Mazen Alloush, director of the Relations and International Cooperation Department at Syria’s General Authority for Border Crossings and Customs, said Decree No. 188 of 2026, which amends certain items in the harmonized customs tariff schedule, aims to develop customs policy and strengthen its role in supporting economic activity and domestic production. It revises the descriptions, codes, duty rates, and conditions of application for a number of items to meet the needs of different sectors and encourage investment.
The decree is also part of a broader vision to develop customs policy and support domestic production by reducing duties on equipment and supplies for renewable energy projects, medical equipment, and industrial machinery parts, Alloush told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Monday evening, October 12.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 188 on Monday evening, amending certain items in the harmonized customs tariff schedule adopted under Decree No. 110 of 2026, including their descriptions, codes, duty rates, and conditions of application.
Easing Costs for Investors and Industrial Businesses
Alloush said the reductions cover electrical equipment, generators, transformers, cables, and control devices associated with these projects. He said their importance lies in easing the financial burden on investors purchasing the necessary equipment and creating more favorable conditions for establishing and expanding projects, helping diversify energy sources and meet production needs.
“The importance of this decree lies in its timing, amid the sharp rise in energy prices and the resulting burden on industrial facilities and other productive sectors. This increases the need to encourage investment in renewable energy and reduce project costs by lowering duties on a number of items of equipment and components intended for wind power generation projects, supporting their economic viability and encouraging investment,” Alloush added.
Regarding the industrial sector, Alloush explained that the amendments include duty reductions on machinery parts and production inputs, helping eligible facilities lower their costs, modernize production lines, expand their operations, and strengthen their competitiveness.
According to Alloush, the decree also takes the healthcare sector’s needs into account by reducing duties on certain specified medical equipment, helping lower procurement costs.
Protecting Domestic Products
At the same time, the decree maintains the principle of protecting domestic products. The reductions do not cover all goods but target specific categories, particularly equipment and production inputs. Special conditions of application remain in place for some categories to ensure they are used for their designated purposes and to balance facilitating imports with supporting local industries.
Alloush noted that the General Customs Administration continues to monitor the implementation of the amendments and their conditions, as well as their practical effects on the sectors benefiting from them, to achieve Decree No. 188’s objectives of stimulating investment and supporting domestic production and economic activity.
The General Customs Law
On May 18, President al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 109, introducing the new General Customs Law to replace General Customs Law No. 38 of 2006 and its amendments, as well as Customs Police Law No. 37 of 2006 and its amendments.
The new law contained 264 articles addressing administrative organization, customs employees’ rights, appointment procedures, duties and customs tariffs, goods clearance procedures, and penalties for smuggling.
He also issued Decree No. 110, containing the harmonized customs tariff schedule, which took effect at the beginning of June.
Treasury Receives 60% of Fines, Customs Receives 40%
Under the section on the “Distribution of Customs Fines and the Value of Confiscated Assets” in the new customs law, “The public treasury’s share of the amounts collected by the customs department from fines and the value of items, goods, and vehicles confiscated or surrendered under a settlement agreement is set at 60%. This share is deducted after expenses, taxes, and duties have been subtracted, either before or after deducting the share allocated to ‘informants,’ as determined by a decision of the authority’s head.”
The remaining 40% of fines and the value of confiscated or surrendered items, goods, and vehicles is distributed among the officers who carried out the seizures and their superiors, as well as authority employees who helped detect the violation or smuggling activity or complete the related procedures. It is also allocated to anti-smuggling funds and the authority’s joint fund.
Any fine not exceeding 50,000 Syrian pounds goes to the joint fund. The authority’s head determines, by decision, the distribution rules and the percentage allocated to beneficiaries.
Notably, the law’s provisions allow the authority’s head to regulate, by decision, the distribution of proceeds from the sale of confiscated goods and vehicles in cases where fines are not collected or are deemed too small under those rules to reward “informants and seizing officers.”