Petrochemical and Refinery Export Ban Ambiguities Resolved

Effective from

4 May 2026

Issued by

Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade

Reference

No. 7609372

Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), acting for the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, has notified the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration of a joint meeting record resolving ambiguities in the export restrictions covering petrochemical and refinery products.

The notice responds to earlier correspondence (No. 95389/1405 dated April 21, 2026, and No. 102443/1405 dated April 22, 2026) raising ambiguities in the export of petrochemical products, and follows up on letter No. 8576674 dated April 26, 2026, regarding the status of sulfur, LPG, butane, and propane exports. A joint meeting of representatives from the Ministry’s Downstream Petrochemical Industries Development Office, the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, and the Ministry’s Chemical and Polymer Industries Office was held to determine the matter, addressed in item 2 of the meeting record attached to letter No. 8576674 of April 26, 2026, following an earlier session on April 25, 2026.

Under item 1 of the resulting meeting record (letter No. 8572723 dated April 26, 2026, from the Chemical and Polymer Industries Office), the export of industrial soot (tariff code 28030000), light naphtha (tariff code 27101090), heavy naphtha and furnace fuel oil (tariff code 27100500), and ethylene (tariff code 27101200) may proceed as under past practice, subject to compliance with other applicable rules, because these product types — naphtha of all grades, furnace fuel oil, and various petroleum solvents shared with mini-refinery-produced hydrocarbons — fall under tariff line items 27101290 and 27101990. This determination excludes all hydrocarbons containing any grade of xylene (mixed, para, and ortho), toluene, acetic acid, benzene, lubricants, and isobutanol/MTBE, which continue to be governed under separate rules pending further clarification. The record additionally confirms, per letter No. 8285 dated April 26, 2026, from the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, that exports of naphtha types (light, heavy, and intermediate), white oil (Residue, under tariff code 27101290), furnace fuel oil, solvent types (under tariff codes 27101290 and 27101990), butane gas (tariff code 27101190), and sulfur (tariff code 25030090) may likewise proceed subject to other applicable regulations.

The notice separately follows up on letter No. 7354513 dated January 30, 2026, concerning exports under petrochemical tariff lines produced by downstream industries. Based on a list of companies and their corresponding tariff codes forwarded by the National Petrochemical Company under letter No. 7602957 dated May 8, 2026, exports of products under the tariff codes listed in that companion letter — produced by the companies and units named in its attachment, as well as exports of products purchased from the Iran Mercantile Exchange’s export ring as listed by the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company or the National Petrochemical Company — are also permitted, subject to other applicable rules, including compliance with item 2 of the requirements concerning the list of chemical substances and precursor materials for narcotics and psychotropic substances under the 1988 Convention (Red List), per letter No. 561/9019 dated December 27, 2025, from the Director General of Drug and Substance Affairs at the Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education.

Businesses exporting petrochemical or refinery products under the tariff codes and companies identified in the meeting record should confirm current status with customs, since certain hydrocarbon categories, including specified xylene, toluene, benzene, and glycol derivatives, remain outside the scope of this clarification.

Key Details

• Approval authority: Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade
• Responsible organization: Not specified
• Classification: Circular
• Affected procedure: Exports
• Document number: 7609372
• Unique identifier: 405021469787
• Document date: April 28, 2026
• Publication date: May 4, 2026
• Effective date: May 4, 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.