This page sits under the Mulia Charcoal Logistics pillar and covers the Saudi customs mechanics for coconut-shell charcoal. Logistics overview
Quick answer
How do you import coconut charcoal to Saudi Arabia?
Coconut charcoal enters Saudi Arabia at the 5% GCC Common External Tariff on CIF value, plus a 0.15% ZATCA import service fee and 15% VAT on the landed value, recoverable by a VAT-registered importer. Every shipment needs a SABER Shipment Certificate of Conformity before your licensed customs broker files the FASAH declaration; without one the cargo is refused or re-exported.
Saudi import at a glance
Classification, headline duty and VAT, and who clears the cargo.
- HS classification
- 4402.20 "of shells or nuts" (12-digit national extension; confirm exact suffix with broker)
- Headline duty
- 5% GCC Common External Tariff on CIF, plus 15% VAT
- Import VAT
- 15%
- Entry documents
- SABER SCoC, FASAH declaration (Bayan), certificate of origin
- Customs clearance
- Buyer's licensed customs broker
- SASO / SABER
- A SABER Shipment Certificate of Conformity is mandatory to clear customs
- Trade term
- FOB Tanjung Emas (Semarang) · CIF/CFR on request
1. What buyers in this market order
Across the markets these guides cover, every recurring account takes a printed inner box or inner plastic packed into a master carton, and every account is private label: our briquette, your brand on the box.
This comes from our own order book — the recurring accounts we ship to in this market. It describes what those buyers reorder, not the full range we produce.
Buyers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE take 25–26 mm cubes.
Every one of those accounts reorders. These are repeat programs, not one-off trial containers.
Note
What the markets these guides cover buy is not the whole ladder — every grade we produce is specified on the grades page.
Order book as of 2026-09-19
2. Who handles what
Who does what on a container shipment: we export and document; you and your customs broker clear and deliver at destination.
The factory handles
- Production and per-batch quality control, each batch with a Certificate of Analysis
- Dangerous-goods-compliant packing, UN 1361 marking, and the safety data sheet (SDS)
- Export documentation — commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, dangerous-goods declaration, and the SP 978 weathering report
- Delivery to Tanjung Emas (Semarang) under FOB, plus booking support
You and your customs broker handle
- Ocean freight booking under FOB — or we quote CIF/CFR to your port on request
- Destination customs declaration and clearance
- Import duty, VAT or equivalent taxes, and destination port charges
- SABER conformity — registering the product and obtaining the per-shipment Shipment Certificate of Conformity (SCoC) on the SABER platform before the FASAH declaration is filed
- Final inland delivery to your warehouse
3. HS classification
Coconut-shell charcoal classifies under heading 4402, subheading 4402.20 ("of shells or nuts") — the most specific description under WCO General Rule 3(a). Saudi Arabia uses a 12-digit GCC Integrated Customs Tariff (effective 1 January 2025), commonly cited as 4402.20.00.00.00 for this product; that 12-digit extension is unverified here, so confirm the exact line with your customs broker. Do not declare 4402.90 ("Other").
Candidate codes:
-
4402.20
HS6 "Of shells or nuts" — the subheading for shell or nut charcoal; customs duty 5%.
-
4402.20.00.00.00
Full 12-digit GCC Integrated Customs Tariff extension (effective 1 Jan 2025) commonly cited for this product — UNVERIFIED against the live ZATCA tariff tool; confirm the exact 12-digit line with your broker before filing.
-
4402.90
Residual "Other", for charcoal that is neither bamboo (4402.10) nor shell or nut (4402.20) — not the line for coconut-shell charcoal. Do not use.
Note: Declare HS6 4402.20 uniformly on the commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin and bill of lading. The 12-digit national extension is UNVERIFIED here — confirm the exact line on ZATCA's Integrated Customs Tariff tool with your licensed Saudi customs broker.
4. Duties & fees
Saudi duty on heading 4402 is the 5% GCC Common External Tariff on CIF value, with a small ZATCA import service fee on top, then 15% VAT on the fully landed value. Read it as a dated stack; the final duty line is subject to a real-time 12-digit ZATCA lookup at entry.
| Layer | Rate | As of | Legal status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customs duty (GCC Common External Tariff) Ad valorem on CIF value; GCC CET for goods from outside the GCC Source (opens in new tab) | 5% | 2026-06-21 | Confirmed baseline (GCC CET 2025). Final rate is subject to a real-time 12-digit ZATCA tariff lookup at entry; ZATCA amended select lines to 10–20% in late 2025/early 2026, but charcoal is not among the protected categories. Verify the line item at booking. |
| ZATCA import service fee Ad valorem on CIF value; minimum SAR 15, maximum SAR 500 per declaration Source (opens in new tab) | 0.15% | 2024-10-01 | Confirmed. Introduced October 2024, replacing the prior flat X-ray, information-exchange and processing fees. |
Verified as of the date shown; duties and tariffs change without notice — confirm with your customs broker at booking.
Import VAT
Value Added Tax (ZATCA): 15% — Levied on the fully landed value (CIF + customs duty + ZATCA fees + port/local charges), not just the invoice value. Recoverable as input VAT by a VAT-registered Saudi importer holding a valid Commercial Registration and VAT certificate.
As of 2026-06-21
Indonesia-origin duty preference
No GCC or Saudi tariff preference exists for goods originating in Indonesia — GCC preferences are intra-GCC and specific-FTA only. The full 5% GCC CET applies and no preference document reduces it. A chamber-attested certificate of origin is still required for clearance, to prove national origin, not to claim a lower duty.
Origin document: Certificate of origin attested by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (KADIN) / Ministry of Trade
How the Saudi tariff moved
Saudi Arabia moved from an 8-digit to a 12-digit GCC Integrated Customs Tariff on 1 January 2025, expanding the schedule from roughly 7,800 to over 13,400 lines; legacy 6- and 8-digit codes are now rejected by FASAH. ZATCA amended select tariff lines to WTO-bound ceilings of 10–20% in late 2025/early 2026 for industrial-protection categories, but charcoal under 4402 is not among them and the 5% baseline continues to apply.
Anti-dumping / countervailing
No anti-dumping or countervailing-duty order was found for Indonesian charcoal under heading 4402 entering Saudi Arabia or the GCC; confirm with your customs broker.
5. Landed-cost worked example
Landed cost is the sum of the goods, the freight, and the import charges. The structure below holds for any lane; the duty and VAT components are public verified figures, while the FOB and freight are illustrative and quoted at booking.
- FOB goods value
- Illustrative only — your actual FOB applies
- Ocean freight + DG surcharges
- Quoted on request (indicative)
- Duties, fees & VAT
- From the stack above (5% GCC duty + 0.15% ZATCA fee + 15% VAT), plus port THC and its 25% DG surcharge
- Landed cost
- FOB + freight + duties, fees & VAT
The formula is shown so you can plug in your own figures. The indicative FOB range per grade is published on the pricing pillar, and the landed-cost page carries this same layer model with a calculator that runs on your own freight quote — both are linked under Related topics below. Live numbers for your order are quoted at booking.
6. The entry process
Saudi entry for a UN 1361 container runs through the FASAH single window and the SABER conformity platform, handled by the buyer's licensed customs broker with data we supply.
Step by step:
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SABER Shipment Certificate of Conformity
A SABER Shipment Certificate of Conformity (SCoC) is mandatory and must exist in the system before the FASAH declaration is filed. SABER is auto-linked to FASAH by API; ZATCA no longer accepts post-arrival SCoCs or manual letters of undertaking, so a missing SCoC means the cargo is refused or forced to re-export. Secure the SCoC before the vessel departs Semarang.
-
FASAH declaration (Bayan)
Customs clearance runs through FASAH, the national single-window platform. The Saudi importer authorizes a licensed customs broker on FASAH, who files the customs declaration (Bayan) electronically. Duties, VAT and the ZATCA service fee are assessed and paid pre-clearance; the importer must hold a valid Commercial Registration and VAT certificate.
7. Dangerous-goods handling at Saudi ports
The cargo arrives as declared UN 1361, Class 4.2 dangerous goods, and is handled accordingly at Jeddah Islamic Port or King Abdulaziz Port (Dammam). The Saudi terminal applies a mandatory 25% dangerous-cargo surcharge on top of the base terminal handling charge. The classification and the prevention controls are covered on the dangerous-goods pages.
Maersk's advisory of 2026-10-26 (accessed 2026-11-05) suspends dangerous-goods bookings to and from Dammam. Before you pay a deposit, confirm with your forwarder that a named carrier accepts UN 1361 cargo to your Saudi port. Maersk: Middle East Operational Update 52 (opens in new tab)
What UN 1361 is The 2026 rules Insured arrival & cargo protection
8. SASO / SABER: conformity certification for clearance
Every shipment needs a SABER Shipment Certificate of Conformity before the FASAH declaration is filed; without one the cargo is refused or re-exported.
This is regulatory information, not legal advice — see the disclaimer below.
- SABER / SASO
- Every shipment requires a SABER Shipment Certificate of Conformity (SCoC) to clear customs; shipments without one are refused or re-exported. The Saudi importer registers the product and obtains the certificate on the SABER platform. Source (opens in new tab)
- Regulated vs non-regulated
- Commercial SABER databases treat coconut-shell charcoal as a non-regulated product, needing only a Self-Declaration of Conformity plus the per-shipment SCoC rather than a third-party Product CoC under a named SASO Technical Regulation. Whether HS 4402.20 is classed regulated or non-regulated in SABER is UNVERIFIED for this code — confirm in SABER with an accredited conformity body before shipping. Source (opens in new tab)
- SFDA
- Shisha charcoal is a heat source, not tobacco, so it falls outside SFDA jurisdiction under the Anti-Smoking Law, which covers tobacco and waterpipe tobacco molasses (mu'assel). No SFDA tobacco registration applies to the charcoal. Source (opens in new tab)
- Excise / selective tax
- Saudi selective (excise) tax applies to tobacco, soft drinks and energy/sweetened drinks — not charcoal. No excise is levied on coconut-shell charcoal. Source (opens in new tab)
- Arabic labelling
- Arabic-language labelling requirements apply to goods placed on the Saudi market; confirm the exact label content with your importer and conformity body. Source (opens in new tab)
Important
Regulatory information, not legal advice
This page summarizes Saudi import, SABER/SASO conformity and ZATCA requirements for general information only and is not legal advice. The GCC tariff schedule, SABER product status and ZATCA rules change without notice and enforcement is fact-specific. Confirm your obligations with a licensed Saudi customs broker, your SABER conformity body, and qualified counsel before importing.
9. Production and transit lead time
Production takes about 21 days for a 20-ft container and 21–25 days for a 40-ft; sea transit from Semarang (IDSRG) to Jeddah runs about 25–35 days, for an indicative 46–60 days from order to arrival. A first order under a new brand adds 7–10 days to the production stage.
Class 4.2 dangerous-goods bookings need extra lead time, so book early. The SP 978 weathering window (at least 14 days) is part of our production and packing schedule, not added on top of it when the order is planned ahead.
Indicative only — subject to vessel schedule and booking confirmation, and never a guaranteed arrival date.
10. Saudi ports & routing
Important
Routing since the Strait of Hormuz closure
Checked against the carriers' own advisories on 2026-11-05. The Strait of Hormuz has been closed to most container shipping since 2026-02-28.
King Abdulaziz Port, Dammam, is on the Gulf coast, inside the strait. Jeddah Islamic Port is on the Red Sea, outside it, so its row below is unchanged. For Dammam, the carriers' current advisories say:
- Maersk (2026-10-26): has suspended dangerous-goods bookings to and from Dammam and Jubail, and moves Saudi cargo, including cargo for Dammam, through Jeddah and on by land. Dangerous-goods bookings to Jeddah stay open for consignees in Saudi Arabia.
- Hapag-Lloyd (2026-07-28): moves cargo for Dammam and Jubail through its Jeddah land bridge.
- CMA CGM (2026-09-23): routes imports for Dammam through a Jeddah corridor: a bonded land bridge from Jeddah, then its own feeders or trucks. That reopening, of 11 March 2026, covers dry, frozen and in-gauge cargo, not dangerous goods.
Before you pay a deposit, confirm three things with your forwarder: the routing, the door-to-door transit time, and a named carrier's acceptance of UN 1361 (Class 4.2) cargo to your destination.
The Dammam figure below is the usual transit before the closure, not a current figure.
Indicative ocean transit from Semarang (IDSRG) to the main Saudi gateways:
- Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (SAJED): about 25–35 days.
- Dammam, Saudi Arabia (SADMM): about 28–40 days — usual transit before the closure.
Indicative; varies by line and season. Last updated 2026-06-23.
Frequently asked questions
What duty and VAT apply when importing charcoal to Saudi Arabia?
Is Saudi import VAT recoverable?
Do I need SABER certification, and does the SFDA regulate shisha charcoal?
How long does shipping from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia take?
Sources
- Integrated Customs Tariff Inquiry (opens in new tab), Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA)
- Integrated Tariffs (opens in new tab), Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA)
- Saudi Arabia - Import Tariffs (opens in new tab), U.S. International Trade Administration
- Saudi Arabia: new customs services fee structure (opens in new tab), PwC Middle East
- Saudi Arabia product conformity (opens in new tab), Intertek
- How to Access the Saudi Arabia Market with SABER Certificate of Conformity (SCoC) (opens in new tab), Granite River Labs (GRL)
- Saudi Arabia Legal Summary (opens in new tab), Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (Tobacco Control Laws)
- Middle East Operational Update 52 (opens in new tab), Maersk — accessed
- Reopening of Bookings to Upper Gulf Locations (opens in new tab), Hapag-Lloyd — accessed
- Middle East Situation Updates (opens in new tab), CMA CGM — accessed