Will the plan to transfer fuel quotas from cards be implemented?

According to Energy Press, the smart fuel card system was launched in Iran in 2007. The main goal of implementing this system was to control consumption, prevent smuggling, and fairly distribute fuel subsidies. Over the following years, these cards played an important role in managing gasoline consumption, and governments repeatedly reorganized the rationing system with changes in price and quota amounts.
Elimination and return of fuel cards
In 2015, with the implementation of the single-price gasoline policy, the use of personal fuel cards practically stopped. However, with the increase in smuggling and consumption growth, the government again made the use of personal fuel cards mandatory in 2019 and resumed rationing.
Testing alternative plans
In recent years, proposals have been put forward to reform the fuel distribution system. One of the most important of these proposals was to eliminate the physical fuel card and transfer the quota to the bank account of car owners. The purpose of this change was to reduce the problems caused by issuing and maintaining smart cards, reduce violations, and facilitate the process of paying for fuel.
In 1400, a pilot project entitled “Gasoline for All” was implemented on the islands of Kish and Qeshm. In this project, fuel quotas were allocated to individuals instead of cars. Every Iranian with a national ID card received a monthly 15-liter quota and was also able to buy and sell it. However, this project was not implemented at the national level and did not continue for various reasons, including technical and social complexities.
Approved in the 1404 Budget Law
However, the 1404 Budget Law included a clause that required the Ministry of Oil to provide the necessary infrastructure to transfer fuel quotas to the bank accounts of car owners. This legal obligation paved the way for the pilot implementation of the project in Esfand 1403 and then its expansion nationwide.
The plan to transfer fuel quotas from fuel cards to bank accounts is one of the government’s steps towards making processes related to fuel consumption smarter. By piloting this project in Tehran, the government is seeking to identify and correct its potential problems. If successful, this project could replace the fuel card system and create a new model of fuel consumption management in the country.
Objectives and details of the project
Yesterday, a contract was signed to implement a trial to transfer gasoline quotas from fuel cards to the bank accounts of car owners. Mohammad Sadeq Azimifar, CEO of the National Petroleum Products Refining and Distribution Company, emphasized at the ceremony that this project is being implemented in line with legal obligations to update the country’s refueling infrastructure. Referring to the challenges of the fuel card system, he said: Currently, 40 percent of refueling is done through parking cards, which can be a basis for fuel smuggling. Also, the process of issuing fuel cards is time-consuming and has created problems for people.