ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Truck drivers transporting goods between the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk on Tuesday report lengthy delays and alleged bribery at Daraman checkpoint, despite a government plan to unify customs procedures through the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA).
"Every time they find a new excuse to stop us. When you ask why, they coldly tell you that it is your problem, not ours," Khalil Hassan, a truck driver, told Rudaw’s Hardi Mohammed, adding that they are forced to wait five to six hours at the checkpoint, even when their trucks are empty.
"I used to make two trips a day between Sulaimani and Erbil, but now I cannot even complete one because of these checkpoints. They are preventing us from making a living," Hiwa Sabir, another driver, told Rudaw.
The Daraman checkpoint, located on the Erbil-Kirkuk road, serves as a key transit and inspection point for commercial trucks and vehicles traveling between federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Officials in June agreed to implement ASYCUDA, a nationwide electronic customs platform that unifies customs procedures, improves transparency, reduces bureaucracy, and facilitates commercial movement across Iraq. Kurdish and Iraqi officials had said implementation would pave the way for removing internal customs checkpoints, including those in Kirkuk.
Despite ASYCUDA’s planned roll out in early August to streamline commercial movement and eliminate customs violations, drivers and transport company owners say little has changed on the ground.
Saman Noori, the owner of a transport company, alleged that bribes are demanded at multiple stages of the journey by security personnel manning the checkpoints.
"Before you even reach the checkpoint, security forces ask for between 20,000 and 50,000 Iraqi dinars ($15 to $38). Then you have to pay again at customs and the scanner. Otherwise, they will not process your paperwork," he told Rudaw.
Business representatives say the delays and additional costs have significantly disrupted trade between the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk.
"Bringing a single carton of goods from Sulaimani or Erbil to Kirkuk has become as expensive as importing it from China," Omar Mamo, deputy head of the Kirkuk Chamber of Commerce, told Rudaw.
The KRG and the Iraqi federal government agreed in June to implement ASYCUDA, an electronic customs platform developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), to digitize customs procedures and unify trade regulations across Iraq.
"We expect that staff training and practical procedures for the system will begin at the Kurdistan Region's border crossings in early August," Samer Qasim, director general of Iraqi customs, announced in late June.
Drivers protested by blocking the Erbil-Kirkuk road for around three hours, but ended Tuesday's demonstration without receiving commitments from authorities to address the delays or the alleged bribery.
