Iran’s parliament has approved a draft bill that would double the cost of gasoline to consumers if a set monthly allowance is exceeded. The new bill would necessitate a return to the fuel smartcards system which was discarded in May 2015, when the government announced that it would no longer allocate subsidized regular gasoline of up to 60 liters per month to passenger vehicles at a price of IR7,000 ($0.23)/ liter, instead supplying gasoline at a single price of IR10,000 ($0.33)/liter without any quotas (MEES, 29 May 2015).
The new bill will now introduce progressive prices related to the monthly volume a car owner consumes. Under the new system car owners can consume up to 180 liters of gasoline per month at the current price of IR10,000 ($0.33)/liter. But this price will rise to IR15,000 ($0.50)/liter for consumption of up to 220 liters per month; IR17,500 ($0.58)/liter for consumption of 220-260 liters per month, and IR20,000 ($0.66)/liter for consumption of 260-300 liters. (CONTINUED - 369 WORDS)
