Tehran, Iran, August 26
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
The Iranian government has succeeded in its fight on goods smuggling, having lowered its rate by $10 billion per year, the country’s Minister of Economy Ali Tayyebnia said.
Smuggling goods into Iran stood at $25 billion per year in the past, but now it has reached $15 billion per year, he said, IRINN news agency reported August 26.
The government has changed tariffs on imports. As an example, it recently reduced tariffs on cell phones from 60 percent to 4 percent.
Police monitoring of borders has also increased during the past couple of years.
Officials say the value of goods smuggled into the country rivals the country’s oil revenue, its biggest source of income. Iran is currently selling about 2.1 million barrels of crude per day at about $40 per barrel.