“American imported” cars...billions of dinars went to the Kurdistan region due to a decision

by **Rocky** Tue 23 Apr 2024, 6:51 am

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“American imported” cars...billions of dinars went to the Kurdistan region due to a decision

by Rocky Tue 23 Apr 2024, 6:51 am

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TUESDAY, 04-23-2024, AM 10:03
KARAR AL-ASSADI

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The car market has witnessed a continuous rise in prices for years, as this is linked to controls and fees for entering them through the border crossings in southern, central and western Iraq, while the costs when entering from the Kurdistan region’s crossings are much lower, which encouraged their importers to head north, depriving the federal government of billions. Dinars generated through customs, taxes and other fees.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had issued a decision in 2016 banning the import of damaged cars, “American import,” forcing their importers to resort to border crossings in the Kurdistan region. The ban continued in the next government headed by Adel Abdul Mahdi, before the decision was reversed in the year 2020 and their import was allowed. But taxes and customs were increased, forcing importers to return to the northern ports again.
Muhannad Al-Marsoumi, the owner of a car trade showroom, says, “Car prices have been high for several years, and even if they decrease, it will be very slightly depending on the year the car was made and its varying specifications.”
He adds, "Importing American and Gulf cars has differences in prices and the integrity of their papers if they are from the northern or southern ports. There are fraudulent methods and amounts collected by groups that trade in the customs clearance process for cars in the ports of Basra and the Trebil border port, which cannot happen in the northern ports in the Kurdistan region." .
He explains, "Basra and Trebil are considered the most financially beneficial for these groups and even for importers because they generate no less than two thousand dollars in interest per car, while entering them from Kurdistan region ports may not exceed two hundred dollars in interest for the clearing agent or importer per car."
Al-Marsoumi confirms, “The import of cars through Trebil and Basra had stopped because the customs clearance amounts had become astronomical, and there was something that prompted importers to refrain from using those ports and resort to the region only, in addition to major errors in the import papers and vehicle registration due to the large amount of bribes paid, which causes a problem for the car buyer after a period of time.” Time when he wants to transfer it and sell it to someone else.”
He explains that “the procedures in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk are very clear to the importer and take place with very steady and easy steps in accordance with the strict law in the departments, where the car registration papers cannot be doubted because their receipts are printed on the computer and are not written by hand at all, as in the case of Basra and Trebil, so they become incomprehensible,” he added. The short period required to clear and register a car in the north compared to the long months it takes for the simplest transaction for an imported car via Basra and Trebil.”
He points out that "Northern cars have become characterized by many good qualities because everything in them brings reassurance, price and real details, but this is offset by a lack of profit for the importing dealer."
Al-Marsoumi explains, “The customs tariff rate is 15 percent of the value of the imported car in the country of origin, and thus the amount varies from one car to another, while it is assumed that this tariff rate is uniform among Iraqi ports, but this does not exist on the ground.”
It details the customs tariff amounts imposed on cars: “A 2023 Picanto car, for example, costs ten thousand dollars, and it is considered the cheapest and lowest tariff compared to other larger and newer cars. Its costs are $1,530 in customs duties, $231 in income tax, $15 inspection fees, and $3.” The price of the form.
The car dealer calls for “developing a package of controls and realistic solutions to equalize the ports and mechanisms that operate, and also to end the reluctance to import through Basra and Trebil, through unifying customs, tightening oversight and the role of the Integrity Commission, and completing car registrations online in a period not exceeding three days.” As in the northern governorates, it takes 30 days in Basra and Trebil.”
It is noteworthy that the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq sent a message to the government [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] for a period of five years after their number reached more than eight million cars, with an increase of 1.9 percent during 2024 compared to 1.8 percent in 2023.
At the end of the year 2022, the Ministry of Planning said that the number of cars in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region reached seven million and 460 thousand cars, while the number reached seven million and 27 thousand cars in 2021, noting that according to its statistics, there are 126 cars for every 1,000 people, and 127 One car per kilometer of paved road.
For his part, the economic specialist, Abdul Rahman Al-Sheikhly, believes that “the money collected through customs is supposed to represent large revenues for the state treasury, but it is not exploited in the financial budgets due to the rampant corruption in the body of the state.”
He explains that “the confusion in the customs tariff file has led to the possibility of registering some imported materials as foodstuffs, which are not so because food is exempt from customs, and the importer of modern and used cars is also dealt with in the same way as the importer of production machines and equipment that are exempted because they are part of diluted investment projects.” about taxes.”
He concludes by saying, “Customs tariffs for cars and other imported goods and commodities constitute the most important financing streams for budgets if they are free of corruption and bribery. Among the corrupt practices in this sector is the adoption of a database that includes everyone, as the importer of foodstuffs, cigarettes, and alcohol is treated in customs accounting according to his discretion.” Customs employee at the border crossing.
Specialists warn against the continued random import of cars, as this causes large annual losses to Iraq as a result of the large consumption of the country’s infrastructure at various levels, in addition to its direct contribution to obstructing convenient access to citizens’ daily destinations as a result of traffic congestion and narrow streets, and it also contributes to the exit of hard currency from the country. Iraq, which is considered the greatest economic damage to Iraq in years.
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“American imported” cars...billions of dinars went to the Kurdistan region due to a decision

“American imported” cars...billions of dinars went to the Kurdistan region due to a decision

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