Business Support Committee Suspends 10 Percent Levy on Oil and Gas Sea Freight

According to Ecoiran, citing ILNA and published on Tuesday, 18 August 2026 (27 Mordad 1405), Iran's Business Support Committee, in its 104th session, approved suspending the collection of a 10 percent levy on freight fees for oil and gas liquid imports and exports carried by non-Iranian shipping fleets, pending cabinet approval of a list of items subject to the fee. Mohammad Zaeri, head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce's Business Improvement Center, said the underlying law dates to 2008 (1387) and has been in force since 2023 (1402), but lacks the required cabinet resolution for its list of covered items.

At the session, an Oil Ministry representative said collecting the levy makes no sense when Iran's domestic maritime fleet lacks the needed capacity, and the committee's secretariat called for fully exempting exports from the fee. Majid Ansari, the president's deputy for legal affairs and the committee's rotating chair, said the levy should be waived until the cabinet approves the list.