“The parliament on Tuesday rejected a proposal by the Joint Committee which would have led to an increase in fuel prices,” Head of the Management and Planning Organization, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht said on the sidelines of the parliament’s public session, ILNA reported.
“The Joint Committee’s proposal was rejected and replaced with the government’s provision for the Subsidy Reform Plan in the budget bill for the next fiscal year (starting on March 21), according to which the government is authorized to finance the payment of cash subsidies by either increasing the energy costs or using the 68,000 billion rials ($2.5 billion at official exchange rates) funds from the treasury,” said the official.
“Increasing the energy prices is not necessary. Regarding the resources to fund the cash subsidy payments, further planning is required,” Nobakht was quoted as saying, without elaborating. As part of the subsidy reform passed by the Iranian Parliament on January 5, 2010, the government is to replace the subsidies on food and energy (80% of total) with targeted social assistance to the people, in accordance with Five Year Economic Development Plan.
