Sudden Change in Sudan’s Import Policy Threatens Return of 10,000 Vehicles from Jeddah Port

Sudanhorizon – Hala Hamza

A Cabinet decision regulating car imports and specifying the vehicle models permitted to enter Sudan has caused major confusion after being issued unexpectedly, resulting in three shiploads of vehicles being sent back from Jeddah Port.

Fares Hashem, a customs clearance agent at Suakin Port, told Sudanhorizon that two ships carrying imported vehicles arrived at the port on Saturday. The first, Oman, was carrying 186 vehicles, while the second, Dalila, was carrying 141 vehicles of various makes.

Hashem expected both ships to be sent back to Jeddah, following the same course as the three previous vessels. He also revealed that more than 10,000 vehicles were currently at Jeddah Port awaiting their turn to be shipped.

Hashem described the decision as unexpected and shocking for citizens and expatriates, noting that it was issued last Thursday, just two days ago, after the government had allowed car imports to resume. He explained that the decision failed to account for the thousands of vehicles accumulated in Jeddah that had been purchased in Qatar, Oman, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. The purchase procedures for these vehicles had been completed, but their shipment to Sudan had been delayed because of limited port capacity.

He pointed out that the measure would force vehicle owners to pay freight charges of 2,500 Saudi riyals for each returned vehicle, in addition to port storage fees calculated according to the number of days the vehicles remain at Jeddah Port. He noted that the logistical services at Jeddah Port had no connection to decisions issued by the Sudanese government and that the port proceeded with shipping vehicles arriving there according to the scheduled timetable.

“The government should have issued a warning or set a grace period of at least three months to allow the vehicles to be registered and cleared through customs, with the decision implemented at a later date, so that their owners would not suffer losses,” he said.

Over the past two days, the General Administration of Government Facilitation, Transactions and Public Relations at the Expatriate Sudanese Affairs Regulatory Authority issued regulations governing eligibility for exemptions under Cabinet Decision No. 258. The regulations reaffirmed the continued ban on importing used cars and stipulated that the model year, rather than the year of manufacture, would be used to determine a vehicle’s age.

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