According to Mehdi Kasraipour, Director General for Policies and Regulations of Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Iran's 1st Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri has issued a decree that as of February 10, orders for products from India, South Korea, Turkey and China can only be placed through banks. He explained this could be done through two methods: Basically goods can be imported through “bank” and “non-bank” methods. The banking method involves allocating and supplying the currency mainly through the central bank and payment by one of the operating banks.
Regarding the mechanism of import of goods in a non-banking manner, CBI’s Director General for Policies and Regulations said that in the non-bank method, or the “no transfer of currency” method, none of the commercial or specialized banks are involved as paying agents in paying for imported goods.
Regarding the 1st Vice President’s decree, he said as of February 10, importers of goods from India, South Korea, Turkey and China should import goods only through banks by opening Letter of credit, negotiable instrument and payment orders. Regarding the registration of orders for import from the aforesaid four countries through non-bank method before the notification of the first vice president’s circular, he explained that the Trade Promotion Organization, Customs Administration and other related entities have devised appropriate arrangements regarding the registration of orders. He added that arrangements are not related to the Central Bank and the banking network of the country.
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