"Over these years, as many as 4,000 gold and jewelry businesses have closed down across the country and up to four gold sellers have shut down on a daily basis since March 21 this year," the website of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture quoted Mohammad Keshti-Arai as saying.
EghtesadOnline: Annual production of gold in Iran has declined by two-thirds from 180 tons in the fiscal 2011-12 to 60 tons in 2016-17, mostly due to the 9% value added tax imposed on gold and jewelry sales and a change in people’s preferences, the head of Tehran Gold and Jewelry Union said.