VAT Exemption for Mid-Level Lodging Properties Becomes Law

The Guardians Council—a watchdog that ensures laws are in line with the Iranian Constitution and Islamic law—has approved the parliament’s bill on exemption of value added tax on services offered by mid-level lodging properties, including three-star and lower-rated guesthouses, apartment hotels as well as travel agencies offering Iran tours to foreigners that have secured permits from Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Ministry, or related guilds. 
The law will be enforced as soon as it is communicated to the government, Deputy Tourism Minister Vali Teymouri told the Persian-language daily Iran on Saturday. 
Teymouri noted that travel agencies active in attracting foreign visitors to Iran have been enjoying tax exemption for years and the new exemption from VAT will help them doubly, particularly the economically straitened ones. He added that the ministry is seeking to secure VAT exemption for four- and five-star hotels from the parliament.