Tuesday, 19 May 2020
Announcement regarding freight movement from Iran to Armenia
Transit declarations will temporarily be completed at Meghri customs checkpoint division for goods imported from Iran in trucks registered in Armenia
Given the spread of coronavirus and the current restrictions, import of goods from Iran to Armenia has been being carried out via reloading (reloading of 70-80 trucks per day). Whereas, freight movement to other places in Armenia has been accompanied by police (80-100 trucks per day). However, 150-180 trucks are entering the area of the customs checkpoint of Meghri every day, which is beyond the normal activity of the checkpoint. Given the peculiarities of the checkpoint’s handling capacity, this has resulted in pile-ups. Although the employees in each shift are working without rest, pile-ups are inevitable. Incomplete documents, failure of declarants to make bank payments on time, as well as inconsistencies in the weight, quantity and description of the freight - all lead to pile-ups.
In order to ensure a smooth process of freight movement, Armenian drivers have been allowed to enter the territory of Iran to carry out reloading at Norduz checkpoint. Currently, Norduz is also overloaded, and approximately 300 trucks are creating heavy traffic. The heads of both customs checkpoints of Meghri and Norduz hold discussions on the issues and ways to solve them every day.
To somewhat mitigate the situation at Meghri border checkpoint, the SRC has decided that transit declarations be temporarily filled at Meghri customs checkpoint-division for goods imported from Iran in trucks registered in Armenia, and that the goods be sent to other Armenian customs authorities and terminals, where the final customs formalities and release will be carried out.
SRC calls for drivers, sole proprietors, firms and authorized persons representing them at customs authorities who are carrying out freight movement from Iran and are using the border checkpoint of Meghri for this purpose, to exercise restraint and to keep discipline, especially given the situation of the state of emergency, and to approach all arising issues with understanding now that free movement of vehicles arriving from Iran is still restricted.
