According to the International Iranian Stone Exhibition, miners and miners, like other large and influential economic sectors, need to coordinate and interact with upstream institutions, including customs, to develop their activities.

In the meantime, some cases, such as the lack of an export terminal, are a major challenge for some mining provinces. According to many activists in this field, if the establishment of a mineral export terminal in the long run, it will be a great and positive action for the mining sector, so much so that it can be said that the Achilles heel of mines in some mining provinces is the lack of a strong export terminal. The problem of importing used machinery required by the mining sector is another case that has always been proposed to eliminate government duties and customs duties on used machinery. Of course, with the follow-ups, the elimination of customs duties has been achieved.

However, the quarrel between the mining sector and the customs is one of the long-running disputes. Mining activists believe that although they act legally, they face problems and cannot proceed like economic actors in other countries. They believe that administrative bureaucracy, cumbersome laws, high tariffs, keeping their goods in customs and their so-called deposition, and finally late clearance are some of the obstacles that sometimes involve the miner for up to a year.

Export is a specialized and young thing

Behrouz Farahshirazi, Mining Activist: Export is a specialized and young thing; In this way, a large part of the problems in customs are caused by the owners of the goods. Most of them face problems in the field of customs due to lack of knowledge and expertise. On the other hand, the customs is a group that should help the miner in the supply chain discussion. However, the customs body is heavy due to government and administrative bureaucracy, and this body avoids compliance with international standards. Moments and moments are very important in international economic activity and everything is done according to schedule and on a regular basis; Thus, in most countries, the performance of customs in the mineral sales chain is important. Given these cases in Iran, instead of being an obstacle to exports, this sector should be more agile and move with international speed. Of course, although Iran's customs has been relatively active, it has not yet been able to meet international standards. In addition to the clearance and preparation of goods to leave the country, the deposition of goods in customs can affect mining and the economy from several angles.

With the cessation of goods at customs, we will witness the sleep of capital, the cessation of production lines, the occupation of port space, the creation of surplus warehousing costs, and so on. What we will see with the deposition of goods in ports is the loss of credibility of Iran's mines and a blow to the economy as a whole. On the other hand, the sleep of capital delays the circulation of liquidity and can cause many problems for the country. To improve this process, we must take more serious steps and pay attention to the fact that the competence and credibility of the owner of the goods is a guarantee of the clearance of goods. After the initial inspections and evaluations, the goods should be exported easily and then the administrative affairs should go through their normal process. In this process, the monitoring and control systems must do their job accurately, and the trade unions of the owners of goods must have a stronger position in defending and protecting their rights. Also, remove various cumbersome directives and laws to make the path smoother.

Suggestions for solving the problems of miners with customs

Saeed Samadi, Member of the Iranian Coal Association: Many of the mines that are affiliated with the Coal Association and import the mining equipment they need, in particular, face problems created by customs. Barriers created by customs have often led to declining production and investment in the mining sector. Of course, it is not only the customs that are to blame for this problem, and other groups are also involved in the problems. In other words, whenever the government and related entities restrict imports in the country for any reason, the rules and regulations have changed to the detriment of mining operators. In this process, activists in the field who need to import, have been forced to obtain permits from various centers, which has taken a lot of time and money. Also, due to cumbersome regulations, most goods remain in customs for a long time, which confuses all calculations for economic actors. On the other hand, unfortunately, the rules do not differentiate between those who want to enter a mining locomotive and those who want to enter a Toyota Camry.

Also, there is no difference between luxury car spare parts and mining equipment, and the rules are the same for everyone. Sometimes the decisions of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade are also problematic. The ministry is the main player that should solve the problems created by the customs for the miners. Although many economic actors have taken steps to cooperate with the ministry, problems remain unresolved; The Coal Association, for example, has repeatedly sent lists of equipment required for coal mines to the ministry, but mining activists have difficulty obtaining permission from the ministry. In fact, on the one hand, the increase in the exchange rate has increased the cost of imports and equipment for economic actors, and on the other hand, the cumbersome import laws have added to their problems. Some policies of the central bank also add to these problems.

At one time, the central bank's policy was to reduce imports, as a result of which the miner waited for several months for foreign exchange to be allocated. In fact, the aim was to prevent the import of unnecessary and consumer goods that were similar to domestic ones, but this measure prevented all economic activities. He added: "In this situation, we see that the smuggling of goods has increased and the miner, who does not do such a thing at all, is getting weaker every day." To solve the problems of the mining sector in customs, it is proposed that the government provide a system so that the raw materials of industry and mining, including the required equipment and spare parts, can be imported more easily than luxury and non-essential goods. In order for this to work, easier laws must be enacted by the government.

Customs slows down the turnover process

Baqer Mohammadi, stone field activist: It is an undeniable fact that customs cause many problems for mining activists. All over the world, the turnover period is known to economic actors. In this way, the product and raw materials enter the country and go through their natural path to finally reach the consumer, while unfortunately, our country's customs takes measures that make this process very long and time consuming.

Unfortunately, with such measures, many production units have ceased to operate and the import of the desired goods is no longer economically viable for economic actors, especially in the mining sector. .

But about the weaknesses in the country that we are witnessing such a trend, it should be said that fortunately there is no legal weakness in this area, because there are enough laws and regulations in the country. The important thing is that there is poor management in the country ; In other words, those who manage things are not in their position and do not have the necessary competencies. In this way, they do not recognize the importance of time and create a lot of costs for economic actors. To solve these problems, in the first step, all economic affairs must be transparent. The government should clarify from the beginning what goods can and cannot be imported into the country so that goods do not stay in customs for about 6 to a year and do not face barriers to entry.

Concluding remarks

One of the issues that miners complain about is the barriers created by customs, which often cause a product to be cleared late, leaving the miner with problems such as capital dormancy. Experts believe that although Iran's customs has been relatively active, it has not yet been able to meet international standards. In the meantime, we are witnessing the loss of credibility of Iran's mines and the impact on the country's economy as a whole. The performance of customs has caused the sleep of capital and as a result the rotation of liquidity has been delayed. According to them, the customs body has become heavy due to its statehood and administrative bureaucracy, and this institution is not in line with international standards.

Barriers created by customs have often led to declining production and investment in the mining sector. Of course, some experts also believe that customs alone is not to blame, and other groups are also involved in the existing problems. They argue that whenever the government and related groups restrict imports in the country for any reason, the rules and regulations have changed to the detriment of mining operators. In this process, activists in the field who need to import, have been forced to obtain permits from various centers, which has taken a lot of time and money. As a solution, experts believe that customs should be more agile and move at an international pace.

In the meantime, the ministry is expected to stand with other economic and mining actors alongside other executive bodies. The Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, along with all its subdivisions, must stand by economic actors and advance part of the chain in the discussion of mineral exports. Given that exports face many obstacles in the country, all executive bodies must work together to solve the problem. Experts also emphasize that the government should establish a system so that the raw materials of industry and mining, including equipment and spare parts needed by miners, can be imported more easily than luxury and unnecessary goods; Otherwise, many production units will be shut down and the import of the desired goods will no longer be economically viable for economic actors, especially in the mining sector, and eventually the producer and the people will suffer and give up their needs due to the high cost of the final product.