The head of the Parliamentary Committee on Mines, Dariush Esmaeili has called for the removal of tax exemption on export of raw minerals in a bid to boost domestic production.
“The administration levies tax on the raw mineral supplied to the domestic manufacturers while the material’s export is tax-free,” Eghtesadnews quoted him as saying.
The official said the mines committee aims to eliminate tax exemption on all raw mineral exports, adding that a special parliamentary committee had earlier proposed eliminating tax exemption only on the raw minerals in excess of the domestic processing capacity.
Meanwhile, some experts believe the elimination of tax exemption on the products would lead to higher unemployment in the mining sector since many mines, unable to export their products, would be forced to shut down.
The majority of parliament members are strongly against the export of raw minerals such as the iron ore.
They argue that while Iran imports large quantities of steel every year, the exported iron ores could be used domestically to boost the steel production.
