The plan to support online businesses on domestic platforms, approved in the sixth meeting of the digital economy working group held in Tehran, was unveiled on Nov. 1.
The ministries of ICT, economy, industries, cooperatives, defense and culture, as well as the Plan and Budget Organization, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the Central Bank of Iran and the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology have approved the plan’s regulations.
The regulations have been devised in the form of 14 articles that stipulates 20 types of legal protection for domestic platforms and businesses, ICTNA reported.
Various payment channels, hardware infrastructure, incentives for setting up businesses in science and technology parks and discounts for advertising on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting have been foreseen for business platforms.
Other facilities include tax exemptions, license waiver and easy validations of bank payments and collateral.
“In order to avoid creating a monopoly, we have not restricted this support to a single platform. Based on rules that will be announced soon, any domestic platform that meets the necessary conditions will receive these support,” ICT Minister Isa Zarepour was quoted as saying by the news portal of Ecomotive.ir
“If businesses start operating on domestic platforms, registration on these platforms will be considered analogous to obtaining the license. Of course, the national license portal will probably need information that can be uploaded online.”
Zarepour noted that credit payment and direct withdrawal from a bank account are among other facilities.
“The CBI intends to launch Ramz Rial [rial password] that will help benefit eligible platforms,” he added.
Since the induction of the incumbent government, the growth of digital economy was prioritized by the order of the president and a working group was formed. It became operational in the fourth quarter of last fiscal year (Dec. 22, 2021-March 20, 2022).
According to articles 127 and 138 of the Iranian Constitution, all the powers of the Council of Ministers and the president related to the digital economy have been delegated to this working group.
Regulations to Support Smartphone Production
The Council of Ministers has approved executive regulations to support smartphone production and the domestic microelectronics industry, which have been outlined in the budget law of the fiscal 2022-23.
According to these regulations, the import duty for cellphones worth over $600 is equal to 12% and the revenues obtained will be allocated to the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade’s Support Fund for Research and Development of Advanced Industries.
As mobile phone manufacture in Iran has high risks for the private sector, the government has endeavored to cover this risk by using legal protections in the form of a budget program by levying the import tariff on smartphones and allocating the revenues for the development of the domestic mobile phone ecosystem, the news portal of the Council of Ministers reported.
The necessity of having an annual production of 20% of smartphones (amounting to nearly three million devices) needed domestically is the main reason for the regulation’s approval.
Credits are allocated to these industries in the framework of programs approved by a working group consisting of the ministers of ICT and industries, as well as the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces and the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology.
The main goals of these regulations are to upgrade the level of technology and quality of products, promote export development and support research projects. Subsequently, investment facilities, financial support and profit subsidies have been lined up to achieve these goals.
Financial support will amount to a minimum of 70% and a maximum of 90% for domestic smartphone production, and a minimum of 10% and a maximum of 30% for the microelectronics industry.
