Temporary admission & ITAS for manufacturers
A factory bringing raw materials in under temporary admission is not facing a single clearance file, but an open balance that has to be closed by production. That is what we track.
What temporary admission is, and who it's for
Temporary admission is a customs status under which raw materials or machinery enter the Kingdom without duty being paid on entry, on the basis that they will not remain in the local market in their current form: either they leave again as a manufactured export, or they return as they came, or they are settled later by a formal procedure.
It suits manufacturers who import production inputs and export part of their output. The difference between paying duty on every entry and deferring it against production is substantial in cash-flow terms across a year.
Against that advantage sits an obligation: the goods remain governed by their customs status, and the factory is answerable for what became of every quantity that entered.
What the ITAS system is, and why it matters to a factory
ITAS is the system these accounts are run through at the Jordanian Customs Department. A factory does not deal with it as a clearance procedure ending at release, but as a running account: every entry raises the balance, every drawdown against production or export lowers it, and an open balance remains a live obligation.
This is where factories are most often caught out: the clearance succeeded, the goods entered the plant, were manufactured and sold — and the balance is still open in the system because the drawdown was never made, or never reconciled.
The life of a material — from entry to drawdown
- Entry. The material enters under temporary status on a declaration setting out its type, quantity and tariff heading. The accuracy of that declaration governs everything that follows.
- Posting to the balance. The quantity is posted to the factory's account in the system.
- Manufacture. The material goes into production and becomes a product, usually under approved waste ratios and conversion factors.
- Drawdown. The consumed quantity is drawn down from the balance against documented production or export.
- Settlement and closure. The file closes once the balance is fully discharged, by drawdown or by formal settlement.
Balances — and where discrepancies come from
A discrepancy does not appear on the day it occurs; it appears months later when the account is reviewed. What creates it most often:
- Late or incomplete drawdown. Production happened but was never posted in time, so the balance reads higher than reality.
- A conversion factor that doesn't match reality. The approved ratio between input and output differs from actual consumption, and a silent gap accumulates with every cycle.
- Undocumented waste. Waste occurs in all manufacturing, but undocumented waste cannot be drawn down and stays on your balance.
- An imprecise material description at entry. It makes later reconciliation between what entered and what was consumed impossible.
- A file with no periodic review. The most dangerous of the four: the account is only examined at the formal review, by which time the gap has grown.
We review balances periodically rather than only when they fall due, so any gap surfaces while it is still small and correctable, not large and a year old.
A factory dealing with ITAS for the first time
If your plant is about to start, three things should be settled before the first entry rather than after: the correct tariff heading for each material, the conversion factors and waste ratios you will work to, and the in-plant documentation the drawdowns will be built on. Correcting any of these after ten entries means correcting ten files.
Send us the material types, the expected entry volume and the nature of the finished product, and we will walk you through the mechanics and the obligations before you commit to anything.
What we need from you
The raw-material list with technical descriptions, the country of origin, the expected entry volume, and a description of the finished product with the share of it that is exported. If you already have an ITAS file with an open balance, send us the balance statement and we will tell you where the gap is before we start.
Questions we get asked
How does temporary admission differ from ordinary import?
What creates a discrepancy in an ITAS balance?
My factory is about to start with ITAS — where do I begin?
I have an existing file with an open balance — can you review it?
Send us the documents — we'll tell you what's missing
We read the invoice, certificate of origin and bill of lading, and tell you what will stop your shipment before it arrives — not after it is sitting in the yard. No obligation.