Tehran, Iran, April 20
Trend:
It the Iranian government doesn't open the door for free zones, then the free zones' economy will face a serious dilemma, the Deputy Director of Production, Export and Technology of the Secretariat of Iranian Supreme Council of the Free and Special Economic Zones Akbar Eftekhari told Trend.
“We have asked CBI and the Development and Trade Organization to open the way for imports,” he said, adding that importers are able to continue their work even without a currency allocation.
He went on to say that the government believes opening the import of non-essential commodities can lead to currency fluctuation.
Last June, the import of 1,339 commodities categorized as “non-essential goods with domestic counterparts”, i.e. Group IV, was banned. With the ratification of the Iranian Cabinet on Feb. 6, the ban on importing only 100 types of commodities included in the so-called Group IV was lifted.
Eftekhari said that the total import volume of commodities included in Group IV last year was only $100 million, which is very small compared to other sectors, and this does not affect the currency rate.
He pointed out that 25,000 trade units have been shut down following this policy.
“We are trying to keep the production units open in free zones and we hope our efforts to convince the government will be effective,” he added.