Prior to implementing the much talked about gasoline rationing system, Iranian people will be informed about the details, a government official said.
"Nobody should be kept in the dark about new plans…The more the people are kept abreast, the better the scheme can be managed," the official was quoted as saying by Tasnim. He spoke on the condition of anonymity.
A workable consensus on unsubsidized fuel prices, on which there will be no limitations, is unlikely because there is no unanimity among the lawmakers and the executive branch, he said.
There has been a lot of speculation in recent weeks that the government is planning to sell between 60 to 90 liters of subsidized gasoline per month per car at 10,000 rials (7 cents) a liter for vehicles with engines below 2,000 cubic centimeters. Like in the past, vehicles with bigger engines (almost all imported cars) would have to buy unsubsidized fuel whose prices is anybody’s guess.
"Despite prolonged talks in the past few weeks, technical commissions have failed to reach an agreement. As a result, a new fuel rationing system is on hold until further notice."
Energy experts say executive bodies need to handle such critical issues (gasoline prices) with outmost care. Failing to do so would have grave economic consequences.
"Plans have yet to be approved regarding a new fuel rationing system," the new Economy Minister Farhad Dejpasand said, noting that several proposals are under scrutiny but nothing has been finalized.
The minister said increasing fuel price can help curb smuggling to some extent, but a pricing formula should be adopted very carefully so that higher prices do not pile more pressure on the working class who receive wages below the country's poverty threshold of $200 per month.
It has often been reported that close to 20 million liters of gasoline is smuggled every day from the border regions.
Gasoline was rationed in 2007 to curb consumption and waste. At the time motorists could buy 60 liters of subsidized fuel each month at 7,000 rials (70 cents) per liter and gasoline outside the quota system was sold at 10,000 rials (30 cents) nationwide (at the time one USD was worth 10,000 rials, today it is 150,000 rials). The rationing system ended in 2015.
