Baghdad and Erbil Discuss Unifying Customs Procedures

INA

The fifth meeting of the Ministerial Council for the Economy.

Iraq's Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Planning, Faleh al-Sari, chaired the fifth meeting of the Ministerial Council for the Economy in the presence of a high-level delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), led by the Region's Minister of Finance, along with officials responsible for border crossings, customs, and tax authorities from both the federal government and the KRG.

The meeting reviewed reports on efforts to unify customs and tax procedures, as well as the mechanism for implementing the electronic ASYCUDA customs management system.

The Council agreed to establish a joint committee, chaired by Iraq's Border Crossings Authority, to conduct a comprehensive survey of the border strip and inspect unofficial crossings in the Kurdistan Region. The committee will assess the infrastructure and technical specifications of these crossings to determine which are suitable for conversion into official border crossings.

The Federal Border Forces Command was also instructed to close all crossings that fail to meet the required standards.

As part of efforts to regulate financial procedures, the Council directed the Federal Ministry of Finance to coordinate with the KRG's Ministry of Finance to prepare a unified document outlining all customs exemptions and allowances. The document will be submitted to the Federal Council of Ministers for approval before being implemented at all border crossings without exception.

The meeting concluded with an agreement to submit the legal and technical proposals presented by both sides to the Federal Council of Ministers, with the aim of finalising and unifying the mechanism for collecting financial revenues at the Kurdistan Region's border crossings.



PUKMEDIA