Page 18 - IRANRptMar19

5.0 External Sector & Trade
5.1 Balance of payments and current account
Smuggled goods moving into or out of Iran in last Persian year valued at $12bn or more
Smuggled goods with a value of at least $12bn flowed into and out of Iran during the 2017/2018 Persian calendar year (ended March 21) a just-finalised report concludes, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported the head of the Iranian Anti-Smuggling and Currency Trade Commission as saying.
Iran’s borders with Iraq, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan are seen as rather porous, while the country of 81mn also has a large maritime border on the Persian Gulf. Smugglers’ boats often conduct night runs from the tip of Oman on the Arabian peninsula with pre-purchased goods delivered to order.
Commision head Ali Moudi Khorramabadi reportedly declined to outline the composition of the smuggled goods at an Iranian interior ministry meeting on the issue, but it is clear that given a toughening of registration rules on mobile phones , the attraction of smuggling smartphones and other handsets into Iran must have been greatly reduced this year. The unique international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number of any mobile phone purchased in the Islamic Republic must be declared to a national mobile registry. Phones that are not registered are blocked from the telecom networks.
The value of goods smuggled from or to Iran during the 2012-13 Persian calendar year was estimated by officials of the time at somewhere between $17.5bn to $25bn.
A new phenomenon is smuggling by profiteers who are exploiting market export opportunities opened up by the severe devaluation of the Iranian rial versus the dollar caused by the reintroduction of heavy sanctions by the US against Tehran.
On November 20, it was reported that Iran had started issuing petrol rationing cards following excessive smuggling abroad of fuel made cheap by the collapse in value of the rial. Many items produced in Iran, including petrol, have been smuggled out of the country by profiteers to Iraq, Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
18 IRAN Country Report March 2019 www.intellinews.com