Earlier on Sunday, the Majlis received a letter from the administration asking for the withdrawal of the subsidy reform bill while MPs were examining problems found in the bill by the Guardian Council, which is a body that vets legislation to ensure it is in line with Islamic law and the Iranian Constitution.
The MPs put the issue to a vote and rejected the request.
The subsidy reform bill envisages the gradual redirection of the subsidies of energy and food prices.
Subsidies have long been a heavy budget burden for Iranian administrations.
The current administration and the parliament have opposing views over how to manage the money saved through the reform.
The executive branch of government wants to spend the money where it sees fit. But the Majlis wants to link the subsidy reform bill to the annual budget and to force the administration to deposit the savings in a special account for public expenditures.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had previously warned that the administration would ditch the plan if their views over the control of the money are ignored.
“The withdrawal of the bill is unacceptable for MPs… parliament conducted a detailed technical examination before passing the bill,” said principlist MP Ahmad Tavakkoli, a critic of Ahmadinejad’s economic policy.
Administration cannot implement revised bill: VP
Vice President for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Reza Mir-Tajeddini explained the administration’s reasons for requesting the withdrawal of the bill, saying the changes made by lawmakers are not consistent with what the administration had planned.
“The implementation of what has been approved in the Majlis will not result in a desirable situation for the country,” he said on Sunday.
The Majlis has linked the bill to the annual budget, and this is the most important disagreement between the Majlis and the administration, he stated.
“If it were to be examined under the annual budget, what was the need to draft a separate bill,” he added.
Since the administration has decided to implement such a difficult plan, it should be vested with the authority to decide how to manage and spend the savings, Mir-Tajeddini said.
“Now that the bill is not going to meet the objectives set by the administration, the executive branch cannot implement it,” he stated.
AM/HG
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MNA