Conscripts who register for cash penalty in lieu of military service but do not qualify or fail to make the payment will be summoned to court.
The government proposed a bill this year (started March 21) recommending a scheme to waive conscription and instead collect penalties from those who have evaded compulsory military service for over eight years, said Commander Seyyed Hamid Sadr-Sadat, head of the Military Service Organization.
“Nearly 288,000 have registered under the scheme and a text message with instructions on how to pursue the matter by those who have not made the payment was sent to more than 50,000 people,” ISNA quoted Sadr-Sadat as saying, on the sidelines of the conference of provincial military service executives held at the MSO recently.
As the process draws to a close within the next two months, a grace period will be announced for draftees who have failed to register for service or pay the penalty within the stipulated time.
Although draft-dodgers for over eight years are now provided with the opportunity to buy their conscription, they are denied certain rights such as banking services, passports, higher education and employment in private and government organizations, until they qualify.
Currently, the period of mandatory military service is 21 months. The cash penalty is $3,040 (100-150 million rials) for high school graduates, $6,080 (200 million rials) for college students, $7,600 (250 million rials) for undergraduates, $9,118 (300 million rials) for graduates and more than $12,160 (400 million rials) for PhD holders.
Based on available data, only 1,800 of the eligible draftees are living outside the country.
