AMMAN - The Jordan Customs Department (JCD) and cinema hall representatives on Wednesday reached a settlement over a two-month dispute over customs duties on foreign films.
"The issue has been resolved," JCD Spokesperson Emad Nusair told The Jordan Times following a meeting yesterday between JCD Director General Ghaleb Sarayreh and the concerned parties.
Movie halls in the capital closed on Tuesday in protest against what they described as "impractical" and "unacceptable" new customs procedures imposed at the beginning of September.
The theatres have now reopened in light of yesterday's agreement.
According to Eddy Asmar, regional director of Prime Cinemas, the department had sought to levy customs duties on films and treat them as other imported commodities, although he said they are service products whose revenues are taxed.
The department also requested financial guarantees to ensure tax payment before clearing films for screening in Jordan, he added.
The complex customs requirements had created a clearance problem over the past two months and led to delays in releasing films, cinema representatives told the Jordan Times on Tuesday.
"Now we are paying value-added tax (VAT) after a movie is released and the customs department has cancelled its earlier demands for other financial guarantees," Asmar said following yesterday's meeting.
"We are back in business and things are normal now and this is what matters," he added.
The customs department agreed to clear films provided that cinemas file customs declaration statements for imported films and provide a voucher declaring their payment of all VAT on revenues remitted abroad, according to a JCD statement.
In the statement, the department said it seeks to maintain contact with the private sector and eliminate obstacles hampering their businesses, in accordance with related rules and regulations.
© Jordan Times 2011
