Does Saudi Arabia Allow the Sale of Alcohol in Duty-Free Shops at Customs Ports?

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - The Saudi Authority for Zakat, Tax and Customs responded on Friday to questions about whether the sale of alcoholic beverages would be allowed in duty-free shops at customs ports in the Kingdom, confirming that "it is not allowed to sell them." The Authority stated via its Twitter account, in response to inquiries, that "alcohol is one of the items that are not permitted for sale in duty-free shops, according to the rules and conditions for establishing duty-free markets."

The questions arose after the Authority announced, in a statement on Friday, the establishment of rules and conditions for creating duty-free markets at air, sea, and land customs ports in the Kingdom, following a Cabinet decision approving the establishment of duty-free markets in arrival halls after they were previously limited to departure halls. The Authority pointed out that duty-free markets are currently available in the departure halls of several air ports, namely: King Abdulaziz Airport, King Khalid Airport, King Fahd Airport, and Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Airport in Medina, adding that it seeks to expand as needed in air, sea, and land ports, in coordination with the legislative authorities at the customs ports.

The Authority clarified that the operation of duty-free markets was previously limited to departure halls in international airports, but after the new decision, they will be available in several arrival and departure halls at land, sea, and air ports as needed.