Forex repatriation timelines for exports in fiscal 2017-18 and 2019-20 have been extended until the calendar month that ends on October 21. The previous deadline was July 22.
The time for returning export revenue in the last fiscal year (March 2020-21) is Nov.21, marking the end of the next Iranian month, according to a press release seen on the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) website.
All judicial action and penalties against non-complaint exporters has been put on hold before the new dates expire. Rules stipulate that exporters must return their overseas earnings within four months from the date the export permit is issued by the customs office. However, in the new rules the deadline has been extended for some categories of goods designated by the Industries Ministry.
Exporters who do not comply face penalties, including, suspension of commercial cards, and closure of bank accounts, travel bans and impounding of goods.
The TPO earlier said 363 companies are responsible for the majority of the unreturned overseas export income. They failed to bring back €11.1 billion or about 65% of the total unreturned money. The unnamed defaulters are among big companies whose export repatriation commitment is above €10 million.
Regulations were announced by the TPO in April that eased currency repatriation rules for exporters. It created a mechanism, the so-called “import in exchange for export”, to facilitate the return of export revenue that long has been a bone of contention between export firms and the CBI.
Non-oil exporters have to bring back a segment of their earnings in foreign exchange hawala and sell it via the secondary foreign exchange market, known as Nima. They also can sell part their currency income in cash to authorized exchange shops.
Nima is an online platform affiliated to the CBI where exporters sell their overseas currency and companies buy for import.