The Legal Regime Governing Import and Export of Petroleum Products with a Comparative Look

دانشنامه حقوق اقتصادی

Article 2, Volume 25, Issue 13, April 2018, Pages 21-44   

Document Type: Scientific research

DOI: 10.22067/le.v25i14.64808

Authors

seyed nasrollah ebrahimi¹; zahra karimifard^{* 2}

¹tehran

²TEHRAN

Abstract

In spite of widespread efforts on the part of Iran to develop a non-oil-dependent economy, experts believe that the prominent position of oil and petroleum products in the Iranian economy, particularly in relation to import/export operations is still undeniable. The main purpose of this study is to emphasize that the presence of a country in the international trade arena is significantly influenced by the legal regime governing the import/export of such products. On the other hand, it is inferred that oil, rather than being an economic commodity, is a political one, and this explains why it is the focus of attention in many states with oil-based economies. Despite the fact that scholars have not paid much attention to the legal regime governing customs import and export so far, it is imperative that the opportunities, barriers and requirements of the  Iran's presence in the dynamic sectors of the oil trade (including exports and imports) globally with respect to the regime Internal law be investigated. Failure to pay attention to the oil export sector makes the economy more vulnerable to these fluctuations, and this can affect the stability of the financial market and foreign exchange rates. According to the existing resources, since the theory of relative superiority is based on the basis that a country is specialized in the production and export of goods that can produce the product at relatively low cost, this should lead to the encouragement of the production and export of goods. The obvious application of this theory in Iran is the production and export of petroleum products, because the production of petroleum products can be done at a very low cost with regard to crude oil resources in Iran. The legal regime governing import/export of petroleum and non-petroleum products also pinpoints many differences in terms of tax exemptions and export incentives.
 Over the past few years, the World Bank Business Unit has been exploring the business environment in different countries and has used 10 indicators to measure business environments in the country, the eighth indicator of which is foreign trade. The company measures the three factors that businessmen are facing to trade in different countries in order to measure the ease of trade and how customs operate in different countries. These factors are: 1. Costs for clearance or administrative procedures; 2. When they are doing business; 3. The number of steps to be taken and the number of documents that must be prepared; in fact, this indicator is the indicative of the efficiency of customs in different countries. According to the World Bank's rating based on the ease and difficulty of transnational trade in the countries of the world in 2017, Singapore was ranked first, Afghanistan was ranked 183th and ranked last, and Iran was ranked 120. One of the most important problems in the customs system of Iran is the large changes in customs regulations and regulatory instability, which causes not only traders but also customs officials themselves to be confused and ambiguous. Regarding comparative law, since it seemed reasonable to learn from legislative experiences in other countries, particularly those countries with economic conditions similar to those in Iran, the author investigated the legal regimes practiced in the field of import/export. Certain measures adopted by some of the studied countries to create economic advantage were of particular interest: for instance in Brazil, an international airport is allocated for the transportation operations required for the import/export of petroleum products in the United States, the detailed legislation in compliance with natural resources is enacted; in the European Union, serious efforts are being adapt to  international trade rules, Especially in Turkey, tax exemptions for /export of the specific products, and apply  , the concept of “Single Trade Window” in Singapore has been implemented for creating economic advantage. Similar measures can also be considered in Iran for the purpose of improving the present economic situation in the country. In the economic justification for the reduction of trade barriers, it can be included that if a country reduces trade barriers, its economic benefits will not only come to its trading partners, but also the country itself will benefit from this decline because its consumers are cheaper and better. And manufacturers in the country will also be more competitive through competitive pressure. It should be noted that the sensitivity and importance of this in the export of petroleum products to countries has led to identifying the tools and factors in it and attempting to expand exports. Regarding oil and oil products, the undeniable capacity of a country is in fossil fuel transit which improves its position in the oil market. Iran's position on oil transit routes is unique, and it is essential that this capacity is investigated and  full use. .

Keywords

Oil; petroleum products; exportation and importation petroleum products; legal regime and customs regulations governing oil

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