Reliable transport and customs clearance on the Saudi Arabia lane.
What decides a shipment to Saudi Arabia is not freight but the SABER platform. Under the SALEEM product safety programme two separate certificates are required and they are not interchangeable: the PCoC, issued per product and typically valid for one year, and the SCoC, issued for each individual shipment. Customs looks at the SCoC — but no SCoC can be issued without a valid PCoC behind it.
| PCoC — product certificate | SCoC — shipment certificate | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | The product itself | One single shipment |
| Validity | Typically one year | That shipment only |
| Who obtains it | Usually on behalf of the manufacturer or exporter | The importer, through SABER |
| When | Before the order, once | For every loading |
| Requested at customs | Not directly | Yes |
The mistake in practice is this: the exporter obtains the PCoC once and considers the matter closed. In reality the importer must have a separate SCoC issued through SABER for every shipment. And when the PCoC expires, no SCoC can be issued at all — which is expensive to discover after the cargo has been loaded.
It is the Saudi electronic platform through which product safety and conformity procedures are handled. Under the SALEEM programme, product and shipment conformity certificates are issued through this system.
The PCoC is issued for the product itself and is typically valid for one year. The SCoC is issued for each individual shipment and is the document customs requires. No SCoC can be issued without a valid PCoC; the two do not replace one another.
The product certificate is usually obtained on behalf of the manufacturer or exporter; the shipment certificate is raised by the importer through SABER. The process therefore has to be coordinated between both parties.
No shipment certificate can be issued for a new consignment. If this is discovered after loading, port waiting costs follow. The expiry date needs to be tracked on the order calendar.
Arabic labelling, and where relevant shelf-life information, is required for many product categories. Doing it before shipment, ideally in a warehouse, is considerably cheaper than doing it on arrival.
Jeddah and King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea, Dammam on the Gulf. The choice follows the final delivery point rather than the freight rate alone.
It depends on volume and deadline. Sea is usually more economical on full container volumes; road comes forward on tight dates and part loads. When the difference is narrow we present both.
Pickup location, delivery address, tariff code, dimensions, weight and number of packages, nature of the goods and the Incoterms rule. Tell us as well whether a valid product certificate exists: it affects the timeline more than the transport does.
Send the PCoC expiry date with your enquiry. In Saudi Arabia what stops a shipment is almost never the transport — it is a product certificate that has run out.
Container (FCL/LCL) and project cargo shipments.\r\nAir
Share your pickup point and cargo details and we will come back shortly with a clear quote.