Page 28 - IRANRptNov21

Iran’s foreign exchange reserves $85bn in 2020, estimates IMF
early last year. The rule change might be designed to recover some of the lost circulation of gold and hard currency as the effects of the pandemic on global travel ease.
“The carrying of foreign currencies in the form of banknotes into the country is [from now] authorised for legal and real entities without maximum limits,” the LIT report said.
It added, however, that transfers should comply with laws and regulations adopted by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and be consistent with Iran’s laws on fighting money laundering.
Based on a previous decision by the CBI, announced in June 2020, individuals were required to declare the holding, carrying or exchanging of foreign banknotes in amounts above 10,000 euros or the equivalent in other foreign currencies.
The SCEC has also waived duties imposed on raw imports of three precious metals, namely gold, silver and platinum.
It said importers of the three metals would be exempt from paying all duties and taxes, including a 9% value-added tax charged on finished products.
According to the IMF in its Regional Economic Outlook on May 4, the value of Iran’s gross official reserves was estimated to reach $108.4bn in 2020. The country’s gross official reserves will experience a $13.3bn jump in the current year rising from last year’s $95.1bn.
In an April report, the IMF predicted that Iran's foreign exchange reserves would be $85bn in 2020, but around 90% of the reserves are frozen abroad by sanctions.
The prices of Iranian gold sovereigns have also been rising on the open market. The Emami coin price moved up by around 0.7% on May 17, while the prices of half coins and quarter coins gained by more than 2.5%.
5.2 FTA, multilateral agreements
Iran and EEU meet in Yerevan to discuss potential for FTA
Iran and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) on November 1 started three days of talks in the Armenian capital of Yerevan to discuss the potential for a free trade agreement (FTA), the official IRNA news agency reported.
Iran and the EEU member states—Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan—presently trade in line with a temporary three-year preferential trade agreement signed in November 2019. Iranian officials were quoted as saying the two sides have already reached initial agreements on extending FTA arrangements to 80% of goods covered by the temporary deal.
“It is expected that an agreement can be reached in the Yerevan meeting on many unresolved issues,” Mir Hadi Seyyedi, head of international and trade contractual affairs at the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) of Iran, was cited as saying, adding that the two sides would meet again in Tehran on December 6 to discuss tariff issues.
Hadi Seyyedi said that Iran and the EEU have previously held seven rounds of virtual meetings to discuss the potential FTA.
Data from the Iranian customs administration, Irica, in July showed that Iran’s trade with EEU countries accounted for 4.6% of the country’s total trade in the
28 IRAN Country Report November 2021 www.intellinews.com