November 15-2013
Each year, goods worth $14 billion are smuggled into Iran, the Mehr News Agency quoted Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Sadeq Mofatteh as saying.
He did not say how that figure was calculated and many thought it was just a wild guess since smugglers do not register their business volumes.
About 80-90 percent of health and beauty products are brought to the country illegally, Mofatteh said.
He said Iran is also one of the world’s biggest markets for cigarette smugglers.
Due to sanctions Iran’s legal imports saw a 26 percent decrease in the first quarter of this Iranian calendar year (March 21-June 21) compared to the same period last year.
“Smuggling has resulted in tax revenue losses equal to 18 trillion rials $550 million),” Mofateh said.
Mofatteh said smuggling in Iran ruins 200,000 job opportunities annually.
More than 10 trillion rials ($300 million) worth of smuggled goods were seized in Iran in the last Iranian year.