MPs Approve General Outlines of Iran's Budget Bill

The Iranian parliament has approved the general outlines of the national budget bill for 1389 (March 2010-2011), which was proposed by the administration. During a Majlis session on 8 March 2010, the 1389 Budget Bill was put to a vote and 151 MPs out of 226 MPs who were present voted in favor of it and the generalities of the bill were approved. After the approval of the general outlines of the bill, the MPs commenced work on the examination of the details of some articles in a process that will continue for the next few days.

On January 24 2010, President Ahmadinejad submitted the administration’s US$368 billion budget bill to the Majlis. The bill was examined thoroughly by the Majlis Special Committee for studying the Budget Bill before it was presented to MPs for final approval. The Majlis special committee decided to decrease the budget to US$347 billion, but approved the administration’s decision to estimate an oil price of US$65 per barrel for the period from March 2010-2011. The committee did not approve the administration’s decision to calculate US$40 billion in revenues from subsidy cut savings and lowered the amount to US$20 billion. However, the move was strongly opposed by the administration. On 8 March 2010, MPs commented on the annual budget bill.

MP Ahmad Tavakkoli, who has long been critical of the administration’s economic policies, said the 1389 Budget Bill should be redrafted. The bill should be redrafted because it has not been drawn up in line with the country’s major plans, such as the five-year development plans and the 20 Year Outlook Plan (2005-2025), he added. He also proposed that for the first quarter of 1389, the country’s executive affairs should be managed based on the current year’s budget plan.

MP Elyas Naderan of the Majlis Economic Committee has criticized the new national budget plan and has warned that the national economy will face serious repercussions if the plan is implemented. The budget bill is fraught with problems and cannot be implemented, he opined. The national budget plan, which has been preliminarily ratified, has given the administration an unwarranted free rein to act as it sees fit, and this bill “is not anything like a budget plan and does not allow for oversight,” he added. - Tehran Times