Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The Yemeni Customs Authority said on Wednesday that the government’s decision to liberalize the customs exchange rate will not include basic commodities and will not affect the living needs of citizens, confirming that exemptions will remain in place for wheat, rice, and medicines listed under the national registry.
The authority added in a statement that the decision comes within a package of economic and financial reforms aimed at addressing imbalances in public revenues and enhancing the efficiency of customs collection, in light of the economic crisis facing the country and the decline in state resources, especially oil export revenues.
It explained that the new measures primarily target luxury and non-essential goods, whose customs duties over the past years were calculated according to a low exchange rate compared to the market price, causing—according to the statement—heavy losses to the public treasury while benefiting specific categories of importers and traders.
The authority emphasized that through this decision, the government seeks to narrow the gap between the customs rate and the actual market exchange rate, considering that the continued implementation of the previous rate created “economic distortions and imbalances in tax and customs equity” and weakened the state’s ability to collect its sovereign revenues fairly.
According to preliminary estimates cited by the statement, the liberalization of the customs exchange rate is expected to increase public revenues during the year 2026 compared to the previous year, which the government is relying on to boost its capacity to finance public services and fulfill its basic obligations, including the payment of salaries.
The authority stated that the government has approved monitoring measures accompanying the decision, which include directing local authorities and competent agencies to intensify oversight over the markets and prevent any unjustified increases in the prices of basic commodities, while taking legal action against violators.
The statement added that the success of the decision requires continuing comprehensive economic and financial reforms, including improving the efficiency of customs and tax collection, unifying revenue channels, enhancing transparency, and combating evasion and corruption.
