Home › Prohibited items › Gulf / GCC (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain)
Shipping to Gulf / GCC (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain): what is not allowed
The GCC countries share strict religious and cultural import rules. Alcohol, pork, and material offensive to Islam are prohibited across the region.
Not accepted for Gulf / GCC (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain)
- Alcohol and pork products
- Non-Islamic religious items, idols, and statues
- Materials offensive to Islam, and gambling items
- Pornographic and politically sensitive material
- Narcotics and controlled substances
- E-cigarettes and vaping products (restricted or banned in several states)
Allowed, with conditions
- Medicines — with a prescription; controlled medicines may need health-authority approval (e.g. UAE Ministry of Health, Saudi SFDA)
- Food — packaged, sealed, and halal; declare contents
- Cosmetics and supplements — declare
- Printed religious material — limited personal quantities
Customs duty is typically around 5% of value across the GCC.
Declare medicines and contents accurately — rules are strictly enforced.
Commercial quantities may need conformity certification (e.g. Saudi SABER/SASO).
Never accepted, wherever you are
These are refused by the airlines and by Indian export rules, so they cannot leave our warehouse for any destination.
- Cash, currency, cheques, bullion, and loose precious stones
- Narcotics, illegal drugs, and psychotropic substances
- Firearms, ammunition, explosives, fireworks, and weapons (including replicas)
- Loose lithium batteries and power banks
- Flammable, corrosive, or pressurised goods — perfumes/deodorant sprays, aerosols, paints, thinners, fuel, gas cylinders, lighters, and matches
- Live animals, plants, seeds, soil, and products of endangered species (CITES)
- Pornographic, obscene, or seditious material
- Counterfeit goods and pirated media
- Human remains, biological samples, and infectious substances
- Radioactive and toxic substances
If you are not sure about something, ask on WhatsApp before you order it. We would much rather answer a question than tell you a parcel is stuck.