Gov’t Submits Budget Bill to Majlis

IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Vice President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs submitted the President Rouhani administration’s proposed budget bill for the next Iranian fiscal year (which will begin in March 2020) to the parliament on Wednesday.

Hossein-Ali Amiri as the Vice-President for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs submitted Iran’s national budget bill to Parliament on Wednesday.

The bill was used to be submitted by President Rouhani himself but this year he did not attend today’s Parliament session due to, as he described, the anti-coronavirus protocols.

The copies of the proposed bill provided to the MPs will be examined and the MPs will give their suggestions and views to the specialized commission that will be set up for studying the bill within a month.

VP for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs submitted Iran’s national budget bill to Parliament on Wednesday.

The parliament will then review the budget bill in an open session.

According to the internal regulations of the Iranian parliament, the administration should present the annual budget bill by December 5 each year.

Once the parliamentarians endorse the government’s proposed budget bill, it will go to the Guardian Council, the constitutional supervisory body, for ratification before becoming law.

The head of the Iranian Parliament’s Planning and Budget Commission said that in the examination and adoption processes of the next Iranian year budget (starting on March 21), the transparency of the sources, spending areas, as well as helping the lower class must be considered.

Hamidreza Hajibabai said the parliament has taken into account structural reforms for the next year’s budget.

Hajibabai emphasized that the budget plan must move on the path of social justice and that the next year’s budget must lead to boosting production and accelerate the cycle of production in the country.

The head of the Parliament’s Planning and Budget Commission said in the next year’s budget of 2021, reliance on oil must be decreased and more importantly, the government’s dependence to oil and vice versa must become transparent.

Meanwhile Majlis Speaker described petrodollars as an unreliable source of income while the administration is going to submit its proposed budget bill for the next Iranian fiscal year (which will begin in March 2021).

Addressing a parliamentary session on Wednesday, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said what must be taken into account in formulating the national budget is non-reliance on oil incomes, which has been repeatedly stressed by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

The Parliament speaker said the budget’s dependence on petrodollars would be totally damaging and abortive.

The overriding concern is a budget deficit, he said, adding that the Parliament is pushing for a budget reform with new sources of revenue.

It is estimated that Iran’s budget revenues for next Iranian year (from March 21, 2021, to March 21, 2022) will amount to a total of 8.41 quadrillion rials (about $241 billion), Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said at a meeting of the Iranian government.

According to President Rouhani, the amount of revenues estimated for the next Iranian year’s budget has increased compared to the current year’s budget.

Rouhani added that the basis of budget revenues are taxes, customs revenues, duties, securities, stocks, and oil.

The president stressed that it is hoped that Iran’s crude oil sales will be normal in the next Iranian year.

‘According to budget, it is estimated that daily 2.3 million barrels of crude oil and gas condensate will be sold. The Iranian government considers that these products can be sold both in domestic and international markets,’ he said.

The president stressed that not all revenues from the sale of Iranian crude oil and gas condensate are intended for the budget.

According to the budget, it is estimated that 645,000 barrels of crude oil will be sold per day. Thus, Iran’s daily revenues from crude oil (a barrel equals to $40) will amount to $26 million, and annually about $9.5 billion.

Iran’s budget revenues for the current Iranian year (from March 20, 2020, to March 21, 2021,) was estimated to be a total of 3.38 quadrillion rials (about $80.4 billion). However, so far, this figure has been 2.9 quadrillion rials (about $69 billion).