Domestic media in Iran report that the bank accounts of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) have been frozen due to an outstanding liability of 287 trillion tomans (approx. $4.7 billion). NIOC officials state that this sum is not standard corporate debt, but rather a tax penalty that the company is entirely unable to pay.
According to published reports, the Bank of Industry and Mine blocked NIOC’s accounts over the 287 trillion toman liability.
Morteza Rouhi, Tax Deputy for Financial Management at NIOC, told Tasnim News Agency that the Iranian National Tax Administration (INTA) levied the penalty against the company’s total sales and transactions.
Rouhi explained that lawmakers have failed to establish a legal framework or exemption for state-funded enterprises that are legally prohibited from disclosing certain sensitive financial data.
He noted that detailed information regarding NIOC’s export transactions cannot be disclosed under “top-level directives.” However, INTA imposed the fine without taking these legal non-disclosure restrictions into account.
Rouhi confirmed the penalty amount at 287 trillion tomans, emphasising that the figure was not allocated in NIOC’s operational budget and is “completely impossible to pay.”
The tax deputy added that the Presidential Vice Presidency for Legal Affairs has since issued an order to suspend executive enforcement actions related to the penalty. Following this directive, he claimed, concerns over NIOC’s frozen bank accounts have been resolved.
The repayment deadline for NIOC’s debts had previously been extended through the end of the Iranian calendar year 1405 (March 2027) due to ongoing U.S. sanctions.