TEHRAN – The Foreign Currency Committee of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) has offered 13 solutions for increasing the exporters’ compliance with the Central Bank of Iran (CBI)’s directive regarding the reinjection of their revenues into the economy.

As reported by the ICCIMA portal, the members of the newly established committee gathered on Sunday to discuss the issues that CBI has risen regarding some exporters’ lack of commitment for re-injection of their foreign revenues into the country’s Forex Management Integrated System (locally known as NIMA).

In this meeting, the private sector representatives offered their solutions for addressing the mentioned issues including the extension of the deadline announced for returning the foreign currency revenues.

According to members of the committee, the total foreign currency that has not been returned to the country's economic cycle is about $8.7 billion, of which only $2.5 billion is related to the private sector.

Speaking in the meeting, ICCIMA Deputy Head Mohammadreza Ansari noted that CBI should follow an incentive-supportive policy toward the private sector to help the government.

“Certainly, as a result of such a policy, the private sector would come to the aid of the government,” Ansari stressed.

When the NIMA system was launched, it was meant to be a vessel through which the export revenues would enter the economy, so the misconduct of some people should not make the government to choose the punishment approach for all instead of encouraging the committed exporters.

Directive package on re-injection of export revenues into NIMA approved

On Monday, CBI portal reported that the directive package on the return of foreign currency revenues from the exports in the current Iranian calendar year 1399 (started on March 20) was approved by the ministers of Oil, Economic Affairs and Finance, Industry, Mining and Trade, as well as the head of the Planning and Budget Organization (PBO) and the CBI governor.

According to CBI public relations office, exporters are required to return at least 80 percent of their export revenues in the form of foreign currency remittance into the NIMA system and a maximum of 20 percent in the form of banknotes into the SANA system.

Also, the exporters must return their revenues back to the country's economic cycle no later than four months after the issuance of their export license by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.

EF/MA