Special Provisions The importation of any kind of pharmaceutical, narcotic drug, poison, saccharine and saccharine materials, and methylene blue is subject to authorization from the Ministry of Health and subject to the pertinent decrees and regulations. The importation of dynamite and other similar explosives, fuses, and detonators; any kind of hunting gun and cartridges, sporting guns; other hunting weapons, their accessories and detachable parts; and empty cartridges, in each case, is subject to the prior consent of the Ministry of War. The importation of any kind of transmitter and its spare parts is subject to the prior consent of the Ministry of Posts, Telegraph and Telephones. The importation of tamed live birds and animals, wild animals for zoos (without remittance of foreign exchange), honey bees and insects used for fighting plant pests, bird eggs for the improvement of breed, live sperm of animals, as well as any kind of roots, plants, nursery trees, grafts, cuttings, flower and vegetable seeds, cereal seeds, and pulses is subject to the presentation of a health certificate and the consent of the Ministry of Agriculture. The importation of tobacco for cigars and cigarettes, raw leaves; all kinds of cigarette paper; paper and cardboard cut for cigarette tips; lump sugar and granulated sugar; and silkworm seeds is a monopoly of the Government. Import goods must generally be new and unused. However, the importation of farm machinery and equipment and tractors, and all kinds of mechanized transportation vehicles, including used truck and passenger cars and spare parts is authorized, provided that international survey institutions will issue a certificate that they have not been used more than 25 percent. (Exporters should contact the Consulate General of Iran, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York City, New York, to ascertain accepted survey institutions in the United States.) In the same manner the importation is authorized of scrap metal imported for smelting and production of new goods; used automobile tubes and cut-up pieces; raw rubber; plastic pieces used as raw material; and unauthorized goods such as secondhand clothing, shoes, etc., donated to charity institutions by persons and benevolent institutions in foreign countries for distribution among the poor, which institutions are recognized in writing by the Ministry of Health, and for which goods there is no transfer of foreign exchange. To protect the natural silk industry of Iran, the clearance from customs of fabrics made of natural or artificial silk, or artificial wool, or other authorized artificial fibers is allowed even if the fabrics contain a mixture of other artificial fibers, on the conditions that the proportion of artificial fibers is more than 30 percent and the importer pays a tax of 25 rials per kilogram. Fabrics made of these fibers, if waterproof and intended for the manufacture of raincoats, are exempt from payment of the tax. Prohibited Imports Items which cannot be imported into Iran under current regulations are listed in Appendix A. In com parison with the prohibited list of recent years, this list is very short. Commercial Profit Tax A long list of items which were prohibited imports in recent years may now be imported but are subject to a Commercial Profit Tax which is designed to protect domestic production. Items subject to the tax and the amount of the tax on each item are listed in Appendix B. Precautions for U. S. Exporters Individuals or companies exporting to Iran for the first time are advised, prior to entering into any commitments, to discuss the general trade scene with the nearest Field Office of the Department of Commerce. Unless the exporter is well and favorably acquainted with his customers, sight or time drafts should be avoided whenever possible, even though the greatest part of Iran's foreign trade is conducted in this manner as a result of the competitive practices of European traders. Iran's Export Controls The annual import regulations also include a section devoted to the prevailing export controls. Export prohibitions are restricted to such items as war material, certain agricultural products and natural resources of which shortages do, or may exist, and valuables which might be used to cover the flight of capital. Export exchange control measures are designed to ensure that foreign exchange gained from exports is delivered to the Government. The export of a few specified goods is permissive upon authorization of the Ministry or Government agency concerned. Changes in Iran's licensing and other controls are reported in Foreign Commerce Weekly, published by the Bureau of Foreign Commerce. A subscription for this magazine may be entered at $4.50 a year ($6 to foreign addresses) with the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., or through the nearest Department of Commerce Field Office. Remittance should accompany the order. Export controls are generalized for all countries, dollar and nondollar. At the time of shipment, the exporter must make a declaration for customs purposes and sign a commitment that he will turn over the foreign exchange proceeds of his exports to authorized banks, for Government account, within a fixed period, in currency acceptable to the Bank Melli. The authorized banks must purchase such exchange at a specified uniform rate. (Special provisions are made for handling through the Ministry of Commerce currencies not acceptable by authorized banks.) Export controls with respect both to commodities and exchange are administered by the Ministry of Customs and Monopolies in the first instance, but the Ministry of Commerce and the Foreign Exchange Con UT THE STATES OF AMERICA, trol Committee also have administrative and substantive responsibilities. To conform with exchange procedures, the exporter first registers his transaction with the Foreign Exchange Control Committee which furnishes him with a form by which he commits himself to turn over his foreign exchange proceeds to the Government. This completed document must be presented to the customs together with his export declaration and usual commercial documentation, and, in some cases, a certificate that the export goods meet certain standards as to quality and grading. At the present time this special "standards" requirement is limited to gum tragacanth, casings (animal intestines), carpets, and raw cotton. When the goods and required documentation are turned over to customs, the exporter obtains a delivery receipt which he may use as the basis for applying for a loan from the Export Development Bank. As most Iranian exports are agricultural products, the chief concern of the United States importer should be to ensure that the goods will meet United States import standards from the standpoints of cleanliness and purity. Equal care should be taken to ensure that the quality of the goods shipped corresponds to the order. The two obvious ways to avoid difficulties of these kinds are to investigate the reputation of the exporter and make use of international inspection companies. United States Controls Exports At present all exports from the United States or its possessions to Iran are subject to the rules and regulations of the Bureau of Foreign Commerce, U. S. Department of Commerce, except for exports of arms, ammunition, and implements of war, which are licensed by the U. S. Department of State; gold and narcotics, licensed by the U. S. Department of the Treasury; and certain source material and facilities for the production of fissionable material, licensed by the Atomic Energy Commission. A Department of Commerce export licenses fall into two categories-general and validated licenses. general license is a privilege which permits exporters to make certain shipments without applying for or receiving a validated license document. The commodities subject to validated license requirements, as well as all other regulations concerning export control, are shown in the Comprehensive Export Schedule, which is available for examination at any Department of Commerce Field Office. The Comprehensive Export Schedule and supplementary Current Export Bulletins may be purchased from any Field Office or from the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C., at an annual subscription rate, beginning each March 31, of $6 ($1.50 additional for foreign mailing). Airmail service on the supplementary bulletins is available, to domestic subscribers only, at an additional cost of $4 a year. Additional information concerning export control requirements for shipments to Iran may be obtained direct from the Bureau of Foreign Commerce, U. S. Department of Commerce, Washington 25, D. C., or from any of the Department's Field Offices. Imports Information on United States import duties is obtainable from the Commissioner of Customs, U. S. Department of the Treasury, Washington 25, D. C., or from local collectors of customs. Absolute import quota restrictions on commercial products are limited, for the most part, to certain farm products for which officially supported prices in the United States are provided by law. Information on import quotas on controlled dairy products, and on permits for imports of oats, rye, barley, and wheat for planting purposes, may be obtained from the Import Division, Foreign Agricultural Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington 25, D. C. Information regarding import quotas on sugar is furnished by the Sugar Division, Commodity Stabilization Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Information on other commodities subject to import quotas is available from the Bureau of Customs, U. S. Department of the Treasury. For imports of arms, ammuntion, and implements of war, an import license must be obtained from the Office of Munitions Control, U. S. Department of State, Washington 25, D. C. Other Controls The Treasury Department's Division of Foreign Assets Control, Washington 25, D. C., should be consulted for information on the foreign assets control regulations, which prohibit all unlicensed transactions directly or indirectly involving mainland Chinese or North Korean financing or trade. These regulations, among other things, specifically prohibit the unlicensed purchase in any foreign country of all goods of mainland Chinese origin and all goods of types which in the past were chiefly imported into the United States from mainland China. The Division of Foreign Assets Control should also be consulted with respect to the transactions control regulations, which prohibit Americans from shipping strategic materials from any foreign country to a Soviet bloc country. Appendix A List of Prohibited Imports Animal Products Lard; bacon in any form. Vegetable Products All kinds of canned vegetables; synthetic coffees made of barley, chicory, or similar substances; tea extracts, dry or liquid; ground pepper, turmeric, and other ground spices (powdered mustard, powdered curry, and powdered white pepper excepted); saffron ; angelica; safflower; red pepper; hemp seeds; poppyseed; cumin seeds and black seeds; madder; henna, dyeing flowers; indigoleaves; asafoetida; galbanum; opium; hashish; henbane leaves. Sugar Lump sugar and granulated sugar; artificial honey and artificial glucose. Beverages, Spirits, and Vinegar All kinds of alcoholic beverages; beer; wine; all kinds of nonalcoholic beverages; all kinds of alcohol usable for the preparation of any kind of alcoholic beverages (absolute alcohol excepted); edible vinegar; beet waste and other wastes of sugar refineries, breweries, and starch manufacture. Tobacco Tobacco; tombac; cigars; cigarettes; snuff tobacco; chewing tobacco; tobacco or tombac dust mixed or unmixed with other substances. Mineral Products Mineral and marine salts; aviation gas; dry-cleaning spirits; all Chemical and Pharmaceutical Products Industrial acids (nitric acid or azotic acid); sulfuric acid; All kinds of fur skins such as lambskin, fox, and other wild Rubber Manufactures Toys of all kinds and types. Wood Manufactures All kinds of ornaments made of wood. Paper Manufactures Playing cards, cardboard or plastic, etc.; immoral pictures and Natural silk; silk cocoons; floss silk; silk waste; raw silk yarn All kinds of containers whether of metal, glass, or other mate- Coriander, aniseed, anise, fennel seeds 10 10 Vegetable seeds and livestock feed seeds 5 Б Pomegranate rinds and walnut shells 1 2 10 Citrus rinds, fresh, dried preserved in brine 10 1 Vegetable sponge 25% ad valorem Ordinary cane, twigs, osier and wood fiber 1 0.50 "Veshgh," turpentine, sandarac, "ashtak," gal- Appendix B List of Goods Subject to Commercial Profit Tax1 Chapter I. Live Animals and Products of the Animal Tax in rials per Candies, sweet drops 20 |