We, Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates State,

Pursuant to the perusal of the Constitution; and

Federal Law no. 1 of 1972 concerning the Jurisdiction of Ministries and the Powers of the Ministers, and the amending laws thereof; and

Federal Law no. 11 of 1981 concerning the Imposition of a Federal Tax on Imports of Tobacco and its Derivatives, and the amending laws thereof; and

Acting upon the proposal of the Minister of Finance and Industry, the approval of the Council of Ministers, and the ratification of the Federal Supreme Council,

Have promulgated the following Law:

Without prejudice to Federal Law no. 11 of 1981 concerning the Imposition of a Federal Tax on Imports of Tobacco and its Derivatives and the amending laws, the customs duties shall be raised by 4% to 5% of the value of the goods and commodities computed on a CIF basis, and such on all the foreign commodities and goods imported from outside the GCC countries, starting as of the 1st of January 2003.

Shall be exempted from the customs taxes referred to the Article 1 above, the 53 commodities exempted by virtues of the decision of the Supreme Council of the GCC countries in its 20th meeting (in accordance with the attached table), in addition to the exemptions provided for in the Bylaw (Law) of the Unified Customs.

Any provision contradicting or conflicting with the provisions of this Law is, hereby, repealed.

This Law shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into force as of the date of its publishing.