ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region makes a monthly revenue of 120 to 150 billion Iraqi dinars (about $91.6 - $114.5 million) from the border crossings shared with Iran and Turkey, the director general of the Region’s customs said on Tuesday.
“The revenue of the border crossings has neither decreased nor increased and remains stable at around 120 to 150 billion dinars monthly,” Samal Abdulrahman, director general of the Kurdistan Region’s customs, told Rudaw.
The Kurdistan Region has four official border crossings with Iran – Haji Omaran in Erbil province, Bashmakh in Sulaimani province, Parvizkhan in the Garmiyan administration, and Shushme in Halabja. With Turkey, Ibrahim Khalil in Zakho and Zet in Barzan are the two official border crossings. There are also many unofficial border points.
“So far, transactions in Ibrahim Khalil and Erbil international Airport are in dollars,” Abdulrahman said, despite the KRG announcing in October that it had decided to collect customs duties at border crossings and customs points only in Iraqi dinars.
“They say they need time to implement the decision,” Abdulrahman said.
In December, Abdulrahman said that trade in the Kurdistan Region has significantly weakened and attributed the lack of imports and exports to the nonpayment of salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants.
Financial woes in the Kurdistan Region have mounted ever since exports of Kurdish oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline were halted in March 23 when a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying Turkey had breached a 1973 agreement by allowing Erbil to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
The Kurdistan Region heavily relies on products imported from Iran and Turkey.
“The revenue of the border crossings has neither decreased nor increased and remains stable at around 120 to 150 billion dinars monthly,” Samal Abdulrahman, director general of the Kurdistan Region’s customs, told Rudaw.
The Kurdistan Region has four official border crossings with Iran – Haji Omaran in Erbil province, Bashmakh in Sulaimani province, Parvizkhan in the Garmiyan administration, and Shushme in Halabja. With Turkey, Ibrahim Khalil in Zakho and Zet in Barzan are the two official border crossings. There are also many unofficial border points.
“So far, transactions in Ibrahim Khalil and Erbil international Airport are in dollars,” Abdulrahman said, despite the KRG announcing in October that it had decided to collect customs duties at border crossings and customs points only in Iraqi dinars.
“They say they need time to implement the decision,” Abdulrahman said.
In December, Abdulrahman said that trade in the Kurdistan Region has significantly weakened and attributed the lack of imports and exports to the nonpayment of salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants.
Financial woes in the Kurdistan Region have mounted ever since exports of Kurdish oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline were halted in March 23 when a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying Turkey had breached a 1973 agreement by allowing Erbil to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
The Kurdistan Region heavily relies on products imported from Iran and Turkey.
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