Currency Repatriation in the Crosshairs

When President Hassan Rouhani’s administration decided to unify Iran’s dual foreign exchange rate regime to prevent further depreciation of its currency on April 9, part of its market control process translated into a measure that has prompted mixed response from the private sector.
One of the 16 measures approved by the Cabinet following the forex unification decision that set the US dollar rate at 42,000 rials decreed that “all exporters are obligated to repatriate currency proceeds from their exports to the country’s economic cycle based on the framework that will be devised by the Central Bank of Iran”.
On Monday, First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri officially notified the process of repatriation that obligates exporters to return 95% of their currency yields–by accepting imported goods, reimbursing currency debts, selling foreign currencies to banks and exchanges, or making deposits in banks–within six months of receiving their customs export permit. A “pricing committee” with the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration will handle and update export prices.