New Tariff Schedule by Decree
President Ahmad al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 110 of 2026 on 18 May, adopting a new harmonized customs tariff schedule that will govern import and export duties at all Syrian ports and border crossings starting 1 June 2026.
The decree was issued under the Constitutional Declaration and Article 27 of Customs Decree No. 109 of 2026, which set out the legal architecture for the country's overhauled customs regime earlier this year.
Two Old Decrees Repealed
Article 3 of the new decree formally repeals Decree No. 2651 of 9 May 2001 and Decree No. 377 of 27 November 2014, along with all subsequent amendments inconsistent with the new schedule, sweeping aside more than two decades of legacy customs rules.
The repeal closes the chapter on tariffs adopted under the former government and replaces them with a single schedule aligned with the international Harmonized System used by most trading partners.
Alignment With World Customs Organization
Under Article 2, the head of the General Authority for Ports and Customs is empowered to issue updates to the descriptions and codes of goods listed in the schedule, on a proposal from the General Customs Administration, in line with revisions issued by the World Customs Organization.
The decree specifies that those technical updates must not modify the duty rates themselves, preserving the rate structure in the schedule while allowing classifications to be brought into line with international practice.
What Takes Effect on 1 June
Article 4 directs that the decree be published in the Official Gazette and treats 1 June 2026 as its effective date. Traders, customs brokers, and importers will need to apply the new classifications and rates from that date for shipments clearing Syrian customs.
Coupled with Customs Decree No. 109 of 2026, the harmonized schedule completes the operational framework that Damascus has been assembling for its border posts and ports ahead of a switch to a unified customs system.