TEHRAN- The head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) announced that single-window business system will be launched in four provinces of the country soon, IRNA reported.

Referring to the major hindering factors affecting the business environment in Iran during July 2018-March 2020, Gholam-Hossein Shafeie mentioned unpredictable prices of raw materials and continuous changes in the prices of these materials as the main hindrance.

He cited unstable laws and regulations and difficulties in securing required funds as the other main preventive factors.

During a ceremony on May 30, Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) launched the business single-window system.

Speaking in the inauguration ceremony of the single-window system, which was participated by Iran’s Finance Minister Farhad Dejpasand, TCCIMA Head Masoud Khansari said a single-window system for the starting businesses would be a great step toward improving the business environment in the country.

He said the first step in improving the business environment is to establish a single-window to facilitate the process of starting a business.

Deputy Economy Minister Mohammad-Ali Dehqan Dehnavi along with the ministry officials and TCCIMA representatives were also present in the inaugural ceremony.

Addressing the attendees, Khansari noted that in order to turn threats [U.S. sanction] into opportunities the government needs to support the private sector by reducing unnecessary bureaucracies and facilitating license issuances.

To this end, improving the business environment and improving competitiveness indicators are of utmost importance, and fortunately, in both areas, the Tehran and Iran chambers have taken very good steps that can help government agencies, Khansari said.

“We are happy to have been able to do that in the Tehran chamber, and we hope that this will be a prelude to other measures to improve the business environment,” he stressed.

Also speaking in the ceremony, Deputy Economy Minister Dehqan Dehnavi said that with the single-window system going operational, the time for issuing business licenses, which previously took 72 days on average, is going to be reduced to three days.

“Up until now, it took an average of 72.5 days to obtain these licenses, and in this regard, we are in the 178th place among the world countries,” Dehnavi noted.

Referring to the Economy Minister’s support for the single window project, the official said: "With the approval of the minister, the 55 days required to authenticate in the tax system is now eliminated, which means there is no need to obtain an economic code to start a business.”

MA/MA