Export to Iran guide – Tips, limitations and statistics
Limitations in export to Iran
There are some limitations and prohibitions in exporting to Iran. In fact, importing some types of goods to Iran is forbidden. Forbidden goods are categorized into 2 groups. The former consists of the goods which have always been forbidden to import. For example, alcoholic drinks, any type of weapon, sex toy, etc. are permanently forbidden to import into Iran. The latter group is forbidden to import into the country depending on exclusive economic circumstances of the country.
For now, the US sanctions are aiming for Iran’s currency resources and Iran’s access to its resources is predicted to be limited. That’s why Iranian government has started to manage importation of goods in order to cope with such issues. One of the decisions made by the government was to prohibit importing 1339 items into the country since June 2018.
You can check out the list of goods HERE.
Some tips about exporting to Iran
Another important point that foreign companies should be aware of about importing to Iran is that there is a massive quantity of smuggled goods being imported into Iran.
Smuggle rate is estimated $15 billion despite of a $10 billion reduction in the last 5 years, making it a strong rival for the companies which tend to export goods to Iran.
The goods with the highest smuggle rate are[1]: home appliances, clothing, textile products, mobile phone, food & medicine, gold & jewelry, vehicle spare parts, cigarette, etc.
Type of collaboration offered by Iranian companies is interesting.
Since importing to Iran is allocated customs exemption provided the goods are samples, Iranian companies ask the foreign peer to send them packages in several parcels so that they can claim either one of the parcels is a separated sample which is exempted from customs. Moreover, some companies ask the exporter to record fees less that their real worth in PRO FORMA INVOICE so that they pay off less customs.
Statistics on exporting to Iran
According to World Bank, the value of goods and services exported into Iran was $98 billion in 2017. The biggest share of export to Iran goes to China at about 36%. The following diagram illustrates top 5 countries with the most amount of export to Iran[2].
The largest quantity of export to Iran belongs to product group: “reactors, boilers, parts thereof machinery, mechanical appliances, nuclear”. Iran has imported products of this group at $9 billion. The following illustration depicts the most important:
IRANRA Company declares readiness to offer you precise evaluation and studies on Iranian markets. A research team consisting of individuals with years of experience in field of market research.
We are beside you to help you collaborate with Iran.
[1] http://ayaronline.ir/1395/05/203131.html
[2] https://www.trademap.org/Country_SelProductCountry.aspx?nvpm=1|364||||TOTAL|||2|1|2|1|1|1|2|1|1