Aras Free Zone
Aras is Iran's northwestern land gateway — a manufacturing and distribution zone for companies selling into Azerbaijan, Armenia and, through them, the Eurasian Economic Union.
Jolfa, Azerbaijan border · established 2003 · ≈510 km²
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Aras Free Zone
Zone at a glance
- Established
- 2003
- Area
- ≈510 km²
- Borders
- Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan); Armenia nearby
- Access
- Rail and road into the Caucasus
- Corporate tax
- 0% for 20 years
- Typical registration time
- 4–7 weeks
Aras Free Zone runs along the Aras river in East Azerbaijan province, bordering the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and close to Armenia. Rail and road links make it a distribution base rather than a port play.
Its manufacturing base spans food, agricultural processing, building materials and light industry, largely serving Caucasus and Eurasian demand under Iran's preferential trade arrangements.
What Aras actually gives you
- Twenty-year corporate income tax exemption
- Duty-free import of raw materials and equipment
- Overland access to Azerbaijan, Armenia and onward Eurasian markets
- Competitive industrial land and utility rates
- 100% foreign ownership with free profit repatriation
- Skilled manufacturing labour pool around Tabriz
Sectors & fit
Best for
Manufacturers and distributors whose customers are in the Caucasus and Eurasia and who want an Iranian production base with overland delivery.
Watch out
Border throughput depends on the political relationship of the day. Design the logistics plan with an alternative crossing rather than a single point of failure.
What it costs to set up in Aras
Indicative ranges for a first-year foreign-owned entity. Actual figures depend on activity, space and headcount — we quote against your specific plan.
| Item | Indicative cost (USD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Zone registration & licence (first year) | 2,000 – 4,000 | Activity dependent |
| Annual licence renewal | 1,000 – 2,000 | Payable to the Aras Free Zone Organization |
| Industrial land lease (per m², per year) | 1 – 3 | Long renewable lease |
| Factory shell (per m², per year) | 20 – 45 | Built units available in the industrial park |
| Office space (small, per year) | 1,800 – 4,000 | Jolfa or Tabriz |
| Legal, translation & notarisation | 1,500 – 3,000 | Consular legalisation included |
How to register a company in Aras
Market and border routing
Fix the destination market and the crossing you will use, with a fallback route identified.
1–2 weeks
Name clearance
Reserve the Farsi company name with the Aras registrar.
3–7 days
Licence application
File the activity licence with the business plan and production schedule.
2–5 weeks
Premises lease
Lease an industrial plot or a built factory shell and register the address.
1–3 weeks
Company registration
Register the entity and collect the certificate, national ID and gazette entry.
1–2 weeks
Customs, tax and banking
Obtain the free-zone customs code, open the tax file and set up bank accounts.
2–4 weeks
Documents you will need
- Passport copies of every shareholder and director (notarised, translated into Farsi)
- Parent-company certificate of incorporation and articles of association, legalised by the Iranian consulate
- Board resolution approving the subsidiary or branch and appointing the local signatory
- Three proposed company names, in Farsi, for zone-authority name clearance
- Business plan covering activity, projected turnover, headcount and space requirement
- Proof of address for the leased office, warehouse or plot inside the zone
Aras Free Zone FAQ
Which markets does Aras Free Zone serve?
Azerbaijan and Armenia directly by road and rail, and through them the wider Eurasian market. It is a land-corridor zone, not a maritime one.
Is factory space available to lease in Aras?
Yes. The zone's industrial park offers built factory shells alongside serviced land, which shortens time to production compared with greenfield construction.
What is the nearest major city to Aras Free Zone?
Tabriz, roughly two hours away, which supplies the skilled labour, engineering services and air connections the zone itself lacks.