FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(On behalf of the Ministry of Trade)

Contact: Sam Whitfield
whitfields@orha.centcom.mil

Friday, April 9, 2004

Scrap Metal Export Licensing Procedure

Baghdad, Iraq - The Ministry of Trade recently issued Draft Guidelines for the Export of Scrap Metal and invited public comment. The Minister reviewed the comments received, discussed those comments with Ministerial colleagues and advisors, and decided to revise the proposed licensing procedure with a more widespread and general license. The Minister believes that this will lead to a fairer and more equitable system than originally proposed and provide greater opportunities for smaller traders.

Under the revised system, there will be no requirement to register as a dealer in scrap metal and no registration fee will be charged. The auction plan has been cancelled, and a license fee for export will be charged instead. The license fee will be charged on the basis of a payment per metric ton. The amount of the fee is set at ID 50,000 per metric ton. No other fees may be charged for the movement of scrap metal inside Iraq or across its borders.

The licensing process will start on Friday, April 30, 2004, after which exporters may apply to the Ministry for a license. No export of scrap may take place prior to April 30, and no licenses will be issued prior to that date.

Full details of the licensing process may be found on the Ministry of Trade website www.motiraq.org.

Implementation of the Licensing Process

In order to implement the process in the immediate future, this procedure will be followed:

* Anybody wishing to export scrap may do so from April 30, 2004, via any recognized point of entry.

* An exporter must go to a bank branch from a list specified by the Ministry, pay the license fee and provide details of the size of the shipment and the point of exit to be used. The bank, will issue a numbered receipt showing that the fee has been paid and will inform the Iraqi Customs Service via the Ministry of Trade that the shipment is expected.

* The exporter must present the cargo for inspection to the Iraqi Customs Service at the designated crossing point together with the receipt evidencing payment.

* Iraqi Customs Service will verify the receipt and check that the amount of the cargo is equal to that represented by the receipt. The Customs Service will retain the receipt to prevent reuse and the exporter may proceed.

* The Customs Service will be instructed not to allow the export of any amount in excess of the amount for which the license fee has been paid.

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