Customs in Jordan
Customs in Jordan: A General Practical Guide to Compliance Before Importing or Exporting
A general educational guide to Jordan’s customs framework, customs status, classification, origin, documents, approvals and practical risks, with a reminder to verify current official sources and obtain professional advice before shipment.
Updated: 10 September 2026
Prepared and reviewed by: Ashraf Al-Khawaja
Important notice
This article is a general educational resource for the library of Ashraf Al-Khawaja & Partners. It is not a legal, tax or customs opinion, does not determine a particular outcome, and does not guarantee the amount of duties, release of goods, success of an objection, or result of litigation. The Jordan Customs Department publishes the Customs Law No. 20 of 1998 and its amendments on its legislation page. That page carries a notice that the displayed law starts applying on 29 June 2025 and identifies an update to its content; the current official version should therefore be checked before action.[1] Legislation, regulations, instructions, circulars, tariffs, forms, fees, deadlines and electronic systems may change. A Jordanian lawyer and, where appropriate, a tax or customs adviser should review the transaction, especially where its value, product sensitivity or regulatory exposure is significant.
1. Understanding the customs framework
A customs matter generally begins when goods enter the customs territory. The relevant parties and any authorization must then be identified, a customs declaration must be prepared, supporting documents and goods may be examined, and classification, customs value, origin, restrictions and guarantees must be addressed before release or another customs status is completed. Jordan Customs’ Comprehensive Guide addresses practical subjects including the respective roles of the carrier, importer and customs broker; required documents; preparation, acceptance and cancellation of declarations; inspection and laboratory testing; prohibitions and restrictions; classification and valuation; guarantees; trade agreements; and objections to customs decisions.[2] One shipment does not necessarily produce the same legal or financial result as another. Depending on the facts, goods may be placed into domestic consumption, temporary entry, inward processing, duty drawback, a customs warehouse, a free or economic zone, or transit. The official guide presents these as different customs situations with different conditions, documents, guarantees and consequences that should be assessed before the declaration is registered.[2] | Practical question | What should be verified before shipment | |---|---| | What is the product? | Accurate technical description, components, use, quantity, weight and packaging | | How will it enter? | Domestic consumption, temporary entry, processing, warehouse, special zone or transit | | What is the tariff heading? | Search the integrated tariff and consider advance classification where needed; do not assume the result | | What is the origin? | Country of origin, proof of origin and eligibility for any preferential treatment | | Are there restrictions? | Prior licences, approvals, requirements of other authorities or product-specific prohibitions | | What is the documentary file? | Bill of lading, invoice, packing list, origin certificate and other applicable documents |
2. Classification, valuation and the tariff
Customs classification is not simply a matter of selecting a similar commercial name. Differences in material, function, presentation, degree of processing or intended use can affect the heading to be examined. Composite goods, components and spare parts may require technical analysis. Jordan Customs’ official tariff-search service states that it allows online navigation through sections, chapters, abbreviations and the General Rules for Interpretation of the Harmonized System, and also permits searches by one or more keywords or by Harmonized System code.[3] A preliminary search or short commercial description should not be treated as a final ruling. For a complex transaction, the importer should consider the available official route for an advance classification or ruling and retain the technical description, catalogues, samples and correspondence supporting the request. The Customs Department also publishes a form for reconsideration of a preliminary tariff-classification decision, reinforcing the importance of using official forms and documented channels.[7] Customs value should not be built on an unsupported estimate or an invoice that does not reflect the actual transaction. The importer should retain the commercial invoice, sale and delivery terms, freight and insurance evidence, payment records, and relevant discounts, commissions or expenses. Inconsistencies may lead to questions, examination or adjustment under the law and instructions in force. This article intentionally states no rate, percentage or fixed amount because the result depends on the facts, tariff heading, value, origin, customs status, agreements and current decisions. Jordan Customs provides a duty-simulation tool that requests information such as country of origin, commodity code, description, CIF value, currency, exchange rate, statistical value, weight and agreement. Its official notice expressly states that the result is approximate and does not represent the final duties calculated under customs and tax legislation and instructions in force on the date the declaration is registered.[4]
3. Documents, approvals and coordination
The Comprehensive Guide identifies, depending on the case, a cargo manifest or transit statement, sea, air or land bills of lading, a commercial invoice or connecting invoice where a commercial invoice is unavailable, packing lists, and a certificate of origin where origin is not shown on the invoice, together with other documents required by the product or supervisory authority.[2] This is not a universal checklist for every product. Medicines, food, chemicals, gold, vehicles, regulated goods and goods presenting intellectual-property concerns may require additional approvals, certificates or examinations. The Customs Department’s regulations page lists prohibited goods and goods requiring a prior import licence, and displays systems concerning border measures for intellectual-property protection, temporary entry, and procedural facilities for compliant entities.[6] In practice, the importer, seller, carrier, customs broker and relevant regulator should coordinate before the shipment arrives. A commercial sale contract should use a technically verifiable description and allocate responsibility for documents, licences, packing, marks, transport, insurance, costs and risks. It should also address what happens if the goods are delayed, rejected, examined or found short or excess. A short trade term is not enough if it does not clarify which party must obtain a licence, correct origin documents or bear storage and examination costs. The contractual allocation must fit the transaction and applicable law; copying a generic form may create rather than reduce risk.
4. A practical compliance sequence
**Before contracting:** Define the product, components and end use. Identify the importer and the authority of any representative. Check origin, possible agreement treatment, restrictions and licences. Ask the supplier for draft documents before production or dispatch, and compare the invoice, packing list, bill of lading and package marks. **Before shipment:** Search the official tariff and do not rely on an informal rate or a prior shipment. If classification, origin or customs status is uncertain, consider an advance classification, ruling or formal inquiry through the available official channel. Verify prior approvals, any required importer credential or licence, the validity of the origin certificate, and any health, conformity or product-specific certificate. **When preparing the declaration:** Use a truthful and specific description. State the quantity, weight, unit, value, origin and selected customs status accurately, and submit the supporting documents. Monitor inspection, sampling and laboratory requests, and respond to clarification requests through official channels. If a customs broker is engaged, issue a clear authorization and retain instructions, copies and payment records. A power of attorney is not a substitute for reviewing the declaration’s data. **After release:** Retain a complete file containing the declaration, invoices, payment evidence, correspondence, certificates, examination results, guarantees and decisions. Review continuing obligations for temporary entry, transit and special zones, and verify that the conditions supporting release have been fulfilled. Jordan Customs lists electronic declaration and payment services, advance classification, objections to a departmental decision, inquiries about transactions and claims, temporary-entry and re-export requests, among others. The availability of an electronic service does not remove the user’s duty to verify current requirements.[5]
5. Common risks and the pre-action check
Common practical risk points include a product description that is too general, classification based only on a brand name, a value or sale term that cannot be evidenced, an incomplete origin certificate, a missing prior licence, a mismatch in quantity, weight or marks, importing prohibited or restricted goods without checking, assuming preferential treatment without proving its conditions, or treating a duty simulation as a final assessment. Contractual risk may also arise where the sale contract does not allocate storage, re-export, penalty or correction costs, or where the supplier sends late documents that do not match the shipment. Before paying a deposit or releasing shipping instructions, ask a Jordanian lawyer and a customs or tax adviser, as appropriate, to review the file. For material transactions, obtain a written classification, value and origin review based on documents, and identify stop points at which goods should not ship without a required licence, certificate or ruling. Re-check the official laws, regulations, circulars, forms and tariff at the time of action. Service pages and forms may change, and the actual result depends on the facts and the law, instructions and decisions applicable when the declaration is registered. This article is not a substitute for that review and does not guarantee any outcome before Jordan Customs or another authority.
Official sources
[1]: https://www.customs.gov.jo/AR/List/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86 "Laws — Jordan Customs Department" [2]: https://www.customs.gov.jo/AR/Pages/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%84_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%84 "Comprehensive Guide — Jordan Customs Department" [3]: https://asytrade.customs.gov.jo/customs/tariff?lang=ar "Tariff Search Service — Jordan Customs" [4]: https://asytrade.customs.gov.jo/taxation-simulation?lang=ar "Duty Simulation Service — Jordan Customs" [5]: https://www.customs.gov.jo/ "Main Portal and Electronic Services — Jordan Customs Department" [6]: https://www.customs.gov.jo/AR/List/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%86%D8%B8%D9%85%D8%A9 "Regulations and Regulatory Lists — Jordan Customs Department" [7]: https://www.customs.gov.jo/AR/List/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B0%D8%AC "Forms — Jordan Customs Department"