Customs Brokerage Software for Licensed Brokers across the UAE

Who this is for: UAE licensed customs brokers, clearing agents, and freight forwarders processing 50+ declarations per month or handling regular multi-port and GCC cross-border operations. Not positioned as a sub-50-declaration agent app — those are well-served by off-the-shelf portals; custom software is for operations where integration depth and throughput justify bespoke build.

Six connected capability areas: (1) Direct Mirsal 2 and Dubai Trade integration with pre-arrival workflow native. (2) Abu Dhabi Customs pre-arrival submission and AD Ports integration. (3) Continuous sanctions screening across UN, OFAC, EU, UK lists. (4) FTA-aware tariff and HS code optimisation. (5) Hazmat and restricted goods workflow for IMDG, IATA DGR, ADR compliance. (6) Broker billing and client invoicing from operational data.

CargoWise, Descartes, Magaya, and broker-specific platforms like Riege Scope and AEB are mature platforms handling core customs brokerage at scale with significant UAE deployment. These manage declaration lifecycle, client invoicing, and global operations coordination.

Custom customs brokerage software is designed to sit alongside these platforms, closing UAE-specific depth gaps — Mirsal 2 direct integration rather than reconciliation-level, Abu Dhabi pre-arrival workflow structured around the 72% clearance rate, continuous sanctions screening with refresh awareness, and FTA tariff-line optimisation for CEPA India, CEPA Turkey, and the broader UAE FTA network. The global platform retains declaration lifecycle authority; the custom layer handles UAE regulatory depth.

Dubai Customs Mirsal 2 handles declarations electronically with API-accessible integration for registered entities. Dubai Trade portal manages booking, release, and billing operations. Most global platforms treat these as downstream reconciliation rather than driving them from operational data.

The direct integration layer drives Mirsal 2 declarations from shipment data — declaration type selection, HS code, valuation, origin, consignee, and accompanying document references populated from one data set. Pre-arrival workflow triggered where eligible. Dubai Trade operations — booking confirmation, release orders, customs billing — run from the same platform. Inspection notifications, amendment requests, and release events flow back to shipment status automatically.

Abu Dhabi Customs achieved 72% pre-arrival clearance in 2024 (growing to higher rates through 2025). Pre-arrival declaration is submitted before vessel or aircraft arrival, reviewed against shipment data, and cleared for release at arrival subject to risk-based inspection selection.

The pre-arrival workflow submits AD Customs declarations from shipment manifest data at booking confirmation. AD Ports integration tracks vessel and aircraft arrival. Inspection selection events flow back into broker workflow with SLA clock visible. Federal Customs Authority alignment handled for cross-emirate operations. Capital-originating shipment flow runs alongside Dubai operations without dual-portal complexity.

Sanctions regimes — UN Security Council, US OFAC, EU, UK, and others relevant to UAE-adjacent trade — update continuously. Per-shipment screening at booking creates a visibility gap between booking and arrival, during which list updates may add parties whose shipments then clear screening inadequately.

Continuous screening refreshes lists daily (or more frequently where available) and re-screens open shipments on list update events. Per-party screening covers consignor, consignee, buyer, seller, notify party, bank, and intermediary — not just the primary consignee. Screen-break alerting surfaces in declaration workflow with case history for regulator queries. Documentation of screening performance — what was screened, when, against which list version — maintained for audit.

UAE has CEPA agreements with India, Turkey, Indonesia, Israel, Cambodia, Costa Rica, and others, plus the GCC internal framework and legacy bilateral arrangements. Each FTA has its own rules of origin, tariff reduction schedule, and certificate-of-origin workflow.

The FTA layer integrates agreement tariff schedules at tariff-line level. HS codes on incoming shipments checked against FTA-eligible lines with preferential rate calculation. Certificate of origin workflow automated for qualifying shipments — supplier-provided origin documentation validated, UAE processing captured where applicable, exporter-based certification supported where the agreement allows. Post-entry duty drawback and FTA benefit capture tracked for reclaim where applicable.

Here's where custom customs brokerage software typically sits in a wider stack.

Global freight and broker platforms — we sit alongside CargoWise, Descartes, Magaya, Riege Scope, AEB, and Shipamax for declaration lifecycle, client invoicing, and global operations authority.

Customs and port systems — we integrate directly with Mirsal 2 (Dubai Customs), Dubai Trade portal, AD Ports, Abu Dhabi Customs, and Federal Customs Authority systems for declaration and release workflow.

Sanctions and compliance — we integrate with screening providers Dow Jones Risk, LexisNexis WorldCompliance, Refinitiv World-Check, Accuity Firco, and similar for continuous list refresh.

Financial systems — we push broker billing and client invoicing into Oracle NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Sage, and FirstBit for UAE-native accounting.

Integration approach is scoped during discovery. We don't ask you to rip and replace anything that works.

Discovery runs four to six weeks. Working with your operations, compliance, commercial, and technology teams, we map current Mirsal 2 posture, pre-arrival performance, sanctions screening approach, and FTA benefit workflow. Output is a detailed report covering current-state map, platform architecture, integration scope per authority and provider, phased implementation plan, and fixed-price build proposal.

Build for a core customs brokerage layer runs twelve to sixteen weeks from discovery completion. Full Mirsal 2 direct integration, pre-arrival workflow, continuous sanctions screening, and FTA optimisation rollout phases in over nine to fifteen months depending on declaration volume and authority breadth.

Pricing varies by declaration volume, authority count, and integration scope. A bracket isn't published; discovery produces a fixed-price proposal with no obligation to proceed.