Foreign Currency Transfers
By foreign currency transfers, it means transfer of any amounts including the money emerged by foreign investment performance and/or other amounts which are transferred in foreign currency. These transfers specifically are included in two categories:
A: Capital transfer including dividends or capital profit, principle of capital, capital gains and the amounts of damage compensation resulting from removal of ownership and confiscation of foreign capital;
B: Other foreign currency transfers including all types of foreign currency transfers gained through invention patents, technical knowledge, technical and engineering aids, the trade names and signs contracts and similar contracts and agreements.
No, the law has made no restrictions on the amount of transfer and frequency of transfers in each year.
Providing foreign currency for hard currency transfer of investments will be made through purchasing foreign currency from bank system as per the case, from the foreign currency earned through exports or presenting investments services. In any events, procedure of providing foreign currency should be mentioned in the investment permit for the foreign currency transfers.
What are the Iranian legal formalities in foreign investments?
Essentially, any foreign currency transfer, including capital transfers and other will take place by official request of the foreign investor and/or the joint company/ investee firm by the foreign investor; and, all transfers will be payable in favor of foreign investor after making legal deductions.
In exceptional cases when export is not allowed, the foreign investor can sell the products in local market, buy the foreign currency from banking system and transfer it accordingly. Obviously, the investor, if it intends, can export other authorized commodities as well.
In oil and gas upstream fields, foreign investment is merely allowed in the framework of contract arrangements; however, in downstream fields, direct foreign investment is allowed.
It is allowed to open bank accounts outside Iran to maintain the exports revenues of the foreign investments; and its goal is enabling direct access of foreign investor to the foreign currency from exports to receive the dividends and other payments which should be made to it.