One of the important areas in the field of exports is customs formalities. Preparing documents for customs in the countries of origin and destination, inspection and clearance times, and customs costs are among the most important customs mechanisms.
To further expand trade and economic relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and other countries, especially neighboring countries, it is necessary to facilitate customs formalities in our country’s customs and also in the customs of the destination country. Fortunately, with the actions taken by the Customs of the Islamic Republic of Iran in recent years, it has become possible for traders and active individuals in economic field to use customs facilities for exporting to Russia, although there are requirements and prerequisites.
In May 2016, a mutual cooperation agreement in customs matters between Iran and Russia was signed in the form of a Customs Green Corridor by the heads of the customs of the two countries. The purpose of signing this memorandum, which was signed by Dr. Masoud Karbasian, the head of Iran’s customs at the time, and Andrei Belyaninov, the head of the Federal Customs Service of Russia, was to develop trade between the two countries by speeding up customs formalities, increasing trade volume, creating favorable conditions for business activists, and developing customs cooperation, especially in the field of electronic information exchange and increasing the efficiency of customs controls.
According to this memorandum, physical controls at the customs of the two countries for reputable traders will be eliminated and, if necessary, carried out as quickly as possible. The acceptance of customs declarations of the companies involved will be done with minimal documents, provided that the documents are submitted within the specified period. Based on the Customs Green Corridor, the main
points to be considered are:
- Exchange of information related to goods and means of transport of active individuals in the field of foreign trade between the two countries,
- Voluntary use of this project for active individuals in the field of foreign trade of Iran and Russia,
- Exchanging the list of active individuals in the field of foreign trade involved in this project who have a low risk of customs violations,
- The framework of this project is based on transparency, predictability, and non-discrimination
- Electronic submission of information to the customs of the other contracting party before the declaration of goods to the destination customs, as well as images of documents such as invoices, shipment documents, etc., with the aim of speeding up customs formalities, reducing the number of required documents, and minimizing customs controls based on goods information analysis within the risk management system.
The benefits of using the Customs Green Corridor are:
- Priority in the customs of both parties for clearing their goods,
- Enjoying the benefits of speeding up customs formalities in the customs of both parties,
- No physical controls for individuals without a history of violations, and if physical control is needed, it will be done in the shortest possible time,
- Acceptance of customs declarations of the companies involved with minimal documents, provided that the documents are submitted within the specified period,
- Submitting requests to verify the accuracy of the declared information of the exchanged goods between the two countries, considering the governing laws of the two countries.
This project initially started as a pilot for a six-month period to enter the operational phase after overcoming obstacles and problems. In this section, after completing the list, the information of individuals was sent to the Russian customs, and then the Russian customs requested the Russian business partners of Iranian exporters, which eventually accepted some of the introduced companies after follow-ups.
Based on the Customs Green Corridor, the export prices of Iranian goods are sent to the Russian customs, and the translation of the prices and values of Iranian export goods is also accessible in Russian so that Russian customs officers can refer to it, estimate the prices, and verify the prices of the products with the customs declaration made by the importer of Iranian goods at the destination customs, facilitating the process.
According to the customs affairs manager of one of the exemplary exporting companies, the implementation of the Green Corridor will definitely increase the exports of Iranian companies to Russia, make the Russians’ view of Iranian traders and producers more positive, and this factor can more easily lead to international approvals for Iranian companies.
According to the majority of traders, one of the most significant problems currently in the export sector is the customs of Azerbaijan, which opens the seals of Iranian shipments and does not provide a report to the driver. Meanwhile, the Russian side is also critical of this issue and requests the seal remnants from the driver. The establishment of the Customs Green Corridor can remove these obstacles for traders and exporters, and given the mentioned conditions, Iranian goods can be offered 14% cheaper than before in the Russian market, which will increase the export competitiveness of Iranian traders.
In this regard, a meeting on the Customs Green Corridor was held among the customs managers of the Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture across the country in August of this year. According to Hadi Tizhoush Taban, the head of the Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce, Russia has also established this Green Corridor with Turkey. However, while the volume of raw agricultural exports from this country has reached 6 billion dollars, we have not been able to use all the capacities of the corridor due to reasons such as the lack of awareness of economic activists about this opportunity or issues related to coding.
In addition to the above, it should be noted that based on the conducted studies, the use of the Customs Green Corridor requires the presence of large companies or commercial holdings. Unfortunately, currently, only a limited number of export management companies, commercial holdings, or large companies are active in this field because the private sector or commercial companies in Iran enter trade in an isolated and small manner. Therefore, to enter the large Russian market, it is necessary to form large export management companies, commercial holdings, and specialized parent companies so that the benefits of the Customs Green Corridor can be utilized.
Source: Eghtesad News