Journal of history of Iran)

Document Type : review paper

Abstract

The governmental custom house in Iran is very long-standing and its generation goes back to the pre-Islamic and Islamic period. Each and every one of the Iranian governments in ancient times owned customhouses, and devised regulations for this office in the course of economic exchanges with other nations. After the Qajar dynasty took office in Iran in the early nineteenth century, some major developments were made in the country's customs organization, because of the global changes and the increase in its political and economical relationships, as well as Iran's further involvement in the world's economic system. Some of these developments, which were basically made after the presence of the foreign forces in the matters related to the customs, include: the establishment of the Ministry of Customs, formation and publication of the customs’ constitutional regulations, the abrogation of the principles of the tenancy, and setting new customs tariffs. Although these developments led to the rejuvenation of the structure of the customhouses in Iran and to the increase in the income through the customs, they failed to form the needed economic and financial foundations for the country's development. Eventually, it was the foreign powers privileged in Iran which cherished the benefits of these developments. The approach of this study and its methods in gathering data are historical. The study thus employs archival documents and authoritative sources.
 

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