E-Platform to Issue Commercial Cards

EghtesadOnline: The Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) on Monday unveiled an electronic platform for issuing smart commercial cards.

News ID: ۷۸۷۵۲۳

28 December 2021

The Minter of Industry Reza Fatemi Amin, ICCCIMA head Gholmahossein Shafei and head of the Headquarters to Combat Smuggling of Goods and Foreign Currency, Ali Moayedi attended the unveiling ceremony.

Smart platform aims to “omit the human factor” in the process of issuing cards and all inquiries will be done electronically, according to a press release seen on the ICCIMA news website.

“The system is capable of handling 25 online inquiries from administrative bodies in less than one hour,” the ICCIMA said.

Addressing the ceremony, Moayedi said the platform will “plug one of corruption hole”.

Elaborating his point, he said, “Corruption is the result of indiscipline and individual intervention in the process of issuing cards. He expressed the hope that the initiative would  help detect the entry of smuggled goods into the country.

In the same vein, Shafei hailed the role of smart commercial cards in facilitating commercial activity, saying it “removes many bureaucratic hurdles and cuts costs”.

Fatemi Amin said the new procedure will help eliminate potential corruption in the process of issuing commercial cards.

“This will help improve supervision and curb corruption,” he said, noting that there similar platforms are in the pipeline for other businesses.

He pointed to flaws in past procedures in which commercial cards were issued without proper inquiries or assessing the eligibility of applicants.

The minister recalled instances where very old or young people were able to get the cards officially allowing them to engage in commercial activities, especially in the border regions.

The new measure is also expected to put an end to the controversial practice of “renting commercial cards”. Earlier there were reports that some exporters used rented commercial cards to export goods and did not return the forex income as required by law.