Interview with Mohammad Khodadadi, Project Manager for Power Supply to Cryptocurrency Mining Centers at Tavanir Company

According to Mohammad Khodadadi, under the new customs resolution, miners need to obtain approval from the National Standards Organization for clearance, and importing miners with an energy efficiency rating lower than B is prohibited.

New Challenge for Cryptocurrency Miners in the Country

Which miners’ imports were banned?

Based on the new resolution by Iran Customs Administration, mining devices must obtain a license from the National Standards Organization for clearance, and importing miners with an energy consumption rating lower than A or B is prohibited. Furthermore, serial numbers must also be affixed to these devices.

The issue of energy consumption by Bitcoin miners in Iran has been a subject of debate among officials for a long time, with constant criticism regarding the high electricity consumption of these devices. Therefore, over recent years, several laws and resolutions have been introduced to control the power consumption of these miners and combat illegal activities in this area.

In line with this, Iran Customs Administration recently announced in a new directive that the clearance of cryptocurrency mining devices is contingent upon obtaining approval from the National Standards Organization, and the import of miners with energy consumption ratings below A and B is prohibited. Additionally, the directive stipulates that importers of miners are required to affix a serial number on each device.

This directive, issued on April 25, states: Following the circulars numbered 139/99/876775 dated October 14, 2020, 175/99/1058706 dated November 6, 2020, 196/1400/1141764 dated November 19, 2021, and identifier 6325098 regarding cryptocurrency mining devices (miners), given the mandatory compliance with standard regulations for the import of cryptocurrency mining devices under fee heading 84719020, it is necessary to direct that:

1. The clearance of cryptocurrency mining devices is subject to the provision of a license from the Iran National Standards Organization via the comprehensive customs system on the relevant declaration.

2. Importers of the aforementioned goods are required to record the serial number of each device in the comments on the declaration in the comprehensive customs system.

3. The physical inspection of the incoming shipment’s declaration requires verifying and matching at least 5% of the serial numbers declared by the importer with the serial numbers on the declared goods.

4. The declaration of cryptocurrency mining devices (miners) under fee heading 84719020 is placed under the red channel for goods evaluation.

5. Considering item (35) of clause (6) -the list of goods subject to mandatory energy label regulations- importing cryptocurrency mining devices with an energy grade lower than A and B is prohibited. Therefore, during the evaluation of the incoming goods, careful attention should be given to the installation of an energy consumption label on the goods, and the energy grade of the imported goods should be duly noted and included in the evaluation report.

Regarding the new directive from Iran Customs Administration on the requirements for importing miners into the country, an interview was conducted with Mohammad Khodadadi, the project manager for power supply to cryptocurrency mining centers at Tavanir Company, which we will cover below.

The new customs directive was enacted by the mandatory standards imposed by the Iran National Standards Organization. Since September of last year, the National Standards Organization made energy consumption standards mandatory for miners. Based on this, on April 25 of this year, the Iran Customs Administration announced the ban on importing miners with energy ratings below B.

The benefit of the customs directive, and, the mandatory enforcement of energy label standards, is that it reduces the likelihood of miners entering the unauthorized sector and using subsidized electricity. This is because miners with energy ratings of C and D typically provide fewer terahashes to the network for the electricity they consume and are less efficient. Therefore, when higher-quality miners, such as those with A and B energy ratings, are available in the country, the chance of them being diverted toward illegal cryptocurrency mining and abusing subsidized electricity decreases.

Regarding the mandatory requirement for obtaining a unique tracking code and registering in the NTSW, it should be noted that this will not push miners toward underground activities. This is because legal miners will not only continue to benefit from the provisions already in place but also facilitate the process for them.

On the contrary, miners who do not comply with these rules and regulations will face more severe penalties than before. This means that under current laws, even miner devices that have been legally imported into the country, if they are not registered in the NTSW and do not obtain a unique tracking code, will be considered contraband if discovered by judicial authorities. All the penalties outlined in Note 4 of Article 18 of the Law on Combating Smuggling of Goods and Currency will apply to them.

Mohammad Khodadadi concluded by saying:

“In our view, and that of the executive bodies that have defined this oversight process, this will increase the level of supervision and enable executive bodies to distinguish between legal and illegal mining activities. This way, legal miners can continue their operations using the legal measures provided, while illegal operators will face greater penalties compared to the past.” _{-Mohammad Khodadadi}