About 15% to 22% of gold jewelries in the Iranian market are smuggled into the country, the head of Gold and Jewelry Union said. “In view of the fact that consumers need to have freedom of choice and local production only meets three-fifths of the demand for gold accessories, lawmakers should allow legal imports of gold jewelry under certain circumstances,” Mohammad Keshtiaray was quoted by ECO News as saying. Iran Customs Administration has been levying value-added tax on gold imports since November 2013. According to the World Gold Council, demand for gold jewelry in Iran jumped by 40% to 12.8 tons in the three months ending in September, making it one of the fastest-growing jewelry markets in the world.
