Document Type : Original Article
Highlights
Summary:
Commercial-industrial free zones in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which were modeled on foreign examples, were formed after the special economic zones, according to the duties mentioned in the third development plan. Considering the situation of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the beginning of the 70s and the need to rebuild the country after the eight-year war with Iraq, as well as growth and development in the form of paying attention to investment, development of conversion industries, income generation and increasing public income, areas of the country that had a favorable position and were not developed, they were selected as a free zone in the approval of the law on manage commercial-industrial free zones of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Taking into consideration the geographical location and border capability, the legislator designated Kish Island, a part of Qeshm Island and a part of Chabahar as a free zone in order to realize the development of investment, establishment of industries and border exchanges by considering exemptions. Although some jurists have listed commercial-industrial free zones as exceptions to the principle of territoriality or the principle of non-effect of the law outside the territory, there are conflicting views in this regard that can lead to the violation of this exception.
After a long time since the establishment of commercial-industrial free zones, seven commercial-industrial zones are active in the country today. According to the statute laws and legal documents, the incomes of these companies must be deposited into the country's general treasury account to be spent according to Article 53 of the Constitution by determining in the annual budget. Due to the different interpretations of some articles of the law on administer the commercial-industrial free zones of the Islamic Republic of Iran, approved in 1372, this has not been achieved and so far these zones have not been required to deposit their revenues into the general treasury account, so they spend their revenues through the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers.
With regard to the development of commercial-industrial free and including the public areas such as forests, mines, the sea and the like, practically, the profit obtained without fulfilling Article 53 of the Constitution is deposited and paid to the account of these companies that is in serious conflict with this principle of the constitution and the laws derived from it, such as the law of public accounts. Considering the necessity of the legal explanation of the current issue and the interpretation of the relevant statue laws to the realization of the Constitution, the inclusion of these areas in the current laws, especially the financial laws and governing regulations and the explanation of the exclusion of the free zones from the inclusion of the laws governing state-owned companies, the subject of Article 5 of the law of manage commercial-industrial free zones is one of the things that have been investigated in this article.
This article tries to explain the frameworks for the implementation of Article 53 of the Constitution in free commercial-industrial zones. In this regard, while examining the legal texts, laws and some of the principles and rules governing the laws, related articles and theories of the Guardian Council regarding the approvals related to the discussion of the budget and revenues of the free zones, the legal frameworks governing the inclusion of commercial-industrial free zones in principle 53 of constitution has analyzed.
The main question is whether the governing principles of the law governing the administration of commercial-industrial free zones of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and especially articles 2 and 5 of this law, have the possibility of excluding commercial-industrial free zones from Article 53 of the Constitution? The secondary question is, what are the shortcomings and gaps in the inclusion of commercial-industrial free zones on the public accounting laws?
The author's hypothesis relies on the fact that the principles governing the constitution and other laws cannot exclude a part of the geographical territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran under the title of free trade-industrial zones from Article 53 of the constitution and the laws of public accounting, and basically in cases of legal vacuum, Interpretations should be done strictly in the principles of the constitution.
Financial discipline of the government is one of the most important concerns of the legislative system; because preserving the treasury according to religious teachings and legal frameworks is considered as an integral part of the public rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The income of commercial-industrial free zones with the nature of a state company was neglected from the beginning and Article 53 of the Constitution was not realized in the issue of the income of these zones. Some conflicting interpretations, especially from articles 2 and 5 of the law on administer commercial-industrial free zones, as well as the general perception that these zones are exempt from the current laws of the country and the territorial principle, led to the obligation to collect revenues to the country's treasury account and even with existence of laws such as the annual budget, the necessary arrangements for integrating the budget of the free zones with the entire country's budget are not realized.
According to the law of the Court of Public Accounts, the law of public accounts, financial regulations of the government, as well as Article 53 of the Constitution and the detailed deliberations of the Islamic Council at the time of approving the law on administer Commercial-Industrial free zones, it can be understood that basically it is not possible to exclude a part of the government body from the deposit of income to the general treasury account of the country, and it is not possible to obligate the government company of the commercial-industrial free zone not to deposit its income to the general treasury account.
It seems that the purpose of the legislator in specifying the approval of the budget of free commercial-industrial zones by the board of ministers is to determine their internal budget in terms of the budget sharing of each zone, and this issue cannot negate the deposit of income to the general treasury account. Article 53 of the Constitution and other accounting laws are not exceptional in the subject of this article, and the property and assets of organizations of free zones are classified as public property, and the inclusion of the Court of Accounts Law and other related laws, especially Article 53 of the Constitution, will govern in these areas.
As a result, what can be identified as a major defect is the governments' lack of practical commitment to their legal duties, especially the need to deposit income into the country's treasury account and to consolidate the budget during the establishment of commercial-industrial free zones with the cooperation of other government agencies.
Therefore, the ruling spirit of the law on manage commercial-industrial free zones cannot dictate the exclusion of these zones from the country's laws. The principles of the constitution, which is based on equality, do not allow the legal separation of these regions from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but only provide benefits for these regions according to their activities. Therefore, the existing deficiencies and gaps generally indicate the deviation of the government agencies from the legal standards and also the constitution regarding free zones, and the laws in this field have been correctly established.
Refrences:
