By John Lee.
Plans to expand Iraq's customs automation system and introduce pre-payment of customs duties are under active review. Finance Minister Faleh Sari chaired a meeting on Wednesday with officials from the General Customs Authority and experts from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to discuss next steps.
According to the Ministry of Finance, discussions focused on three main areas:
- Expanding the ASYCUDA (Automated System for Customs Data) system and deepening data integration across customs ports
- Applying the system to customs ports in the Kurdistan Region to standardise procedures and enable national-level data sharing
- Introducing pre-payment of customs duties at the point of financial transfer, to take effect from 1 October
General Customs Authority Director General Dr Thamer Qasim Daoud presented measures already taken towards digital transformation and outlined future plans for a more integrated electronic customs framework. UNCTAD experts provided a technical briefing on system development requirements and international best practices in modern customs administration.
Minister Sari described pre-payment of customs duties as important for improving accuracy and transparency, reducing evasion and manipulation, and increasing revenue efficiency.
(Source: Ministry of Finance)
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