| In our newsletter, you will find the latest news and comments on legal and trade-related developments in various areas of Iranian commercial and financial law and practice. |
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| 10 May 2008 |
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Importation of Raw Materials and Machinery Free for All Importers |
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Nourlaw.com (10 May, 2008) -- Iran Customs in circular letter number 34/73/720/113/340820/23588 dated 2/2/87 (21 April 2008) has announced that, “By virtue of Article 16 of the Law Concerning Innovation in Industries and Mines, registration of orders for importation of raw materials, machinery and spare parts with free foreign exchange is permitted for the public and the importer does not need to be a producer of goods”.
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| 7 May 2008 |
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After 77 Years Iran has a New Law for Trademarks, Industrial Design and Patents |
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Nourlaw.com (7 May, 2008) -- Iran’s Law of Registration of Marks and Patents was first passed in 1931. Now, to cope with the changes in the world of trade and industry and keep abreast of developments in the area of intellectual property, the parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran has passed new legislation, “The Law of Registration of Patents, Industrial Designs and Trademarks” on 3 Bahman 1386 (23 January 2008) to be temporarily implemented for five years. The legislation went into effect on 5 May 2008 after being published in the Official Gazette.
The new law, contrary to the old one, gives priority
to patents and industrial designs over trademarks.
Article 1 stipulates that:” Invention is the result
of thinking of an individual or individuals which
presents a specific process or a product for the
first time and solves a problem in a profession,
craft, technology, industry and the like”.
According to Article 2:”An invention can be
registered if it contains a new initiative and can
be applied in industry …” The meaning of industry,
as stated in the same article, is industry in its
widest application which also includes handicrafts,
agriculture, fisheries and services. Articles of Section 2 of the new law concern industrial designs, something which the old law lacked and which gave rise to numerous limitations and violations in the field of industry and trade. On the basis of Articles 20 and 21, any composition of lines or colors and any three- dimensional form with or without lines and colors which changes the dye or shape of an industrial product or a work of handicraft, is considered an industrial design, and it can be registered on the provision of being novel and genuine. According to Article 28, using any industrial design which is registered in Iran needs the consent of its owner. Use in this context means manufacturing, selling and importing the items having the registered design. The validity period of the registered industrial design is five years, renewable for two other similar periods.Article 29 authorizes the beneficiary to refer to the court for cancellation of contestable registered designs.
Marks, Collective Marks and Trade Names are dealt
with in Section 3 of the new law. In accordance
with Article 30, a mark is a visible sign which can
distinguish the goods or services of natural or
juridical persons from each other. A collective mark
is a visible sign which can be used by a number of
natural or juridical persons under the supervision
of the owner of the registered collective mark for
distinguishing origin or other features such as
quality of the goods. A trade name is the name or
title which introduces and distinguishes the natural
or juridical person.Article 31 states the exclusive right of using the
mark belongs to the person who has registered it.
For replying to the questions which may be raised
with respect to the intellectual property
conventions in light of the new Iranian national
law, Article 62 states that “in the event of
contradiction between the purport of this law with
the stipulations of the international treaties on
industrial property to which the government of the
Islamic Republic of Iran has joined, the
stipulations of the said conventions shall prevail”.
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| 30 April 2008 |
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Provincial Expansion of the Center for Foreign Investment Services |
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Nourlaw.com (30 April, 2008) -- By virtue of Decree
number H39246 T/207349 dated 20/12/1386 (10 March
2008) the Iranian Council of Ministers has assigned
certain rights of the Center for Foreign Investment
Services to the economic affairs and finance
organizations of the provinces to assist attraction
of foreign investments in the provinces. The
initiative has been undertaken in the ongoing
process of government decentralization.
The
aforesaid Decree of the Council of Ministers
stipulates that:
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| 16 April 2008 |
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Tariff tables for imported goods applicable in the current year |
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Nourlaw.com (16 April, 2008) -- The Iranian Council of Ministers in its decree No. H39469 T/805 dated 5/1/1387 (24 March 2008) has ratified that the tariff tables attached to the By-law of the Export and Import Regulations Law subject of the decree No. H 630T/175956 dated 28/12/1385 (03 March 2007) and all subsequent amendments, will be applicable in the current Iranian year (20 March 2008- 19 March 2009).
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| 16 April 2008 |
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Nourlaw.com (16 April, 2008) -- The Iranian Council of Ministers in its session of 11/1/1387 (30 March 2008) upon recommendation of the Minister of Commerce approved that the import of goods, except forbidden items, no longer needs permits issued by the organs foreseen in Article 160 of the Law of 4th Economic, Social and Cultural and Development Plan of the Islamic Republic of Iran, approved in 1383”. In such cases wherein these organs are in charge of imposing certain standards on imported goods the said decree allows them to do that but in the shortest time. Concerning domestic production which the said organs were protecting by restricting importation, the decree stipulates that “Any protection of domestic products shall be undertaken solely by means of changing the import tariffs (duties)”.In the aforesaid Article 160 of the Development Plan, ministries and governmental entities are specified. Earlier, Council of Ministers in its decree No. T/71837914 K dated 10/1/1387 had adopted another measure for facilitating importation by allowing the customs to give a maximum one year grace period to importers unable to pay the related duties and release their goods against receiving a bank guarantee, insurance policy, or keeping a percentage of the goods as collateral and letting the remainder be cleared.
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| 16 April 2008 |
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Condition of the manufacturing year of production for import of vehicles |
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Nourlaw.com (16 April, 2008) -- The Ministry of Commerce in circular letter No. 87/11010 dated 5/1/87 (24 March 2008) has announced that "by virtue of the minutes of the meeting of the Technical Committee for Vehicles, importers are hereby informed that in the current year after registration and entry of the vehicle through one of the official customs posts in accordance with the by-law of the regulations for any imported vehicle, not more than one year shall pass for cars, two years for trucks, and five years for motorized construction and mineral machines after the time of their production”.
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| 12 March 2008 |
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The Customs Decree on Evaluation of Goods Related to Foreign Investment |
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Nourlaw.com (March 12, 2008) -- For easing clearance of foreign investment goods, the Office for Determination of Value of the Iranian Customs in circular letter number 508/24/102/358/333876 dated 11/12/1386 (1 March 2008) has decreed that the declared value of foreign investment-related goods must be accepted unless there exists legal evidence to contest the declaration. According to the circular letter, "With due regard to Part B of Article 21 of the Implementing of the Regulations of the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act (FIPPA), which stipulates the foreign non-cash capital (including machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts, CKD parts, raw, addable and auxiliary materials) shall be registered in accordance with the evaluation of the Customs. It is required that the value of the goods related to foreign investment be determined through observance of Articles 10 and 11 of the Customs Law and Article 131 of its by-law, and in cases of suspected over-pricing, while releasing the goods, the phrase 'the evaluation is under consideration' should be included on the importation permit and the declared value in addition to the legal supporting evidence must be sent to this office for review so that if over-pricing is established, the matter is referred to the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran (O.I.E.T.A.I). It is clear that in the event there is no legal supporting evidence, rejection of the declared value is un-justifiable."
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| 5 March 2008 |
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Nourlaw.com (5 March, 2008) -- The Iranian president has notified the Law for Combating Money Laundering approved by the parliament on 2/11/1386 ( 22 January 2008 ) for implementation. The law was published in the Official Gazette on 8/12/1386 ( 27 February 2008 ) for public knowledge and shall be effective from 14 March 2008 in accordance with Articles 2 and 3 of the Civil Code which stipulate the legislations shall come into force 15 days after being published in the Official Gazette.
Article 1- The principle observed is correctness and authenticity of commercial transactions subject of Article 2 of the Commercial Code, unless the contrary is proven on the basis of the purport of this Law. If associated with claim of ownership, proprietary rights of the persons over the assets and properties shall indicate ownership. Article 2- The crime of money laundering is: A -Acquiring, owning, keeping or using the revenues resulting from illegal activities with the knowledge that they are the direct or indirect result of commission of crimes, B -Change, exchange or transfer of the revenues for concealing its illegal origin with the knowledge that the same has been the direct or indirect result of commission of crimes or assisting the perpetrator with a view to relieve that person from being subject to the legal consequences and effects of the commission of a crime. C -Concealing, hiding or not disclosing the true nature, origin, source, location, transaction, transferring, or owning of the revenues acquired as the direct or indirect result of crime. Article 3- The revenues resulting from crime encompasses all types of assets acquired directly or indirectly due to criminal activities. Article 4- For coordination of the bodies charged with collection, processing and analyzing news, documents, information and received reports, preparation of smart information systems, tracing suspicious transactions and for the purpose of combating the crime of money laundering, the Supreme Council for Combating Money Laundering shall be established under the chairmanship and responsibility of the minister of economic affairs and finance and its membership shall consist of the ministers of commerce, intelligence, interior and the governor of the central bank and the council is charged with the following tasks: 1- Collection and gathering of related news and information and analysing technical and specific classifications of the same according to the regulations in cases wherein there exists circumstantial evidence of violations. 2- Preparation and recommending the required by-laws for implementation of the law to the Council of Ministers 3- Coordinating the relevant bodies and following up complete implementation of the Law in the country. 4- Evaluation of the received reports and sending the same to the Judiciary in cases where probability of (violations) is either true or the probability is strong. 5- Exchange of experience and information with similar organizations in other countries within the framework of Article 11. Note 1- The secretariat of the Supreme Council shall be located in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance. Note 2- The structure and administrative organization of the Council in proportion to its legal tasks shall be approved by the Council of Ministers upon the proposal of the Council. Note 3- All the implementing regulations of the aforesaid Council after being approved by the Council of Ministers shall be binding upon all related natural and juridical persons. Those who do not honour that shall be sentenced to two to five years of severance of their related service, as the case may be, at the discretion of the administrative and judicial authorities. Article 5- All the juridical persons such as the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, banks, financial and credit institutions, interest-free loan funds, charity establishments, foundations and municipalities shall be duty bound to carry out the by-laws approved by the Council of Ministers for implementation of this Law. Article 6- Notary public offices, practicing lawyers, auditors, accountants, official experts affiliated to the Justice Administration and legal inspectors of companies shall be duty bound to supply the information needed for implementation of this Law, in accordance with what has already been approved by the Council of Ministers, to the Supreme Council of Combating Money Laundering upon its demand. Article 7- Persons, foundations and bodies subject to this Law (with respect to Articles 5 and 6) are obliged in proportion to the type of their activities and organizational structure to undertake the following: A) Identifying of clientele or identifying of their representative or proxy and the principal when the action has been committed by the representative or proxy in cases wherein there is circumstantial evidence of violations. Note-This legislation shall not overrule the instances where recognition of identity is obligatory in other laws and regulations. B) Provision of information, reports, and documents relating to the subject of this law to the Supreme Council of Combating Money Laundering within the by-law approved by the Council of Ministers. C) Reporting suspicious transactions and operations to the competent authority designated by the Supreme Council of Combating Money Laundering. D) Maintaining the records identifying clientele, records of the accounts, operations and transactions for the duration to be determined in the related by-law. G) Drafting the standards for internal control and education of the directors and employees for the purpose of implementation of the purport of this Law and its by-laws. Article 8- The information and documents gathered in the course of implementation of this Law, shall be used only in relation to the goals set out in the Law for Combating Money laundering and the crimes leading to it. Revealing the information or using it directly or indirectly by government employees or other persons foreseen in this law for the benefit of themselves or other persons is forbidden and the perpetrator shall be sentenced to the punishment stipulated in the Law of Punishment for the Propagation and Disclosure of Governmental Confidential and Secret Documents of 29/11/1353 (18 February 1975). Article 9- Perpetrators of the crime of money laundering in addition to returning the revenue and the profits resulting from commission of the crime including the principal and the accrued benefits (and in case they do not exist, their equivalent or value), shall be sentenced to a cash penalty amounting to one fourth of the revenues resulting from the crime which must be remitted to the Account of Public Revenue with the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Note 1- If the accrued revenues have been exchanged with other assets or changed, the same shall be confiscated. Note 2- Issuance and enforcement of the judgment for confiscating the assets and the accrued benefits shall be possible, if the perpetrator has not been already subjected to such judgment with respect to the original crime. Note 3- Perpetrators of the original crime, in the event of commission of the crime of money laundering, shall be sentenced as well to the punishments foreseen in this Law in addition to the punishments set out for the crime committed. Article 10- In implementation of this Law, all the matters which need judicial action or permission, must be carried out in accordance with the law. The Judiciary shall cooperate according to the related regulations. Article 11- Branches of the general courts in Tehran, and in case of need in the provincial capitals, shall be responsible for handling the crime of money laundering and related crimes. This responsibility shall not bar the branch from considering other crimes. Article 12- In cases wherein a law for judicial and intelligence cooperation for combating money laundering has been concluded between the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and other countries, the cooperation shall be conducted according to the stipulations of the related agreement.
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| 20 February 2008 |
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Nourlaw.com (February 20, 2008) -- The Ministry of Commerce in circular letter number 210/3260 dated 16/11/1386 has stipulated that the export of imported items that lack entry documents is permitted, with the exception of production line machinery and items set forth in Article 114 of the third development plan (and re-ratified in Article 36 of the fourth development plan). The text of the said Article 114 reads as follows: Regulating the domestic market will not prohibit export. The export of all goods and services excepting the following items is permissible: A.) Antiques and objects of cultural heritage, B.) Animal, plant and vegetable matter considered part of the genetic reserve pool or that is significant in terms of environmental protection, C.) Goods subsidized by the government will be authorized for export upon the proposal of the relevant agency and approval by the Economic Council. In order to regulate the domestic market and counteract any potential scarcity, the Ministry of Commerce is authorized, according to its findings, to satisfy domestic needs by importing the required commodities without any foreign exchange transfer.
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| 20 February 2008 |
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Nourlaw.com (February 20, 2008) -- According to decree number KH 81T/187378 dated 17/11/1386 (6 February 2008), the member ministers of the Commission of Article 1 of the Export and Import Implementing Regulations have decreased the commercial benefit tax from 146% to zero to facilitate importation of rice to meet mounting domestic needs. The president ratified the decree The Iranian Customs Administration has made known the above decree via circular decree number 488/73/3103/103/312472/314388 dated 24/11/1386 (13 February 2008). It also notes therein that 1,500 rials shall be levied on rice importers per each kilo of imported rice. The levy shall be 800 rials for border areas people and their cooperatives. These amounts will be paid to the government.
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| 30 January 2008 |
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Nourlaw.com (Jan.30, 2008) -- According to a statement from the head of the Traffic Police Center for Vehicular Registration, importers of fuel efficient vehicles shall be exempt from payment of duties set by the Note 13 Headquarters for importation of vehicles as well as being exempted from paying the cost of disassembling a dilapidated car in lieu of importing a new one.. Note 13 of the National Budget Law stipulates that for improvement of the urban environment, the government has the right to impose levies on imported vehicles in proportion to their fuel consumption and pollution potential. Such levies shall be a percentage of the customs duties set in the related regulations for importation of vehicles. The Note 13 Headquarters has decreed as well that entry of a new car requires dismantling of a dilapidated car, provided the new car does not meet the fuel efficiency standards. Colonel Mohammad Reza Gholami, the head of the aforesaid vehicular center told IRNA that the government is encouraging importation of vehicles which use less than six liters per 100 km. He added that such vehicles are now exempt from duties applicable to non-fuel efficient vehicles. The official continued by saying that newly imported cars manufactured five years ago can not be registered. He said that more than 90% of currently registered vehicles are domestically produced and around 10% are imported.
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| 23 January 2008 |
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Commercial Benefit Tax Lowered for Import of Mobile Phone Sets |
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Nourlaw.com (Jan. 23, 2008) -- In a bid to facilitate the import of mobile phones and suppress smuggling of this widely-used product while also boosting the domestic production of mobile sets, the following reductions in the import commercial benefit tax (CBT) has been set by the member ministers of the Article One Commission of the Implementing Regulations of the Export and Import Law: 1- 1- CBT for the import of mobile sets was decreased from the current 56% of the cost insurance freight (CIF) value of mobile phone sets to 21%. 2- 2- CBT on the parts and components of mobile phones in SKD (semi knocked down) form dropped to 6% and in CKD (completely knocked down) form was abolished altogether. The tariff on imported mobile sets increased last year from 6% to 60% for protecting domestic manufacturers. But, since then, instead of the planned four million sets, less than 200,000 have been produced, leaving the market quite vulnerable for smuggling of the much needed mobile phones into the country. Iranian Customs in its circular decree No. 436/73/2935/103/277282/285176 dated 25/10/1386 (15 Jan. 2008) has declared the lowering of the CBT to 21% applicable retroactively from 9/10/1386 (30 Dec. 2007)
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