Dubai is moving to 12-digit HS codes: what traders need to know (and when)

Updated: 17 August 2025 • Audience: importers, manufacturers, brokers, freight forwarders, AEOs

Dubai Customs is upgrading its customs nomenclature from 8 digits to 12 digits, aligning with the rest of the GCC and most trading nations. The extra digits add finer product granularity, improve trade statistics, and support regional harmonisation.

Official roadmap: Phases of Implementing the 12-Digit Integrated Customs Tariff (PDF)

Why 12 digits?

More digits = more precision. A 12-digit structure lets Customs differentiate products that previously shared one 8-digit line—supporting better risk targeting, clearer non-tariff controls, and more accurate trade stats across the GCC.

Rollout schedule

Phase 1: which declarations are in scope?

Full details: Phase 1 — GCC Trade: 12-digit HS Codes (PDF)
One-page summary: Declarations included in Phase 1 (PDF)

Fully applicable (12-digit required):

• IM4 Import to Local from GCC (statistical import)
• EX3 Export from Local to GCC (statistical export)

Conditionally applicable (use 12 digits if destined to GCC and/or consignee has a GCC importer code):

• Transit / Temporary / Courier flows destined to GCC: TS3, TS1, TA1–TA3, IM14, EX15, TS7
• IM1 / IM2 / IM3 when the consignee is registered with a GCC importer code and destination is GCC

What This Means for you and your team

Documentation Specialists and Brokers

You'll be working with both 8 and 12-digit codes during the transition period, depending on the shipment type and destination. The good news is that Dubai Customs has published conversion tables that map old codes to new ones, making the translation straightforward.

Some declaration types will always need 12-digit codes once their phase begins (like IM4 for GCC imports), while others depend on factors like the final destination or whether the consignee has a GCC importer code. It's worth familiarizing yourself with these rules for the declaration types you handle most often.

Pay attention to statistical units too - some products have new units of measure in the 12-digit system. A quick check during documentation prep can save resubmission hassles later.

Freight Forwarders and Logistics Coordinators

Your role is mainly about keeping information flowing smoothly. Let your regular customers know about the changes so they can update their systems and documentation templates when ready.

For GCC-bound shipments, you'll want to start collecting 12-digit codes from customers once Phase 1 begins. Your booking and instruction forms might need a refresh to accommodate the longer codes, but this is a good opportunity to review and modernize your documentation templates anyway.

Operations Managers

You have some system preparation to handle, but nothing too complex. Your main tasks are adding fields for 12-digit codes in your TMS or WMS (while keeping the 8-digit fields during transition), downloading and reviewing the conversion tables from Dubai Customs, and helping your team understand which declaration types change when.

Consider this a good opportunity to clean up your product master data. As you map products to their new 12-digit codes, you might discover classification improvements or outdated entries that need updating.

Common Questions We're Hearing

Do I need to update all my products immediately? No, just focus on the declaration types and trade lanes affected by each phase as it arrives.

What happens if I use the wrong format? The system will reject declarations with incorrect formats, but you can simply resubmit with the correct code length.

Will the old 8-digit codes become invalid? They'll remain valid for declaration types not yet transitioned. You'll be using both formats simultaneously during the rollout period.

System Considerations

Your documentation systems will need some adjustments. Beyond extending field lengths, you'll want to build in some simple validation logic to check whether a shipment needs 8 or 12-digit codes based on its declaration type and destination.

If you're using EDI or API connections, check with your service provider about updating the message formats. Most providers are already aware of the change and have updates ready.

How Portmind Can Help

Managing this transition manually across hundreds or thousands of products can be time-consuming. Portmind's Sail platform already supports 12-digit HS codes and can handle the conversion automatically. Sail maintains both 8 and 12-digit codes for each product, allows you to select the right format based on declaration type and phase, and validates your classifications against the latest Dubai Customs requirements.

The platform keeps track of which declaration types have transitioned and applies the appropriate rules automatically. This means your team can focus on operations while Sail handles the classification complexity in the background. If you're interested in simplifying this transition, Portmind can show you how Sail makes the whole process seamless.

For companies that prefer to keep their existing systems, our Sailor agent integrates directly with your TMS, WMS, PLM, ERP, etc. Sailor works in the background to automatically convert codes, update product masters, and ensure the right classification format is used for each shipment. Your team continues working in familiar systems while Sailor manages the HS code complexity behind the scenes. Both approaches eliminate manual mapping errors and ensure you’re always using the correct code format for each declaration type as the phases roll out.

Visual examples of 8-digit → 12-digit splits

These are illustrative extracts from the HS Code Master to show how a single 8-digit line can branch into multiple 12-digit sub-lines with specific UOM and descriptions. Always validate against the latest files.

Example 1 — Horses (01012110)

8-digit: 01012110  →  12-digit options
└─ 010121100001  Pure-bred breeding horses of Arabian breed — males
└─ 010121100002  Pure-bred breeding horses of Arabian breed — females
UOM: Kilograms • Duty: 0%

Example 2 — Marine mammals (01061200)

8-digit: 01061200  →  12-digit options
└─ 010612000001  Live whales
└─ 010612000002  Live dolphins
└─ 010612000004  Live seals
└─ 010612000005  Live sea lions
└─ 010612000006  Live walruses
└─ 010612009999  Other mammals of Cetacea/Sirenia/Pinnipedia
UOM: Pieces/Units • Duty: 0%

Notice how a single 8-digit code (01061200) fans out into very specific species-level 12-digit options—each with the same duty but consistent UOM for statistics.

Sources & official references

• Phases of Implementing the 12-Digit Integrated Customs Tariff — Dubai Customs (PDF):
  https://www.dubaicustoms.gov.ae/en/PoliciesAndNotices/Documents/12-digits-HS-Codes-Implementation-phasis.pdf

• Phase 1: GCC Trade (12-digit HS Codes) — declaration matrix (PDF):
  https://www.dubaicustoms.gov.ae/en/PoliciesAndNotices/Documents/Phase1-GCC-Trade-12-digit-HS-Codes.pdf

• Declarations included in Phase 1 — summary (PDF):
  https://www.dubaicustoms.gov.ae/en/PoliciesAndNotices/Documents/12-Digit-Phase1-Declarations.pdf

• Integrated Customs Tariff (12-digit) (PDF):
  https://www.dubaicustoms.gov.ae/en/PoliciesAndNotices/Documents/IntegratedCustomsTariff.pdf

• HS Code Master — 8-digit → 12-digit conversion table (XLSX):
  https://www.dubaicustoms.gov.ae/en/PoliciesAndNotices/Documents/HSCodeMaster-v3.3customers.xlsx

  Questions about automating your HS code management? Portmind's team is happy to show you how Sail can simplify this transition and your ongoing documentation needs.