Iran’s top legislative body has approved a parliament law that allows unlimited imports of brand-new and second-hand cars into the country amid efforts by the government to contain rampant prices of the domestically-produced cars.
In a session held on Saturday, the Guardian Council, the Iranian government body responsible for signing parliament bills into law, endorsed a legislation ratified in June which allowed the government to lift restrictions on imports of cars into Iran.
The legislation is based on a bill submitted by the Iranian government to the parliament in April which asked for removal of bans on car imports to help contain car prices in the country and to respond to soaring demand for cars.
The move comes despite the fact Iran’s ministry of industries (MIMT) has introduced various measures to control the car market in Iran, including by offering support to domestic carmakers to help them increase their output.
Iran’s total vehicle output reached nearly 1.4 million in the calendar year to late March, nearly double figures reported in the same period to March 2021.
However, the rise failed to have a tangible impact on car prices in Iran which continued to increase consistent with the high levels of inflation in the country.
The MIMT hopes imports of second-hand cars that are under five years of age would accelerate in the future months, especially by individuals rather than companies and from Iran’s neighboring countries.
Iran National Standards Organization said on Saturday that it had eased its strict controls on car imports to facilitate transfer of millions of cars into the country.