Which rules govern the economic activities in the Free Zones?
The provisions of the Law on the Manner of Administration of the Free Trade-Industrial Zones with subsequent amendments and the relevant decrees of the Council of Ministers are the primary legal sources for regulating economic activities and enterprises in the free zones.
Is there any independent authority for administering the Zones?
Yes there is. Under the directives of the Supreme Council of Iran’s Free Trade-Industrial & Special Economic Zones, each free zone is administered by its own authority and is organized as a company, with an autonomous legal status. The company’s capital belongs to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Issuance of permits for all manner of authorized economic activities, construction of buildings and installations and undertaking various occupations by natural and legal persons, within the boundaries of a free zone, rests solely with the respective authority. The authorities are empowered to implement all regulations pertaining to the establishment of production units, importation and exportation of goods, employment of manpower, social security and insurance, issuance of entry visas to foreign nationals, and the like.