According to the Public Relations and International Affairs of the Kish Free Zone Organization, in a meeting attended by Ali Salemi-Zadeh, Prosecutor General and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Kish; Kourosh Dastpak, Acting Director of Development and Trade Management of the Kish Free Zone Organization; Captain Mehdi Shahidi, Acting Head of Kish Traffic Police; and Captain Hadi Hesari, Head of Kish Economic Police, legal and executive obstacles in the automotive sector, including duties, after-sales services, types of registration plates, temporary import vehicles and the vehicle clearance process, were discussed and reviewed.
Ali Salemi-Zadeh, emphasizing the necessity of accelerating the handling of visitors’ affairs, said: efforts must be made so that people do not encounter problems in the customs sector, and just as matters related to the Kish Free Zone Organization are completed within 72 hours, processes related to the Customs of the Islamic Republic of Iran should also be completed as quickly as possible.
The Prosecutor General and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Kish described this island as a pioneer among the country’s free zones and added: the level of public demand in Kish has caused managers to update themselves and to adapt their performance to current needs and conditions in order to better respond to people’s demands.
Kourosh Dastpak, appreciating the public-oriented approach of the Prosecutor General and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Kish, said: proposals and warnings raised with the aim of reforming processes, increasing transparency, reducing grounds for corruption and strengthening public-orientedness must be examined and appropriate solutions must be devised for their implementation. In such a way that, while observing laws and regulations, the speed of service provision to clients is not reduced.
He stated that the extension of certain mainland laws to free zones has limited the powers of executive agencies to solve people’s problems, and added: cooperation and correspondence from the judiciary on issues such as warehouse receipts and temporary import vehicles have been helpful for the public and the executive body and have resolved the problems of a large portion of those affected.
The Acting Director of Development and Trade Management of the Kish Free Zone Organization, criticizing the collection of fees for issuing after-sales service documents without having real infrastructure, said: a company that commits to providing after-sales services must have the necessary licenses, a repair shop, parts and the required operational capacity; because issuing a document without the ability to provide real services cannot be considered after-sales service.
Dastpak, referring to the mandatory Iranian national standard No. 19117 in the field of automotive after-sales services, added: currently, only one company in Kish has succeeded in obtaining this standard and other companies must take action to obtain the necessary licenses and standards. Also, the groundwork must be laid for the activity of another company to prevent the creation of a monopoly and the service tariff should be determined by the Trade Management.
He spoke about the scrappage certificate and the obligation to provide after-sales services, saying: the implementation of these items, given the current circumstances and the coordination made with the Prosecutor’s Office, has been temporarily suspended and if the decision changes, it will be implemented based on the announced regulations.
Dastpak considered determining the status of temporary import vehicles another issue facing the island and added: these vehicles, except for tourist vehicles which are subject to specific regulations, must be returned to the country of origin after the two-year period expires; while returning them under current conditions faces technical and executive obstacles and if a suitable solution is not foreseen, it may lead to increased public visits and social consequences.
Referring to the possibility of converting the status of some 2020 and 2021 model vehicles following coordination and a joint interpretation, he said: a large portion of eligible owners have used this possibility; however, for other vehicles approaching the end of the legal deadline, a solution must be provided within the framework of higher-level laws and organization guidelines.
The Acting Director of Development and Trade Management of the Kish Free Zone Organization emphasized: correspondence with the judiciary should be aimed at resolving general problems, not solving the issue of a specific individual. Visitors should only be referred to the Prosecutor’s Office when their demand is justified but existing laws, regulations or guidelines have deprived the executive agency of the ability to resolve the issue.
After the meeting, attendees visited various sections of Kish customs and were informed about the manner of handling and providing services to visitors.