Page 44 - IRANRptAug20

south of the Strait of Hormuz.
“This move will assure our oil buyers that Iran will continue exporting oil if the Strait is closed,” Rouhani added.
Iran lately said its oil revenues sank to $8.9bn in the year to March, compared to $119bn earned almost a decade earlier, in 2011.​ ​However, the figure may not take into account grey market sales that Tehran does not want to draw the attention to for fear of action from US sanctions officials.
9.1.2 ​Automotive sector news
Imported vehicles over 2500cc cannot be licensed in Iran, government says
Iran plans CNG fuel conversion scheme for 1.5mn vehicles
A member of the Tamliki Property Organisation has criticised the government over the number of vehicles imported to Iran sitting in warehouses and car parks across the country due to being over the 2500cc limit, ILNA reported on July 13.
There are several thousand vehicles stuck in warehouses across Iran after the government tightened rules on imports in 2017 including value and maximum engine size.
Car importers refused to remove the majority of the vehicles in a game of chicken with customs authorities—in some regions some models have been given licence plates, according to third-party sales websites.
Hossein Mir Moeini said that the products waiting in customs warehouses were “perishable” and that other items which do not meet specific guidelines can slip through without problems.
He added: "According to the following note of Article 33 of the law, their owners can receive many vehicles that have been handed over to the Property Ownership Organisation to date if the owners of these vehicles have returned them to customs.
"Most of the cars available are among the cars over 2,500 cc, which cannot be numbered in the country," the representative added.
The Iranian government has announced a plan to convert some 1.46mn vehicles to run off compressed natural gas (CNG), YJC has reported. The project is aimed at diverting a substantial number of vehicles away from heavily subsidised petrol sales—taking into account, the oil price collapse of late, these sales are hammering Iranian state coffers. Iran is self-sufficient in the production of CNG, while car manufacturers in the country, including top two Iranian automakers SAIPA and IKCO, both offer CNG vehicle models. The project will be conducted by the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIODC) through several phases, including one that arranges private vehicles at a reduced cost.
In the first phase, owners of taxis will be given free-of-charge conversions. Other commercial vehicle owners will be given reduced rates if they opt to convert.
The plan will open to private vehicle owners in the second phase to run within the next two years, according to NIODC.
There is a cut-off for vehicle owners, with older models excluded from the broader plan.
The cost of the scheme is estimated at €600mn (at the tertiary exchange rate) over the life of the plan; however, overall savings stemming from the removal of vehicles from petrol sales demand would amount to significantly more per annum, officials said.
44​ IRAN Country Report August 2020 www.intellinews.com