The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait are supporting a plan to introduce a simplified customs duty collection system, said Saeed Khalifa Al Marri, Deputy Director-General of the UAE Federal Customs Authority.
He said Gulf Arab states are likely to scrap a system of charging import duties for the benefit of the state of final destination in 2009, the last step in implementing a regional customs union.
Under the proposal, each Gulf state would keep 95 per cent of the customs duties it collects at ports of entry and transfer five per cent to a central account at the Gulf Co-operation Council's (GCC) General Secretariat, Marri said.
The GCC would then redistribute the funds it collects to each of the six states – which also include Qatar and Bahrain – based on a pre-determined formula.
"We are looking at scrapping the final destination system," said Marri.
The decision, which has to be unanimous, now sits with Gulf finance ministers, who are due to meet next in Jeddah in September, he said.
"Our target is that by January, we should implement the final phase of the customs union."