Customs Clearance of Close-to-Expiration Products Okayed

EghtesadOnline: The Iranian Cabinet on Wednesday gave the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration the nod to initiate customs clearance process of Group IV products that are close to their expiration date.

News ID: ۷۴۹۶۴۰

08 February 2020

The measure is aimed at lending support to the private sector by clearing products piled up at ports of entry and freeing up space for storage of essential goods there, IRNA reported.

Following the steep decline in the value of Iran's local currency last year, the government introduced import policies, including banning the import of non-essential goods with domestic counterparts (Group IV of products) and allocating subsidized foreign currency at the rate of 42,000 rials per dollar to 25 categories of products (Group I or essential goods) to cushion consumers against the increasing prices of products and costs of living, according to Financial Tribune.

Two other groups of imports were also defined: Group II that mostly includes raw materials, intermediate and capital goods and Group III that consists of consumer goods.

Importers of products listed in Group II have to meet their forex requirements from the secondary FX market, known by its Persian name Nima.

Imports of products included in Group III may acquire foreign currency from exporters who are not required to offer their forex earnings via Nima.