Baghdad-INA
The Prime Minister’s financial advisor, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed on Saturday that unifying the customs systems between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region represents an important strategic step within the path of economic and financial reform, due to its role in building a unified trade policy and enhancing the state’s ability to manage its non-oil resources more efficiently.
Saleh told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “The importance of unifying customs systems lies in reducing cases of customs evasion resulting from differences in procedures and tariffs between ports, as well as unifying the databases related to import and export activity, which provides more accurate information to decision-makers and helps in formulating more efficient economic and financial policies.”
He added that "the success of this step requires the adoption of unified electronic systems for collection and customs clearance, linking all border crossings to a central database that allows for real-time tracking of goods movement, in addition to activating joint monitoring and auditing and the exchange of information between the relevant authorities in the federal and regional governments."
He pointed out that “unifying customs systems will support increasing non-oil revenues by expanding the customs base, reducing financial leakage, and closing loopholes that allowed for different fees or duplication of procedures,” explaining that “this contributes to achieving greater fairness in collecting fees and taxes on imports, which will positively impact public treasury resources and enhance the sustainability of government revenues away from fluctuations related to oil prices.”
Saleh explained that “the effects of this step are not limited to increasing financial returns only, but extend in the medium term to improving the business environment, enhancing investor confidence, and consolidating the principle of the unity of the Iraqi market,” stressing that “these pillars are among the important foundations for the success of the economic reform and financial diversification program in Iraq.”