CBI Opens LCs For Imports With New Procedure: Customs Official

Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA – Central Bank of Iran adopted new procedure to import goods and will provide applicants of letters of credit with foreign currencies at the reference rates already announced, a Customs official said on Sunday. Head of Customs Administration Abbas Memarzadeh told a press conference on the occasion of Ten-Day Dawn celebrations marking anniversary of triumph of the Islamic Revolution that the Central Bank of Iran has cancelled the former foreign currency rates mechanism and the LCs are being opened at the reference rates announced by the CBI. He said that importers have applied online with the Customs Administration and the data are being channeled to the Central Bank of Iran after approval so that the procedure would guarantee safety of the deal and no misuse will be allowed. Memarzadeh said that there is enough foreign currency available to open LCs and all applicants must refer to the banks to pay the parity amount in rials to complete the deals. He made it clear that the new procedure has been enforced over the past two weeks to open LCs and is going on. Elsewhere in his address, Memarzadeh said that the Central Bank of Iran has imported over dlrs 15 billion worth of gold ingots in the past two years and the business is underway in light of continued devaluation of foreign currencies. He said in the meantime that the private sector is also interested in importing gold ingots and they are also doing their business in due course, adding that they are exempted from value added tax and other levies./end