Companies warned against importing chemicals without obtaining license

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 23: The Environment Public Authority and the State Security Agency have worked together to put in place steps to electronically link both authorities on the issue of chemical shipments, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The new automated system will allow the State Security Agency to automatically view all the details of chemical shipments and give nod to enter the country or those which will have to await the approval to enter the country provided that there are licenses that allow companies to import chemical materials.

Moreover, the Director of the Chemical Safety Department, Dr Mishaal AlIbrahim, warned against importing any chemicals, through companies, without obtaining a license to import them.

Al-Ibrahim told the daily that the EPA has learned that companies are importing chemical goods from abroad without obtaining a license for these materials or obtaining special approvals from the relevant government agencies.

He pointed out that all the procedures required to issue licenses and others can be done “online” to save time and effort and indicated that if shipments are seized inside Kuwait for not obtaining official approvals or a license to import them, they will be re-exported, and fines will be imposed on the importer.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) announced that the maintenance and engineering sector of the ministry has looked into and rectified 601 complaints and reports concerning roads network problems in the six governorates between Jan 13 and Jan 20.

In a press release the MPW stated the total number of complaints and reports received by the sector through the ‘hotline 150’ or via ‘WhatsApp 93333150’ and the administration switchboard, were 792, of which 189 are being looked into.