Peregraf — The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraq's federal government have claimed to have reached a comprehensive agreement on implementing the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA), covering customs administration, tariffs, and border management, according to an informed source. The deal has yet to receive formal ratification.
According to the source, representatives from both governments agreed on 16 specific points during talks held on Wednesday. The agreement is expected to be submitted for formal approval at the next meeting of Iraq's Ministerial Council for the Economy.
If ratified, the deal would mark a step toward integrating the Kurdistan Region's customs procedures into a unified national framework while preserving a degree of administrative authority for the regional government — though similar claims of progress have repeatedly stalled in recent months.
Among the provisions cited by the source is the addition of the Kurdish language to the ASYCUDA platform, alongside Arabic and English, allowing customs officials in the Kurdistan Region to operate the system in Kurdish.
The agreement would also grant the Kurdistan Region authority to register regional companies in the system and confirm that import and export licenses issued by the KRG would remain valid.
Company registration documents issued by the Kurdistan Region and industrial development certificates issued by regional authorities would likewise be recognized under the arrangement.
Unified Tariffs and Joint Administration
A central element of the claimed agreement is the unification of customs tariffs across all border crossings in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Under the deal, future changes to tariff rates would require joint coordination between Baghdad and Erbil.
The agreement would further route customs and tax revenue disputes through Iraq's Ministerial Council for the Economy, with customs exemptions and measures designed to protect domestic products to be settled through the same mechanism.
To address disputes surrounding unofficial border crossings, the two sides agreed to establish a joint committee.
The agreement also states that no additional monitoring or oversight measures would be imposed on any border crossing in Iraq, including those in the Kurdistan Region.
Constitutional Framework
Officials said the agreement was concluded in accordance with Articles 110, 112, 114, and 121 of Iraq's Constitution — provisions that define the distribution of powers between the federal government and regional authorities.
As part of the stated implementation process, federal customs authorities would train personnel at the Kurdistan Region's border crossings.
A dedicated ASYCUDA team would also be established in the Kurdistan Region to operate within the unified national system while avoiding administrative overlap between federal and regional institutions.
The agreement would further provide for a secure backup copy of Iraq's customs data to be maintained by the Kurdistan Region's Information Technology Department.
Trade and Revenue Implications
The ASYCUDA platform, developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), is currently operational at 22 federal border crossings across Iraq.
Federal authorities say the system is intended to streamline customs procedures, improve revenue collection, reduce bureaucracy, and increase transparency.
Officials from both governments have spent months negotiating a framework for implementing the system in the Kurdistan Region, where disagreements over customs administration and revenue sharing have been part of broader disputes between Baghdad and Erbil. A senior KRG official said as recently as early May that no final agreement had been reached.
The claimed agreement also includes provisions for a unified agricultural calendar, mutual recognition of free customs zones, joint quality-control inspections of imported goods, and recognition of commercial documentation issued by both governments.
If formally approved by the Ministerial Council for the Economy, the deal could remove one of the remaining obstacles in negotiations over revenues and financial relations between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region.