Iran’s imports of gold ingots will be exempted from tax payment as of October 23, according to a Monday announcement by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).
The announcement said that the scheme will be executed based on an order by the head of Iran National Tax Administration (INTA) Mohammad-Hadi Sobhanian in accordance with a law on direct taxes.
Sobhanian has argued that the exemption is necessary due to repeated calls by the importers of gold ingots and taking the arbitrary sanctions on the country into consideration.
The latest IRICA figures published in early September suggested that Iran’s five-month imports of gold ingots have surpassed 4.1 tons.
The IRICA announcement noted that Iran has imported 4.104 tons worth $265.37 million of gold ingots in the five months to August 22.
The data disclosed that gold ingots were Iran's number nine export item in the period under review accounting for 1.1% of the country's aggregate imports.
Iranian government passed a bill last year which eased gold imports into the country as part of measures to offset the impacts of the US sanctions on its economy.