The Iranian Parliament on Sunday advanced plans to directly engage in monitoring and moderating the country’s turbulent auto market.
A total of 142 lawmakers voted for urgently pushing through the bill while 68 were against it, and two parliamentarians abstained, ICANA reported.
The proposed plan can lead to the introduction of a bill which would aim to put in order car imports and tariff rates to help enhance competitiveness and promote local production.
If the bill is approved, it can obligate the government to set new import tariffs at the maximum limit of 55% and it will give the administration of President Hassan Rouhani at most three months to do so after the bill is signed into law.
The tariffs would be required to be based on vehicles’ engine capacity, fuel consumption level and the emission rate.
The recent development is part of efforts to improve safety and environmental standards, reduce pollution and fuel consumption and manage a market that has almost always been in disarray.
Furthermore, the move mirrors comments by the director of the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran, Nayereh Piroozbakht, who reiterated on Saturday that the country’s automotive standards will be upgraded by December 22 and from then on auto manufacturers will have to halt the production of substandard vehicles.
While it might seem that the auto industry is beleaguered, observers give no credence to such public statements, believing the lobbying powers of automakers to be too strong for lawmakers to get to grips with.
