Iran parliament committee approves to lower car import tariffs

The Iranian parliament’s budget committee has approved a government proposal to reduce tariffs on cars imported into the country amid efforts to contain soaring prices in the domestic market.

A member of the Majlis (parliament) Appropriations Committee said on Tuesday that it had lowered car import tariffs to 60% for a budget being discussed for the Iranian calendar year 1404 (starting late March 2025).

Malek Shariati said the decision was a response to public demands for easier access to imported cars amid soaring prices of the cars produced by Iranian automotive companies.

The decision, which has to be approved in an open session of the parliament before it becomes law, comes a day after domestic car manufacturers announced price hikes of around 30% for all of their models.

That comes as the current tariff on car imports into Iran is around 100% for normal cars and nearly 175% for high-fuel consumption cars. Iran has already lowered tariffs on imports of electric vehicles to 4%.

For years, Iran has maintained strict controls and tariffs on car imports as part of a policy to support a home-grown automotive industry that produces more than 1.2 million cars per year and employs over half a million workers.

However, shares of two carmakers Iran Khodro and Saipa have been divested in recent years, allowing them to have a freer hand in raising the prices based on domestic inflation.

Experts believe higher imports of cars into Iran would not only stabilize the prices but they will also make the market more competitive and cause Iranian car manufacturers to improve the quality of their products.

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