Examples include currency, seeds, fertilizers, live plants, agricultural implements and insecticides, books, refined petroleum products, and basic food commodities such as rice and meat. In fact, the list, as published in the Omani press, included a number of non-luxury items such as prepared foods, tea, coffee, office equipment, computers, electrical equipment, construction and building materials, and electronic goods. The entire issue of tariffs and duties will be affected by Oman's entry into the WTO, slated for January, 2000. With a few exceptions, goods produced in other GCC countries enter duty free if accompanied by certificates of origin. The Ministry of Information delays or bars the entry of magazines and newspaper editions if it takes exception to a story on Oman or deems the content morally suspect.
Oman has no general provisions for the temporary entry of goods.
There are no officially designated free trade zones, although the government is expected to announce a free zone in Salalah to complement the existing port facility, before the end of 1999. The government has set aside land along an interior ' border crossing point with Yemen by the name of al-Mazyounah for a free trade zone, but no work has been completed on this project to date. GCC members have thus far failed to agree on a common tariff policy, although the issue remains under active discussion. Common GCC labeling standards do exist. The labels of imported goods should be printed in Arabic and English although some English-labeled items are sold in the market.