moving through Dubai’s ports, airports, land borders and free zones clears on a Mirsal 2 declaration, and the declaration type chosen at filing decides whether customs duty is paid, suspended, deposited or exempt.

The e-Mirsal 2 declaration is the single document that decides how Dubai Customs treats every shipment moving through the emirate: whether duty is paid, suspended or exempt, which port releases the cargo, which free zone it can enter, and how the entry shows up in your VAT return. The portal carries 12 distinct declaration types, each tied to a specific cargo movement and a specific document set. This guide walks through every type, when to use it, the documents customs expects, the fee, and the common errors we see in importer files. For the registration that sits behind every Mirsal 2 entry, see our Dubai Customs registration 2026 walkthrough.

What Mirsal 2 actually is

e-Mirsal 2 is the electronic customs declaration system run by Dubai Customs through the Dubai Trade portal. Every importer, exporter, clearing agent and freight forwarder moving goods through Dubai files through Mirsal 2. There is no paper alternative for commercial cargo. The system replaced the original Mirsal in 2010 and now processes around 11 million declarations a year across sea, air, land and free-zone movements.

A Mirsal 2 declaration carries the HS code, the CIF value in AED, the declaration type, the importer’s Customs Client Code, scanned commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading or airway bill, the Certificate of Origin where relevant, and the calculated duty and VAT. Once submitted, the system runs a risk-engine check (green for release, yellow for document inspection, red for physical inspection) and issues either a release order or an inspection notice.

Velmont Crest is a DED-licensed accounting firm and authorised channel-partner status with Meydan Free Zone and RAKEZ. We support importers, free-zone trading entities and licensed manufacturers across all seven emirates on the bookkeeping, VAT and customs documentation that sits behind every Mirsal 2 entry. We do not act as a customs broker — the declaration itself must be filed by a licensed broker.

All 12 declaration types, side by side

ROW = Rest of World. FZ/CW = Free Zone or Customs Warehouse. CoO = Certificate of Origin.

The first six are inbound types, covering what moves into UAE customs territory. The next four handle outbound and through-traffic, and the last two cover the round-trip cases. Picking the right type at the portal is the broker’s single most important judgement on every shipment, and when it goes wrong the cost lands on you rather than on them.

Each type, line by line

1. Import to Local from Rest of World

The standard import declaration. Goods arrive at a Dubai port (Jebel Ali, Port Rashid, Hamriyah for cross-emirate moves) or airport (DXB, DWC) from a country outside the GCC, and are released into mainland UAE for sale or use.

The document set here is the full one: commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or airway bill, Certificate of Origin, the importer’s Customs Client Code, and any HS-code-specific approvals (Dubai Municipality for food, MoHAP for pharmaceuticals, ESMA for regulated products). Duty runs at 5% on CIF value, 100% on tobacco and 50% on alcohol. VAT is 5% on CIF plus duty, payable at the port unless the importer’s TRN is linked to the Customs Client Code — in which case the import VAT defers to the next VAT return.

2. Import to Local from Free Zone or Customs Warehouse

When goods that were originally entered into a free zone or bonded warehouse under a suspended-duty regime are released to the UAE mainland. This is the “release to home use” declaration that triggers the duty payment that was deferred at the original free-zone entry.

Duty is 5% on the original CIF value, not the price at which the free-zone entity sells the goods to the mainland buyer. The free-zone entity issues a B2B invoice that includes 5% VAT on the sale, and the duty is paid by whichever party clears the goods at the free-zone boundary.

3. Import to Local from GCC Member States

Goods produced in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar or Oman entering the UAE at 0% duty under the GCC Customs Union, provided the goods meet the 40% local value-add test and arrive with a valid GCC Certificate of Origin issued by the chamber of commerce in the producing country. See our UAE customs duty exemption guide for the detailed exemption mechanics.

The importing entity in the UAE must also be a GCC-national or GCC-owned company. Pure foreign-owned importers cannot claim GCC-origin treatment even if the goods qualify on origin.

4. Import for Re-Export

Used when the importer knows at arrival that the goods will be re-exported, typically to a third country, often to another GCC state. Duty is deposited rather than paid; the deposit is refunded when the matching re-export declaration is filed within six months.

You file the standard import set plus a written declaration of intent to re-export and the projected destination. This type spares you the pay-then-refund working-capital cycle that catches importers who use a standard Import to Local entry by mistake.

5. Import to Free Zone or Customs Warehouse from Rest of World

Goods arriving from outside the UAE bound for storage in a free zone or bonded customs warehouse. Duty is suspended: the goods enter under a bond, and duty becomes payable only when the goods are released to the mainland (Type 2 above). If they leave for another country (re-export), no duty applies.

This is the declaration that genuinely free-zone-resident trading companies use for their inventory. Misclassifying a free-zone-bound shipment as Type 1 (Import to Local) pays duty unnecessarily and triggers a 60-day refund cycle.

6. Import to Free Zone or Customs Warehouse from Another Free Zone

Internal movement between two designated zones or between a designated zone and a customs warehouse. Common with hub-and-spoke logistics models where goods land in JAFZA and move to DAFZA, KIZAD or another zone for distribution. Duty stays suspended throughout.

7. Export

Goods produced in the UAE (or previously imported and now leaving) bound for a country outside the UAE. No customs duty applies on export. The export declaration is what triggers the VAT zero-rating on the supply. Without a stamped export declaration in the file, the FTA can recharacterise the supply as a domestic 5% sale at audit.

8. Re-Export

Goods that were previously imported into the UAE under a standard Import to Local declaration, with duty paid, and are now leaving the country in the same condition. If filed within six months of the original import date, the importer can claim a 99% duty refund via Form 28 (1% administrative retention).

9. Temporary Admission

Goods entering the UAE for a defined non-commercial purpose (exhibition at Dubai World Trade Centre or ADNEC, repair or refurbishment, demonstration, testing, theatrical production or broadcast) that will leave the country within six months. The period is extendable.

Duty is deposited (or a bond is lodged) equal to what would otherwise be payable; the deposit is refunded when the goods are re-exported within the period. The ATA Carnet system is the international equivalent for member countries and is accepted by Dubai Customs for qualifying goods.

10. Transit

Goods passing through Dubai en route to a final destination outside the UAE. No duty applies. The cargo moves under a customs bond from the entry point to the exit point, typically Jebel Ali to a land border or vice versa. Common for goods bound for Saudi Arabia, Oman or onward to East Africa.

11. Transfer Between Free Zones

The internal logistics movement type for free-zone operators running cross-zone inventory. Type 6 covers free zone to customs warehouse and vice versa; Type 11 specifically covers free zone to free zone. Duty remains suspended.

12. Returned Goods (Re-Import)

UAE-origin goods that were exported and are now coming back, typically unsold inventory returned from an overseas distributor, or warranty repairs being returned to the originating UAE supplier. Entry is at 0% duty if the importer can prove the goods were originally exported from the UAE and are returning in the same condition within a defined period (usually one year).

Where the customs code, trade licence and TRN meet

Before any of these declarations can be filed, the importing entity must hold a Customs Client Code linked to its trade licence. The Customs Client Code is issued by Dubai Customs through the Dubai Trade portal at AED 120 for new registration. Once active, the code links the trade licence number, the VAT TRN (where applicable) and any free-zone licence the entity holds.

The TRN link is the step most importers skip, and it’s the expensive one to skip. With the TRN linked, the import VAT defers to the next VAT return: the importer files the declaration, the import value populates Box 6, and the 5% input VAT and 5% output VAT cancel out for any cost-recoverable importer. Without the link, you pay the 5% VAT in cash at the port and reclaim it on the next return — a 30-90 day working-capital drag that gets worse the more you import. See our reverse charge mechanism UAE guide for the full deferral mechanics.

A third code causes constant confusion with the other two, so it is worth separating cleanly. The Customs Client Code identifies you. The HS code identifies the goods. HS code is short for Harmonized System code, the international commodity classification that customs authorities everywhere use to decide duty rates, exemptions and permit requirements, and every line item on a Mirsal 2 entry carries one. Dubai Customs runs an HS code search on the Dubai Trade portal, and the HS code you declare is what determines whether the line attracts the standard duty rate, a lower one, an exemption, or a hold pending approval from the relevant UAE regulator. Pick the declaration type correctly and the HS code carelessly and you still have a mis-declaration, with the same effect on your customs clearance timeline.

Documents per declaration type

The full document list per declaration type is published in the Dubai Trade portal’s e-Mirsal 2 user manual, which is updated quarterly. Always download the latest version before configuring a new lane.

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The declaration type is not a clerical detail your broker fills in after the goods land — it is a procurement-stage decision that determines whether your shipment costs you 5% in duty, 5% in cashflow, or nothing at all. Decide the type when you raise the purchase order, document the intended movement on the supplier instruction, and audit the broker’s selection on every Mirsal 2 entry before clearance.

Where we see brokers slip up

Filing Import to Local on free-zone-bound cargo is the single most expensive routine error. A free-zone trading entity that pays 5% duty on inbound goods then has to chase a refund, or swallow the duty into landed cost. Confirm the destination is a designated zone before choosing the declaration type.

A close second is missing the Certificate of Origin on GCC-origin imports. Without a valid GCC CoO at the moment of filing, the system just defaults to 5% duty. Retroactive CoO claims do get processed, but they’re slow and need proof the CoO existed at the time of shipment.

Then there’s the re-export filed against a different importer’s original Mirsal entry. The Form 28 refund only works when the importer-of-record on the re-export matches the one on the original import, so cross-entity transfers within a group have to be planned in advance with paper-trail evidence behind them.

Temporary admission without a bond stalls the same way. Mirsal 2 wants a customs bond or ATA Carnet at the moment of filing, and goods won’t be released without it even when every other document is in order.

And people confuse a transfer between free zones with an internal stock movement. Moving goods between two free zones needs a Type 11 declaration; moving them within the same free zone is a warehouse shuffle that needs no customs declaration at all.

What you actually pay and how fast it clears

The risk channel is determined by Mirsal 2’s automated risk engine, which factors in the importer’s history, the HS code, the country of origin, the value, the declared declaration type and any active FTA or customs alerts. Importers with clean two-year histories and high-value AEO status cargo move predominantly through green; new importers, infrequent shippers or regulated-goods importers see more yellow and red.

The 12-digit tariff rollout is changing what every declaration carries

The declaration types have been stable for years. The classification inside them is not. Dubai Customs has published a four-phase roadmap for implementing the Integrated Customs Tariff at 12 digits, extending the classification carried on every declaration line, and the phase you are in decides which of your declaration types are already affected.

Source: Dubai Customs, “Phases of Implementing the Integrated Customs Tariff (12 Digit)”. Checked 5 August 2026.

Read that against today’s date and the practical position is clear. Phases 1 and 2 have run their course, so GCC-destined declarations and free-zone-to-mainland movements are already inside the 12-digit regime. Phase 3 began in August 2026 and covers the highest-volume flow of all — imports from the rest of the world into the mainland, which is the Import to Local declaration most Dubai traders file every week. Temporary admissions and import-for-re-export are the last to move, in February 2027.

What the phase you are in means for your declaration file today

The phasing was designed around trade volume rather than around convenience, and Dubai Customs says so: Phase 2 was deliberately started on a small share of trade to avoid disruption before the larger flows moved. That sequencing has a consequence brokers are living with right now — the same importer can be filing one declaration type against a 12-digit classification and another against the older structure, depending on where the goods came from and where they are going.

Three things follow for anyone maintaining a declaration file.

The first is that your product master needs the extra digits before the phase reaches your declaration type, not after. A classification that was correct at the shorter code length may resolve to more than one 12-digit line, and choosing between them is a technical decision with a duty consequence — not a data-entry step for whoever is filing that day.

The second is that a mismatch between the classification on your declaration and the classification your supplier used on the origin documentation becomes visible in a way it was not before. More digits means less room for two parties to describe the same goods differently and never notice.

The third is timing on temporary flows. Phase 4 does not arrive until February 2027, which means a business running goods in under temporary admission for re-export has a longer runway — but it also means the classification discipline it builds in the meantime, on its ordinary imports, is the discipline it will need on the temporary declarations later.

Where this leaves you

The 12 e-Mirsal 2 declaration types are not interchangeable. Each one carries a defined cargo movement, document set, duty treatment and VAT impact. The advantage goes to the importer whose broker picks the right type on the first declaration, not to the one who discovers six weeks later that 5% duty was paid unnecessarily on a free-zone-bound shipment.

For trading companies, the priority sequence is: confirm your Customs Client Code is current and linked to your TRN, document the intended cargo movement on the supplier purchase order, instruct the broker explicitly on which e-Mirsal 2 declaration type to file, and reconcile every Mirsal 2 entry against the VAT return monthly. For free-zone operators, the discipline around Type 5 (free-zone import) versus Type 1 (mainland import) is the single largest preventable customs cost.

If your trade touches the automotive re-export lane or the northern emirates, the same declaration logic carries across to the DUCAMZ customs centre car re-export guide and the Ras Al Khaimah customs clearance guide, where the portal changes but the underlying declaration types do not.

Velmont Crest, a Dubai accounting firm provides advisory support across the customs documentation, VAT-import reconciliation, and broader accounting and bookkeeping workflow that sits behind every UAE importer’s compliance file. For a structured review of your Mirsal 2 declaration patterns, VAT-import reconciliation and free-zone treatment, book a consultation — we work with mainland and free-zone importers across all seven emirates.

Disclaimer: Velmont Crest is a DED-licensed accounting firm. We provide advisory, preparation and compliance support services. We do not act as a licensed customs broker — the e-Mirsal 2 declaration itself must be filed by a customs-licensed broker registered with Dubai Customs. Customs duty rates, declaration fees and procedural requirements change frequently — verify all figures and procedures with Dubai Customs before acting.

References

• Dubai Customs — official portal
• Dubai Trade portal — e-Mirsal 2 user manual
• Federal Customs Authority — GCC Common Customs Law
• Federal Tax Authority — VAT on imports
• Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology — MoIAT