Iran faces severe budget deficit for development projects

Iran will have no money to carry out development projects if parliament approves an amendment bill to ban the administration from using six per cent of the National Development Fund's assets, the Mehr News Agency quoted the Iranian president's Deputy for Strategic Planning Mohammad Baqer Nobakht as saying.

Nobakht was speaking in opposition to a proposal made by a group of MPs aimed at removing a note from the budget bill amendment which prevents the administration from using six per cent of the NDF's assets.

If the proposal is approved, there will be no budget to implement development projects in the current Iranian year 1392 which ends on March 20, 2014, Nobakht said.

Some 3.2 million Iranian families depend on the development projects. Certainly, they will face serious problems, he added.

Iran currently deposits 20 per cent of oil revenues to the NDF. The six per cent share amounts to 67 trillion rials (about $2.7 billion) which will be spent to carry out development projects.

On October 16, parliament approved general outlines for the current year's budget bill amendment.

The Majlis approved the current year's 7.270 quadrillion rails, about $295 billion based on the official USD rate where a dollar equals 24,900 rials, budget bill.

According to the experts, some income figures including predicted tax, customs and oil export revenues in the budget will not be realised.

In mid-August, ISNA quoted First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri as saying that Iran's current year budget will be revised because one third of government income recognised in the budget would not be realised.

In July, Nobakht said that the current year's budget is too optimistic so the next administration should revise it.

Conservative MP Ahmad Tavakoli had said that the current year's budget is not realistic and may result in even higher inflation.

Predicted incomes of Iran's current year's budget have been realised at 52.8 per cent during the last Iranian calendar month (July 23- August 22), Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said.

Rouhani recalled the country is facing a massive budget deficit, adding the current year's budget, proposed by the previous administration is unrealistic. (Trend)