Settling Exporters’ Currency Obligations: Barriers to Be Separated and Cases Reviewed

Zanjan – The Governor of Zanjan said exporters’ currency obligations should be settled by separating obstacles and reviewing cases.

According to Mehr reporter, Seyyed Mohsen Sadeghi on Wednesday at the meeting of the dialogue council between the government and the private sector of Zanjan province, considered the assignment of foreign exchange obligations to be one of the important issues facing the production and export sector and stated: The processing of exporters' cases should be done based on the extent of fulfilling obligations, the conditions of economic activity and the reasons for the return of foreign currency.

Referring to the report presented about the fulfillment of about 82% of the province's foreign exchange obligations, he added: Zanjan ranks fifth in the country in this index, and the performance of the province shows a good situation compared to a significant part of the provinces, but for a more accurate assessment, the conditions of each economic unit should be examined separately.

Emphasizing the necessity of reforming the process of dealing with exporters' foreign exchange obligations, Sadeghi called for the formation of a specialized working group to identify obstacles to the return of foreign currency, examine the status of export companies and prevent the same treatment of creditworthy and delinquent entities, and announced the pursuit of appointing the Central Bank's plenipotentiary representative in the province.

The governor of Zanjan clarified: A company that has fulfilled 80 or 90 percent of its obligations should not be placed next to a unit that has not fulfilled any part of its obligations. Also, companies that have only 10 or 20% of their obligations left, should be evaluated according to the reasons in their case.

Sadeghi: Not all problems of currency return are caused by exporters' performance

Pointing to the impact of sanctions, banking restrictions, disruption of financial transfers and the inconsistency of executive systems on the process of foreign currency return, Sadeghi said: Before making a decision about the cases of foreign exchange obligations, the contribution of various factors in creating the problem should be determined and there should be a difference between intentional violation and inability due to obstacles beyond the control of economic actors.

He stated that making decisions about these cases requires a detailed examination of the dimensions of the export system, and added: You cannot rely solely on the amount of unfulfilled obligations and judge the performance of an economic unit without considering the terms of the transaction, existing restrictions, and implementation problems.

Governor of Zanjan continued: Chamber of Commerce should, in collaboration with private sector experts, categorize the existing cases and calculate the reasons for the return of foreign currency in order to determine which problems can be solved at the provincial level and which cases require the decision of the Central Bank, Trade Development Organization or other national institutions.

Emphasizing the necessity of using expert opinions in judicial and penal proceedings, Sadeghi stated: the summation of experts should be such that it can be used in the decision-making process and the gap between expert evaluation and issued opinions should be minimized.

He also proposed the formation of a specialized committee to monitor foreign exchange obligations with the presence of representatives of the private sector, economic institutions and regulatory authorities and said: The proposal to stop direct referral of cases to the penal authorities until the completion of expert investigations should also be reviewed from a legal and executive point of view.

Governor of Zanjan called the lack of a representative with sufficient authority from the central bank in the province as one of the issues that can be followed up by economic activists and added: dealing with currency problems and determining the assignment of exporters' cases requires more effective communication with decision-making authorities.

Referring to the correspondence and the face-to-face conversation with the Governor General of the Central Bank, Sadeghi stated: The follow-up is ongoing to appoint a representative with the necessary powers in Zanjan, and in this context, the capacity of the President and his first deputy will also be used.

He added: Part of the problems of economic activists is caused by the multitude of regulations and different interpretations of the laws by the executive bodies. Therefore, the issues should be documented and followed up with specific solutions at the national level.

Governor of Zanjan also considered the use of currency obtained from exports abroad to import goods through legal channels as one of the solutions that can be investigated to fulfill foreign exchange obligations and said: the possibility of using this capacity and giving a suitable deadline to exporters who have faced problems due to reasons beyond their control should be investigated.

Sadeghi pointed out the problems of valuation of mineral soils used in the zinc industry and said: According to the report of activists in this field, in some transactions, mineral soil is purchased at a price of around $620, while its customs value is set at around $420.

He added: the difference between the actual purchase price and the customs valuation can cause problems in the calculation of foreign exchange obligations; Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the valuation bases with expert review so that obligations beyond the reality of the transaction are not created for production units.

Referring to the importance of the zinc industry in the province's economy, the governor of Zanjan said: According to the statistics presented in this meeting, about 50% of Zanjan's foreign exchange exports are allocated to this industry, and removing obstacles to the supply of its raw materials can play an important role in maintaining the production and export capacities of the province.

At the same time, Sadeghi emphasized the need to pay attention to environmental issues and said: the introduction of mineral soils should be done by considering the quality of the materials, the possibility of extracting valuable metals and the environmental consequences.

Referring to the ban on the import of mineral soils with a grade of less than 20% based on the decision of the provincial standard council, he added: managing mineral waste and preventing the entry of low-grade materials should be considered along with meeting the needs of industries.

The governor of Zanjan, referring to the capacities of mining cooperation with Afghanistan, said: holding a mining exhibition in this country can be a good opportunity to discuss the direct supply of mineral soils and reduce the role of middlemen in the import chain.

Sadeghi added: The Chamber of Commerce should, with the cooperation of experts, check the appropriate price for imports, the economic efficiency of providing raw materials, and the solutions to reduce waste, so that after completing the studies, the issue will be followed up through the national authorities and the authorities of the country of origin.

He emphasized: supporting the zinc industry should be in such a way that, while protecting the interests of producers, legal and environmental requirements are also met and unnecessary costs are reduced in the process of providing raw materials.

47% growth of Zanjan exports in the first five months of the year

Appreciating the efforts of exporters and merchants of the province on the eve of Mehr 29, the National Export Day, Sadeghi said: the continued presence of Iranian products in foreign markets and maintaining the quality of export goods is the result of the efforts of economic activists and supporting these collections is important for the development of foreign trade.

Referring to the 47% increase in the export of the province in the first five months of 1405 compared to the same period last year, he added: This growth shows the economic capacities of Zanjan, and by reducing production and trade barriers, the basis for the continuation of the increasing export trend should be provided.

The governor of Zanjan also requested to follow up on the status of blocked commercial cards of some companies and stated: if the restrictions that can be removed and the activities of eligible companies are resumed, it will be possible to compensate part of the remaining foreign exchange obligations.

Emphasizing the necessity of examining the obstacles to the notification and implementation of support decisions for exporters, Sadeghi added: the case of companies that have fully fulfilled their obligations or a limited part of their obligations remains, should be separated from the case of units that have not taken any action to fulfill their obligations.

He considered it necessary to organize a specialized meeting with the presence of representatives of the customs, the chamber of commerce and the economic deputy of the organization of industry, mining and trade and said: In this meeting, the implementation solutions to remove export barriers should be reviewed and the results should be presented for follow-up at the provincial and national level.

Governor of Zanjan noted that maintaining the motivation of producers, protecting the reputation of well-established exporters and removing obstacles to economic activities are among the priorities of the province's administration, and the realization of these goals requires the cooperation of the government and the private sector, careful examination of cases and continuous follow-up of problems at the decision-making levels.