From now on, trucks transporting goods coming from Iran, Syria, and Turkey into Duhok and Erbil Northern Provinces crossings will pass through the Mosul Dam control customs point that will be established between the Nineveh and Dohuk, the only official customs port to levy duties and taxes from cargo trucks.
The decision came in a meeting held last May between the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Advisor for Ports, Customs, and Border Points Affairs with the Border Ports Authority, following the escalation of protests by truck drivers in several Iraqi provinces, including Kirkuk and Nineveh, for paying taxes at more than one customs point.
Muhammad Jassim, a member of the Nineveh Provincial Council, told KirkukNow, “Nineveh municipalities began constructing the customs port about two weeks ago, and the project is scheduled to be completed at the end of this month.”
The member of the Nineveh Provincial Council said the port will be built on an area estimated at 14 dunums and located at the Mosul Dam Junction. It will include a special yard for inspecting cargo vehicles using sonar devices.
He pointed out that the port “will be the only port for transport vehicles from Mosul to Kirkuk, Salah al-Din, and Baghdad. For example, trucks transporting goods from Turkey and Syria cannot go to Erbil and then to Kirkuk and Baghdad unless they pass through the Mosul Dam customs port where a letter will be issued at this port to pass through other controls without inspection.”
Half of the revenues will be dedicated to Nineveh local administration.
"The port will be official in Iraq, where customs duties will be collected from transport vehicles, and half of its imports will be allocated to Nineveh Governorate and the other half to the central government."
The Iraqi government's decision also directed the passage of vehicles loaded with goods of all kinds coming from Sulaymaniyah Northern Province through the official border crossings recognized by the federal government (Parwez Khan and Bashmakh) exclusively through the customs and security inspection and audit point (Bawa Mahmoud) in Diyala Province.
