The government of Saudi Arabia approved in its last meeting last week the expansion of the duty-free zones in the air, sea and land ports, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. These areas are for both inbound and outbound passengers.
The decision came after the Kingdom’s “Tax and Customs Authority” proposed last year to amend the rules governing duty-free areas within its domain. In its proposal at the time, the authority said that the duty-free areas were limited to the departure halls at the international airports in the kingdom, “which limited the expansion and development of duty-free areas in the rest of the kingdom.”
According to sources in Saudi Arabia, the new government decision reflects its policy of supporting the travel, tourism and aviation sectors in the country. According to economists in Saudi Arabia who supported the move, the duty-free zones will help the development of local industries, since a certain percentage of the products offered in the halls will be Saudi-made.