ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq has increased customs tariffs on imported cars, gold and other non-essential goods, while leaving food, medicine and basic necessities largely unaffected, the country’s customs authority said on Saturday.
The move is aimed at curbing tax evasion and reducing spending on imported luxury items, Samer Qasim Dawood, head of Iraq's General Customs Authority, told Rudaw, adding that the decision was circulated to all customs departments two months before taking effect and was “not sudden,” and that merchants had been notified in advance.
Dawood said the revised tariffs target “secondary goods such as electrical appliances, gold, and cars,” noting that a large share of hard currency leaving Iraq for imports is spent on such products. Customs duties on gold imports are set at 5 percent of the item’s value, while tariffs on cars begin at 15 percent and increase depending on the type of vehicle and its environmental efficiency, including whether it is hybrid.
The move comes as Iraq has expanded the use of the Automatic System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA), an electronic customs platform developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the early 1980s, across all 22 federal border crossings, including major southern ports, as part of efforts to standardize and modernize customs procedures.
Under the new system, importers must pay a tax deposit of 1 percent for food items and 3 percent for other goods. Dawood said the payments are treated as a temporary “deposit” and will be deducted from merchants’ final tax obligations when they settle accounts with the tax authority at the end of the year.
He added that essential goods would remain largely unaffected. “The decision will not impact the prices of food and medicine,” Dawood said, adding that any changes to basic necessities would be “minimal and reasonable.”
The customs chief said the measures are also intended to tackle companies that avoid paying taxes by repeatedly shutting down and reopening under new names.
“Previously, some companies would be established for one year to import goods, then close down without paying taxes and reopen under a new name. This led to the loss of a significant amount of state tax revenue,” Dawood said.
Gashaw Khalid contributed to this report from Erbil.
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