Iran's Central Bank Announces New Rules for Forex Trade

EghtesadOnline: The Central Bank of Iran in a directive on Saturday announced rules and regulations for selling and buying foreign currency of export earnings at authorized exchange bureaus.

News ID: ۷۴۶۲۸۲

02 December 2018

It says the exchange shops can purchase up to €1 million of export earnings or its equivalent in other currencies and register it in the central Sana system.

The exchange rate for such purchases can be at "market rates" with appropriate commission that will be a maximum of 1,000 rials for each dollar banknote.  The exchange shops can then sell the currencies either for 23 service purposes announced earlier by the CBI or up to €2,000 for personal needs to the people.

They can also sell the currencies to importers at market rates either in the form of banknotes or hawala, Financial Tribune reported.

The CBI communicated its latest currency repatriation rules last week according to which up to €1 million in export earnings are exempt from selling through Nima – the Integrated Forex Deals System -- launched by the government.

The apparent compromise by the CBI comes after repeated complaints by exporters who say the mandatory repatriation of all revenues they make from exports is not in the interest of the export industry grappling with more than its fair share of cumbersome rules and a bloated bureaucracy.