CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

Industry, Mining and Commerce

 

ARTICLE 110-  Should the guilds located in cities move out to the industrial towns, they shall, in addition to taking advantage of special facilities including term payment for the land sold to them in the industrial town, enjoy financial facilities and support, the type and extent of which will be determined by government.

Note:  In order to reorganize and legalize the business units which have been established in the country prior to 1378 (1999), operating without official permit, but possessing deed of ownership, lease contract, purchase contract, or contract agreement to transfer the property or the interests of the property to other real or legal entities, institutions and organizations, Ministry of Commerce is authorize to issue temporary business permits to these units through the country’s professional guilds and upon receipt of the certificate of payment of the annual municipal charges and a certificate of tax clearance.

   The temporary business permit will be valid for three years from the date of issue, and the professional guilds are charged with taking measures to change the temporary permit into permanent license.

   The manner of issuing temporary permits and the conditions for changing of the same to permanent license and other necessary considerations shall be determined in a by-law to be prepared and proposed by the Ministry of Commerce to the Cabinet for approval.

ARTICLE 111- In order to activate the Bank San’at Va Ma’dan with the objective of  mobilizing financial resources for the industry and mining sector, to promote and guide the non-public sector to invest in industry and mining, develop entrepreneurship, and to contribute to transfer of technology; the following actions must be taken:

   A- Within the first two years of the Plan, the Bank San’at Va Ma’dan shall divest the entire stocks of the companies under its control to the local cooperative and private sector.

   B- Within the mandate of the said bank and in the process of its internal reorganization, a new development credit line will be created in order to support  small industries .

   C- Bank San’at Va Ma’dan is authorized to set up special deposit funds for certain fields or projects and utilize facilities of the domestic and foreign financial markets in line with the objectives indicated in its articles of association and emphasized in this Law.

   D- During the period of the Third Plan, a portion of the resources of the Bank San’at Va Ma’dan shall be provided through the  industry and mining chapters of the annual budget or through the inter-bank facilities in order to enable the bank to spend the same toward achievement of the said objectives or other targets as determined by government.

ARTICLE 112- In order to safeguard the national interest and secure the basic military and non-military electronic needs domestically, government is required to strengthen and reorganize during the Plan period, the existing electronic industries (electronics, telecommunications, automation and optics) in different sectors through consolidated and coordinated policy-making mechanism and investments.

The  by-law of this Article shall be prepared by the Ministries of Industry, Defense and Logistice of Armed Forces,  “Post-Telegraph and Telephone,” and will be approved by the Cabinet.

ARTICLE 113- In order to achieve an export take-off during the  country’s Third Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan period:

  A- the customs duties and trade tariff of the raw material, intermediate  and imported goods used in production of exportable goods shall be refunded upon export of the products on the basis of a by-law that will be prepared on the recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce and will be approved by the Cabinet.

   B- the exported goods and services shall not be subject to any tax or charge.

   C- export of goods and services shall be exempted from any permit except the mandatory standards and the usual certificate in the international trade (as the buyer may require).

   D- all the incentives and privileges that exist for export of goods shall also be applicable to export of services.

   E- the non-governmental funds established for export development will be supported by  government.

   F- in order to support export of non-oil goods, technical and engineering services, from the year 1379 (21 march 2000) on, a portion of the local and foreign exchange resources out of the surplus income of the oil export proportional to the increase in non-oil export of technical and engineering services will be devolved with the Export Development Bank as the government contribution to raise the capital of the export Development Bank at a rate compatible with the objectives indicated in this Law for each year and for the terminating year of the Plan.

   The by-law including the manner of granting the credit and its conditions shall be  prepared jointly by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, the Plan of Budget Organization, and with cooperation of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will be approved by the Cabinet.

   G- The Export Development Bank is required to collect by the end of the Third Plan, at the latest, the unclaimed balance of the foreign exchange revolving fund for export content of Item (E) of Note (25) of the Second Five-year Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan Law enacted on 12/1/1995.  The collected sum will be settled with the bank as the government contribution to the bank’s capital.  Using this funds, financing facilities shall be given to exporters.  The manner of settlement of all the said foreign exchange revolving funds and the applied profit rate shall be determined by the Cabinet within three months from enactment of the Law and shall be conveyed to the Export Development Bank.

   H- All ministries, agencies, the government-owned enterprises, institutions and non-governmental public entities, also the real and legal residents of Iran are obliged to coordinate their programs with the Iran Export Development Center prior to organizing any international trade/industrial fair domestically and/or out of the country, or participating in any international trade fair, and have their plans confirmed by the said center.

ARTICLE 114-Regulating domestic market will not prohibit export.  Export of all goods and services, with the exception of the following items, is permissible:

   A- Antiques and objects of cultural heritage.

   B- Animal, plant and vegetable items that are considered to be of genetic reserve or environmental protection significance.

   C- Export of goods subsidized by government will be authorized upon proposal by the relevant agency and approval of the  Economic Council.

Note: In order to regulate the domestic market and off set the emerging scarcity, the Ministry of Commerce is authorized upon its findings to satisfy the domestic needs by importing the required commodities without any foreign exchange transfer.

ARTICLE 115- In order for the foreign trade to flourish,  government is required to remove the non-tariff and non-technical trade barriers while observing the religious prohibitions, and take necessary action in order to prepare the timing schedule for reforming the par exchange tariff rate, and announce it in the form of notice, and to determine the customs tariffs.

ARTICLE 116- To strengthen the competitive potentiality of the country’s exportable goods in the international markets:

   A- All ministries and government production and service agencies connected with export are required to take necessary measures to set in motion their information center by the end of the first year of the Plan in the framework of the country’s comprehensive trade information network plan, and provide information services to the local and foreign clients.  Ministry of Post-Telegraph and Telephone is required to provide necessary facilities in order to strengthen the said network.

   B- Ministry of Commerce is charged with taking measure to put into operation the country’s comprehensive trade information network (domestic and international) by the end of the second year of the Plan.

   C- In order for the Iranian companies and technical and engineering firms including both the contractors and consultants to actively participate in the world market and to export technical and engineering services, government is required to provide the following facilities and continually monitor their proper performance:

      1- To provide the ground for insuring the bank guarantees with minimum required deposit.

      2- Create the possibility of dispatching the machinery needed to execute the projects without any security  pledge.

      3- Provision of insurance and banking services with minimum cost and charge.

      4- Setting up a system of granting export credit to development projects in the form of buyer-supplier credit.

      5- To project and determine a special quota in the banking system’s credit allocation.

      6- To provide necessary funds for inclusion in the country’s annual budget for the government participation in financing these types of export credits.

      7- To prepare the ground for export and supply of the partnership bonds by the exporters of technical and engineering services as one source of financing their projects.

         The above-mentioned applicants must be pre-qualified by the Plan and Budget Organization and possess the proper rating.

 ARTICLE 117-  In order to formulate the country’s export strategies, determine assistance and facilities to render to the export sector, eliminate the obstacles, and implement the adopted policies of the Third Plan, the High Council of the Non-oil Export Development will be established under chairmanship of the President or the Vice President, with the membership composing of the Ministers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Metals, Cooperative, Foreign Affairs, Petroleum, Economic Affairs and Finance, Agriculture, Construction Jihad, Governor of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Managing Director of the Export Development Bank and the heads of  the Iran Export Development Center, the Customs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines; and Chamber of Cooperative.  The secretariat of the said council will be housed in the Ministry of Commerce. The decision of the council shall be binding upon ratification by the Cabinet and within the framework of the pertinent laws in connection with  provision of the export facilities for all ministries, entities and the government-owned enterprises, non-governmental public entities and institutions, and also the private real and legal persons.  Three members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly from the Commissions of “Commerce and Distribution Affairs”, the “Plan and Budget Affairs”, “Economic Affairs and Finance, and Cooperative” participate in the meetings of the High Council of Non-Oil Export Development as observers.  The Secretariat of the said council is charged with submitting quarterly progress reports of the council’s performance to the said commissions.

  The provincial Export Development Committee will be chaired by the provincial Governor-General, and will consist of the Directors-General of the Commerce, the Customs, the Plan and Budget Organization, and other relevant directors, as the case may be, and the Managing Director of the province’s Export Bank.  Duties of the secretariat of the province’s Export Development Committee will be entrusted to the provincial Director-General of the Commerce.

ARTICLE 118- Duties and authority of the Ministry of Commerce subject to the Law of the Manner of Management of the Urban and Rural Consumption Cooperative enacted on 2/3/75 concerning formation of the Urban and Rural Commercial  Corporation, as well as implementation of the other provisions of the same law will be extended for the first two years of the country’ Third Development Plan.