The Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act (“FIPPA”) which has been ratified by the Parliament of Iran as a law around two decades ago in 2002 in order to encourage the foreign investors to bring their capitals to the Iranian market.
FIPPA has a good range of incentives and facilities as the governmental offers to the investors. In order to benefit from the advantages listed in the FIPPA, the investor firstly is required to apply for the FIPPA license. FIPPA license is the most valuable permit that the Iranian law grants to the foreign investors in Iran.
Amazingly, by any amount of investment, you can apply for FIPPA license; however, you need to have a business plan which should be confirmed by the authorities.
Who can request for the FIPPA license?
Any Iranian or foreigner, companies or individuals, who wants to invest in Iran through the money with the foreign origin, is authorized to request for FIPPA license.
The money with foreign origin can be invested in the following methods:
- Incorporation a company;
- Share purchasing of an Iranian company;
- Doing business in the Iranian Exchange Market;
- Investment in the Iranian projects through direct investment or a specific contractual framework like BOT agreement, Buyback, partnership agreement and etc.
Specifications of investment
First of all, you have to know the two important points:
- There is no restriction over the place of the project meaning that it is possible to invest in all of the projects in the country.
- The ownership of the project can be fully belongs to you.
Your investment could be transferred to Iran as one or more of the following options:
- Cash money in one of the foreign currencies accepted by the Central Bank of Iran;
- Machinery and equipment;
- Raw materials, spare parts, SKD and CKD parts and etc.
- Dividends, patents and other intangible assets
- Other possible means confirmed by the authorities.
In below, you can find the list of incentives and benefits of FIPPA license:
1. Non-discriminated Behavior
You receive the same treatment that a local Iranian investor receives in Iran. More specifically, you will be treated like an Iranian investor in the Iranian governmental organization and entities.
2. Long-term residency and work permit
After having obtained FIPPA license, you will enjoy from three-year residency and work permit which could be renewed and extended indefinitely until the end of your project in Iran.
3. Transfer of your earnings to your country
By having the FIPPA license you can bring the money obtained from your activities in Iran to your own country. This process doesn’t need any other permits or authorizations.
4. The money obtained from your project in Iran can be easily re-invested
The money obtained from your investment in Iran, could be easily re-invested in your project. In this case, the amount of your investment in your FIPPA license will be increased up to the amount of your new investment.
The required procedures for obtaining FIPPA License
First of all, you have to know that the Organization for Investment, Technical and Economic Assistance in Iran is in charge of issuance the FIPPA license.
In the first step, the following information shall be provided before the Organization for Investment, Technical and Economic Assistance in Iran:
- The business plan which means your project’s characteristics, timeframe, the exact amount of investing money, method of sales and marketing and the targeted market.
- Your personal information as an investor, a company or a businessman outside Iran.
You may find relevant laws governing investment in Iran in below.
