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Iran takes step to slash gas oil smuggling

Business Materials 25 January 2015 14:19 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 25

By Fatih Karimov - Trend:

The energy committee of the Iranian parliament has approved a proposed plan, which could play a key role in slashing gas oil smuggling via the country.

The committee has approved that gas oil to be delivered to trucks based on their bills of lading, Iran's Fars news agency reported on Jan. 25.

According to the plan, gas oil will be delivered to trucks based on their quotas at a subsidized price and the administration will be allowed to increase gas oil price in the free market.

Currently, some 7 million liters of gas oil are smuggled via Iran per day. If the plan is finalized, it could prevent from an annual loss of $1 billion.

In May 2013, Alireza Zeighami, the former Iranian deputy oil minister for refining and distribution, said a lucrative cross-border business of smuggling fuel and goods via Iran has emerged, bolstered by a sharp drop in the value of the Iranian currency.

Fuel, especially diesel, is being illegally transferred out of the country through cities bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey, Zeighami said.

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