Iraq’s October customs revenue more than doubles to 526 billion dinars

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s customs revenue more than doubled in October from a year earlier to more than 526 billion dinars, the director general of the General Customs Authority said Monday.

Thamer Qasim Dawood said in a statement sent to 964media that October revenue reached more than 526 billion dinars (about $350 million at the official rate). That compares with more than 259 billion dinars (about $200 million at the time) in October 2025, an increase of more than 267 billion dinars, or about 103%.

“These results represent tangible progress in customs collection levels,” Dawood said.

He said the results came from the authority’s work to tighten oversight, improve customs procedures and expand automation through Asycuda, the UN-developed electronic customs system. The authority will keep working to raise non-oil revenue, protect public money and enforce financial and administrative discipline, he said.

Dawood did not say how much of the increase came from the devaluation of the dinar on Oct. 7. On that day the official selling price of the dollar rose from 1,320 to 1,520 dinars, raising the cost of dollars bought at the official rate to pay for imports.

The cabinet later exempted all imported food and medicine from customs duties, backdating the exemption to Oct. 7. Parliament’s Finance Committee discussed the expected loss of revenue with Dawood on Oct. 25. The statement did not say how the exemption affected October’s total.

The authority said on Oct. 12 that September revenue rose about 32% from a year earlier to 442.27 billion dinars (about $340 million at the time).

Customs collected about 2.5 trillion dinars in all of 2025 (about $1.9 billion at the time), Border Ports Authority head Lt. Gen. Omar al-Waeli said in August. In June, on Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s orders to raise non-oil revenue, the customs authority began rotating staff at border crossings and agreed with Erbil to extend Asycuda to customs centers in the Kurdistan Region.

Oil provides more than 90% of federal revenue. The draft 2027 budget is due to reach parliament on Nov. 15, Finance Committee chair Uday Awad said on Oct. 26.