GUIDE — TRACKING

How to Track a Saudi Customs Declaration

Where to look up a declaration and its duties, what the platform will and will not tell you, how port and carrier tracking differ from customs status, and what to do when a shipment stops moving.

Primary tool

Fasah — declaration status and notifications

ZATCA service

Customs Declaration Inquiry

What it shows

Declaration details and duties assessed

Corrections

Electronic correction letter (ECL)

Support line

ZATCA 19993, 24/7

Not the same as

Carrier or terminal tracking

Where the status actually lives

There are three different trackers in a Saudi import and they answer three different questions. Confusing them is the single most common reason an importer believes a shipment is stuck when it is not.

Carrier tracking: Where the box or the ULD is. Vessel position, gate-in, gate-out, discharge. Nothing about customs.
Terminal / port systems: Whether the cargo has been discharged, where it is stacked, whether storage is accruing, whether a delivery order has been presented.
Fasah and ZATCA: What customs has done: is the declaration filed, validated, referred to another agency, assessed, paid, released. This is the one that decides whether the cargo can leave.

A container can be discharged and visible on the terminal system for days while the customs declaration sits waiting on a certificate. The terminal is not going to tell you that; Fasah is.

SOURCES · ZATCA; Fasah.

Checking a declaration

Log in to Fasahthe declaration is visible to the importer and to the broker authorised against that importer. Notifications are issued as the declaration moves.
Use ZATCA’s Customs Declaration Inquiryan e-service that returns the declaration information, its details and the detail of the duties assessed against it.
Read the duty breakdown, not just the totalthe assessment shows what was charged against which tariff line. A total that surprises you is usually a classification question, not an arithmetic one.
Print the final declaration once it is approvedavailable through the platform, and needed for your own records and for input VAT recovery.
Pull an import report if you need historyZATCA offers printed customs and statistical reports covering declarations, items and duties, paid for through SADAD, for audit and documentation purposes.

The reporting services require an activated Fasah account. If you have appointed a broker and have no account of your own, you are dependent on the broker for visibility — which is a commercial decision worth making deliberately rather than by default.

SOURCES · ZATCA e-services (Customs Declaration Inquiry; Print Import Report for Importers); Fasah.

When a shipment stops

Work through it in this order, because each step is cheaper than the one after it.

Confirm the declaration existsfiled, and against the right importer. A broker authorisation that lapsed will stop a filing without anybody being told.
Check for an agency referralif the commodity is regulated, the hold is usually a regulator waiting on a certificate, not customs waiting on duty.
Check the conformity certificatefor regulated goods, whether the SCoC is issued and whether its HS code, product name, model and brand match the invoice and the declaration. A mismatch means the certificate cannot be verified against the shipment.
Check paymentwhether the duty and tax were actually settled to ZATCA through SADAD, and not to a different biller.
File a correction if the error is yoursan electronic correction letter, or voluntary disclosure where a violation is involved.
EscalateZATCA operates a 24/7 line on 19993 and published contact channels. Your broker should do this, but you are entitled to.

SOURCES · ZATCA; SASO / SABER; Fasah.

Official sources

ZATCA — Customs Declaration Inquiry ↗: Look up a declaration, its details and the duties assessed against it.
ZATCA — print import report for importers ↗: Customs and statistical reports covering declarations, items and duties. Requires an activated Fasah account.
Fasah ↗: Declaration status, notifications, correction letters and delivery orders.

RiyadhCargo.com is an independent news monitoring service. It is not a customs broker, freight forwarder, carrier or law firm, and nothing on this page is customs, tax or legal advice for a particular shipment. Procedures and rates change; the authorities named on this page are the only binding source. Check the current position with ZATCA or a licensed Saudi customs broker before you ship.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check the status of my Saudi customs declaration?

Through Fasah, where the importer and the authorised broker can see the declaration and receive notifications as it moves, and through ZATCA’s Customs Declaration Inquiry e-service, which returns the declaration information and the detail of the duties assessed.

Why does the terminal show my container as discharged while it has not been released?

Because terminal systems track cargo position, not customs status. A container can sit on the stack accruing storage while the customs declaration waits on a regulator approval or a conformity certificate. Fasah is where you see that.

Can I see the duty breakdown on a declaration?

Yes — ZATCA’s declaration inquiry service returns the declaration details and the duties detail. Keep the final approved declaration: it is your record for input VAT recovery and for any later audit.

What do I do if the declaration has an error?

Submit an electronic correction letter through Fasah. Where the error amounts to a violation, ZATCA operates a voluntary disclosure service that lets you disclose it in your own declarations.

Who can see my declaration?

The importer and the customs broker authorised against that importer inside the platform. If you have never opened your own Fasah account, your visibility runs entirely through your broker.