Customs study finds sea export clearance takes an average of 10 days, 10 hours

The stages required to clear goods for export before a vessel departs take an average of 10 days, 10 hours and 14 minutes, according to the Maldives Customs Service.

The figures are detailed in the Time Release Study 2025 published by Customs on Saturday.

The study measures the full export process from the moment a customs declaration is submitted until the vessel carrying the goods leaves port. Customs officials say the findings will help identify bottlenecks and guide administrative and digital reforms to shorten clearance times.

According to the study, it takes 15 hours and 6 minutes from declaration submission to assessment, followed by 17 hours and 31 minutes for the payment process.

This means the administrative steps that precede operational phases, including off‑shore requests, inspections and booking, already consume more than a full day.

????Key finings of the “Maldives Time Release Study 2025”

???? ???? From Declaration submission to vessel departure:

Total export clearance time shows an average of 10 days, 10 hours and 14 minutes.

➡️ Swipe through to explore the timeline for each clearance stage. pic.twitter.com/NxBpZYk78y

— Maldives Customs Service (@CustomsMv) June 13, 2026

The data shows that the off‑shore request stage and the process of obtaining approval for it are among the most significant sources of delay. The average time from payment to off‑shore request is 1 day, 16 hours and 55 minutes, with a further 1 day, 9 hours and 47 minutes required for approval.

Cargo inspections, including checks by other government agencies, also take considerable time, averaging 1 day, 9 hours and 35 minutes. Customs notes that this reflects the need to coordinate multiple institutions operating within the port.

Once documentation and inspections are complete, exporters must obtain booking approval and proceed to loading. The booking form approval process takes 1 day, 13 hours and 57 minutes, while the final stage, loading the cargo and completing formalities until vessel departure, is the longest single segment, taking 2 days, 12 hours and 3 minutes.