Official documents republished for reference with source links. Not legal advice — customs practice changes; confirm current fees and approvals with your clearing agent or the customs directorate. Last verified 2026-09-29.
Part of the Iraq & Kurdistan Regulations Library
What the 8 approval flags in the KRG customs tariff mean
Every KRG tariff line carries eight yes/no columns. Here is what each one asks for, who signs it, the official fee, and where it is written.
Where the flags come from
The KRG customs tariff lists, for each HS line, eight columns headed صحة · زراعة · بيطرة · انشائية · كوالتي · ص.سرطان · ا.داخلي · محروقات. Seven are approvals or tests an importer must clear; one (ص.سرطان) is a surcharge. Their legal basis is Customs Instructions No. 6 of 2016; the Kurdistan e-services portal (service MOF-21, last updated 2024-03-18) publishes the official sample-receipt fee for each. The portal adds one sentence that matters for budgeting: the laboratory test itself is charged separately by the testing office when a test is actually run — so the fee below is what you pay to hand in a sample, not the whole cost.
The eight columns
| Column | Meaning | Authority (KRG) | Official sample fee (services.gov.krd, 2024) | What the importer needs | Typical goods | How sure is this | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| صحة | Health approval; a food sample is taken | Ministry of Health — food and drug control; health inspection at the border | $13 — receipt of a food sample | Health certificate from origin; sample taken at the border; laboratory result before release | Food, beverages, cosmetics, detergents, medical consumables | Confirmed in the published sources | Instructions 6/2016 · Tariff calculator |
| زراعة | Agriculture / plant-quarantine approval | Ministry of Agriculture & Water Resources — plant quarantine | $13 — receipt of an agricultural sample | Phytosanitary certificate; quarantine sample | Grain, seeds, fruit and vegetables, plants, fertiliser, timber | Confirmed in the published sources | Instructions 6/2016 · Tariff calculator |
| بيطرة | Veterinary approval | Ministry of Agriculture — veterinary directorate | $13 — receipt of a veterinary sample | Veterinary health certificate; sample | Live animals, meat, dairy, eggs, animal feed, hides | Confirmed in the published sources | Instructions 6/2016 · Tariff calculator |
| كوالتي | Quality control (conformity) | The Region’s quality-control body; pre-shipment Certificate of Conformity under the CBCA programme | $13 — receipt of a quality-control sample | Certificate of Conformity issued before shipment | The 119 CBCA categories: toys, tyres and parts, cement, steel, pipes, tiles, sanitary ware, LPG appliances, stationery, baby items, generator engines… | Meaning confirmed. Which certification body applies today: confirm with your clearing agent | CBCA list · Instructions 6/2016 · Tariff calculator |
| انشائية | Construction-materials laboratory test | The construction laboratory — Ministry of Construction & Housing / municipalities | $7 — receipt of a construction-materials sample | Sample to the construction laboratory; test result | Cement, rebar, steel sections, bricks, blocks, tiles, gypsum, pipes | Confirmed in the published sources | Instructions 6/2016 · Tariff calculator |
| ص.سرطان | Cancer-fund surcharge — not an approval | Cancer Patients Support Fund, Law 11/2012; applied by customs under Instructions 6/2016 item 44 | 5 % of the customs value on tobacco, cigarettes and alcoholic drinks (instruction). The law words it as 5 % on the duties and fees of health-harmful goods | Nothing to obtain — it is added to the customs bill | Tobacco, cigarettes, alcoholic drinks. Whether any other line is flagged is what the tariff row says | Confirmed in the instruction. Which base is charged (value or duty): confirm with your clearing agent | Law 11/2012 · Instructions 6/2016 · Tariff calculator |
| ا.داخلي | Ministry of Interior approval | Ministry of Interior (KRG) — Instructions 6/2016 items 29 and 33 | None listed | Written Ministry of Interior approval before import | Named in the instruction: thinner in packs above 20 L (item 29); cameras and surveillance equipment except for homes and public places (item 33). Radio and communications gear, drones and fireworks are often mentioned but are not read from a KRG text | Column meaning confirmed. The full goods list: confirm with your clearing agent | Instructions 6/2016 · Tariff calculator |
| محروقات | Fuels / petroleum-products approval | Ministry of Natural Resources — Law No. 3 of 2021 on importing, storing and selling petroleum products | $9 — receipt of an imported-fuel sample | Ministry of Natural Resources import authorisation; fuel sample and laboratory test | Gasoline, diesel, kerosene, fuel oil, lubricants; bitumen — check | Confirmed in the published sources | Instructions 6/2016 · Tariff calculator |
Other fixed items on a KRG declaration (services.gov.krd, 2024)
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Inspection fee (كشف), large truck | $17 per truck |
| Inspection fee, 2-ton truck | $9 |
| Bank commission | $5 (not charged where the post has no bank) |
| Declaration form | $3 |
| Weighbridge | $5 |
| Fiscal stamp | $2 |
| Income tax on imports | one of four rates by tariff type: 1.8 %, 7 %, 0.3 %, 2.25 % (Directorate of Taxes letters 1263 and 1491 of 2019) |
| Export tax, all goods | 0.75 % |
These are the official published figures as of the portal’s last update (2024-03-18). Whether they are what is paid in 2026, and what private testing companies charge on top, is not confirmed — ask your clearing agent.
Two things the flags do not tell you
- A health approval does not change the HS line or the rate. The Iraqi General Customs Authority restated this for federal customs on 2026-09-18 (INA): classification and approval are separate questions, and the same separation holds in the Region.
- The flags are read per tariff line. Use the tariff calculator for the HS line, duty value and rate; whether a given line is flagged is what the KRG tariff row itself says, and this page tells you what the flag then asks for.
Clearing a shipment into Kurdistan or federal Iraq?
Send the HS line and the origin; we answer with the approvals and the lane.
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