The fate of 2,400 foreign cars in the parking lots of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration is unclear.
This is while IRICA has announced that more than 1,000 of these cars will be handed over to the Organization for the Collection and Sale of State-Owned Properties of Iran in the coming days.
Abdolmajid Ejtehadi, CEO of the organization, told ISNA that these cars belong to two categories: smuggled cars that are awaiting a judicial decision and those considered abandoned.
He added that Tehran General and Revolutionary Courts have issued verdicts regarding cars with import registration orders, which will be announced by the industries minister.
“The status of abandoned cars is being reviewed by the government. If the government were to approve, these cars will be sold in the free zones of Kish and Qeshm, which has been proposed by the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Free and Special Economic Zones,” he said.
Spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration Rouhollah Latifi said, “Based on the decisions made and the correspondence of the Prosecutor General's Office, more than 1,062 vehicles with order registration files are to be handed over to the Organization for Collection and Sale of State-Owned Properties of Iran for auction in the coming days.”
According to the court decision, IRICA’s circular issued in the sixth fiscal month (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) and the letter issued by Tehran Prosecutor General's Office for the auction of 1,062 vehicles, officials will clear cars from Anzali, Qom, Bandar Lengeh, West Tehran, Tehran (Shahriar), Fars Province, Bushehr, Genaveh, Shahid Bahonar, Hormozgan, Mazandaran and Khorramshahr ports and customs.
At the time of reporting, officials said these cars should be cleared by Sept. 18, but their current status is not known.
Quoting IRICA’s public relations, the spokesman said, “According to the notification of IRICA’s Organized Crime Center to the Executive Customs Office dated Sept. 13, the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran and the Department of Environment must send their representatives to the parking lots of the above-mentioned cars within 10 days to issue an endorsement certificate for the Traffic Police Department.”
Latifi noted that as per the government’s ratification, the clearance of cars with an engine capacity of more than 2500 cc or American cars is prohibited.
“These types of cars will be scrapped and their engines will be given to engineering and technical faculties of the country for those studying reverse engineering,” he said.
Government Announces Regulations, Bylaws for Importing Economy Cars
Regulations for car imports, approved by the Council of Ministers on Aug. 17, were announced by First Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber on Aug. 25.
Although the price of imported cars has a ceiling of €20,000 freight on board and a maximum of $1 billion will be allocated in foreign currency for the purpose, cars under €10,000 FOB enjoy priority.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has also been obliged to produce economy cars worth up to €10,000 to grab a share of these imports, Donyaye Khodro reported.
As per the regulations, car imports in commercial and industrial free zones are limited to hybrid or fully electric vehicles, and only the models specified will be numbered in these zones. Importers are responsible for investing in and setting up charging stations.
“As the fiscal 2022-23 car import regulations required government coordination, it was proposed and approved by the Council of Ministers last week,” Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi said.
All imported cars will be offered on the Iran Mercantile Exchange.
One of the conditions included in car import regulations is the determination of commercial profit. First, the commercial profit will be collected by the customs office and after the sale of imported cars in IME, the difference in commercial profit will be determined.
The amount of this commercial profit will be approved by a joint committee comprising the representatives of the Industries Ministry, Economy Ministry and the Plan and Budget Organization.
