FAQ

Please send an e-mail with your request to: customacc@eihbank.de

The following information are essential for an initial assessment:

• An introductory company presentation or image brochure
• Information regarding:
  • Type of business
  • Purpose of the desired account with eihbank
  • Expected turnover
• A declaration whether you act for your own account or for account of a third party
• A presentation of the company structure, including all potential holding companies and all beneficial owners (which are defined as shareholders have a share of 25% … if applicable also extended)

We will be happy to inform you about the costs and fees for the transactions you require at any time upon request. Please contact us at kredit@eihbank.de. Documents will only be sent by the bank upon request, cf. point 1.

We currently offer accounts for corporate customers and banks only.

It is not necessary to hold an account with our institution. But you do need an account with a bank that is prepared to accept funds with an Iranian background. It is Beneficiarys obligation to provide EIHbank with workable banking detail for Iran related payments. This applies to all Banks participating in payment excecution.

The letter of credit must be available and payable with Europäisch-Iranische Handelsbank AG.

The credit should be opened directly by the Iranian bank to eihbank via SWIFT. The requirement to advise a letter of credit via a third bank is usually not met by our bank. You might of course let your bank present the documents to us, expenses will be charged to you.

Our core business is to provide the confirmation of letters of credit advised by our bank as well as the financing of letters of credit. Please contact our credit department.

To settle a letter of credit, please submit the following documents:

• Signed declaration by the export firm
• Copy of the custom document or any other document needed for export
• BAFA note/copy of the export permission (in accordance with the rules of the European Union, if required)

We will be happy to inform you about the costs and fees for the transactions you require at any time upon request. Please contact us at kredit@eihbank.de

Due to the individuality of each business, we currently don’t provide sample texts for letters of credit. The importer should be able to provide you a draft of the letter of credit, which we would be happy to check for you.

We do not offer this service.

According to the regulations and in-house guidelines of eihbank, a payment order should clearly state the following information:

• account number
• name
• address
• Complete data of the beneficiary including
  • account number
  • name (same legal form as indexed in the commercial register)
  • address
• Currency and amount with two decimal digits
  • Currently payment orders are accepted and executed in Eur only. 
• Detailed reason of payment
• For a transfer of goods, the customs tariff number („Warentarifnummer“) and, where required, the Bafa certificate or other shipping documents including a customs declaration must be handed in.
  For more information see: http://auskunft.ezt-online.de/ezto/Welcome.do

eihbank as a corresponding bank processes incoming or outgoing EURO-payments from almost all Iranian banks to or from Iran.

It is not necessary to open an account with eihbank for this purpose.

The various European banks execute a diverging policy regarding business with Iran.

Up til now we have made positive experience with savings banks (except in Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg), Raiffeisen banks and other banking institutions in Germany and Europe.

To clarify if payments with Iranian background can be processed, please always contact your bank before any payment is initiated. You will avoid a potential repayment of your bank.

After the sanctions have been eased, not all kind of exports and legal business in and with Iran are permitted. There are still valid sanctions, encompassing merchant and legal business, that are either prohibited or subject to approval. If there is not an explicit rule formulated in the Iran Embargo Regulations (Verordnung (EU) Nr. 267/2012), the general export control-related regulations, especially the EG-Dual-Use-Rule (Verordnung (EG) Nr. 428/2009) and the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung, AWV) have to be observed.

All other prohibitions and licensing requirements, for example the so-called Iran Human Rights Regulations (EU guidelines in the field of Human Rights, Verordnung (EG) Nr. 359/2011) are still valid.

In order to assess if the transaction you wish to conduct is either illegal, is subject to approval or is permitted, you have to validate the restrictions of the Iran Embargo Regulations. If there are no restrictions, you should validate potential prohibitions or restrictions according to the Iran human rights rules in a second step. A third measure should encompass a validation of potential prohibitions or permit requirements according to the general export control-related regulations. Especially mentioned are the EG-Dual-Use-Rule, the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung, AWV), the firearms regulation (Verordnung (EU) Nr. 258/2012) and the anti-torture regulation (Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1236/2005).

For eihbank separate permit requirements might be valid, for example for financial aid.

Please also note that the export of goods which is covered by Annex III of the Iran Embargo Regulation is prohibited without any exception, so that any application will not have any prospects of success.

For a quick assessment please visit the website: http://auskunft.ezt-online.de It is necessary to enter a complete European goods tariff number („Warentarifnummer“) and Iran as recipient country.

If there are any restrictions, you need a verification that the import or export of the goods is legal. Further information about the necessary documents is provided by „What information should be included in a payment order or a bank transfer?“ and „Detailed reason for payment“.

For the payment of services a goods tariff number is not necessary. A description of the service is sufficient. If the service refers to a delivery or construction of goods which are subject to a restriction for export, a permission by an European authority is needed.

A payment from Iran will be made as follows:

• The client in Iran orders his local bank to execute a payment in Euro.
• A potentially necessary conversion of Iranian Rial to Euro has to be made by the purchaser in Iran via his house bank.
• A payment order should include complete information as listed under the question „What data should a payment order or a bank transfer include?“
• The Iranian bank instructs eihbank to transfer the money via Swift.
• eihbank executes the payment to the beneficiary’s bank.

If any information is missing, it can be requested via the bank of the purchaser. Please note that a payment by eihbank can be executed only if all information is provided. Missing documents usually lead to a delay of payment.

Below please find a guide how to recognize and document or exclude EU export restrictions