Vehicles Over 2,500cc from Free Zones Enabled in Trade System

Effective from

13 June 2026

Issued by

Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade

Reference

No. 7941901

Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization has instructed that order registration be enabled in the Comprehensive Trade System for a set of tariff codes covering vehicles with an engine displacement above 2,500cc that were lawfully present in free trade-industrial zones before the executive bylaw restricting such imports was notified.

The decision follows a legal opinion issued by the Vice Presidency for Legal Affairs of the President, in response to an inquiry from the Trade Promotion Organization on the applicability of the import restriction to vehicles already inside free zones. Under Article 8 of the executive bylaw of Article 11 of the Automotive Industry Organization Law (Cabinet Resolution No. 168753/T65368H, dated July 15, 2024), restrictions and prohibitions, including the ban on importing passenger cars with an engine displacement above 2,500cc, apply to the import of new vehicles into the country’s customs territory following notification of that bylaw. Article 9 of the same bylaw sets out a distinct, special rule for imported vehicles already present in free trade-industrial zones before the bylaw’s notification: eligibility for national plate registration and travel within the mainland for this category of vehicles depends solely on the vehicle having been present in the free zone before the bylaw’s notification, being under five years old at the time of import, and payment of all applicable duties and import rights, including customs duties and approved commercial profit, along with compliance with other related rules.

The legal opinion concluded that this special and exceptional provision of Article 9, adopted to resolve the status of vehicles already registered and present in free zones, cannot be narrowed by the general engine-displacement threshold in Article 8. It further held that, under the principle against retroactive application of restrictive regulations, the new engine-displacement ceiling cannot be extended to vehicles that were lawfully present in free zones under valid authorizations before the bylaw was notified. Accordingly, vehicles with an engine displacement above 2,500cc that were lawfully present in free trade-industrial zones before the bylaw’s notification are not subject to the Article 8 prohibition, and their national plate registration and travel within the mainland is unimpeded, provided the relevant formalities are completed.

Based on this legal opinion, the Bureau of Import and Export Regulations instructed that order registration be enabled in the Comprehensive Trade System for the following tariff codes: 87032319, 87030790, 87030690, 87030590, 87030490, 87033329, 87033319, 87032490, and 87032339. Importers and free-zone vehicle owners affected by this measure should confirm current eligibility and required documentation, including proof of the vehicle’s presence in the free zone before the bylaw’s notification and its age at the time of import, with the Trade Promotion Organization or Iran Customs before proceeding with registration.

Key Details

• Approval authority: Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade
• Responsible organization: Not specified
• Classification: Circular
• Affected procedure: Clearance
• Document number: 7941901
• Unique identifier: 405032358009
• Document date: June 9, 2026
• Publication date: June 13, 2026
• Effective date: June 13, 2026
• Expiration date: Not specified

This summary is provided for orientation only. The official Persian text issued by the relevant Iranian authority is the governing version.