Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, said on Tuesday that the new national budget would lessen reliance on oil revenues to as low as 30 percent, the Fars News Agency reported. The budget will go into effect in the next Iranian fiscal year beginning March 21.
According to the spokesman, the cabinet will start scrutinizing the draft budget bill of the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (starts from 2016 to 2021) from tomorrow and will present it to the parliament once ratified.
The bill sees inflation rate and economic growth of the country in the next Iranian calendar year (starting from March 21) at 10-11 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively.
The budget for the current Iranian year relied on oil for over 30 percent of government revenues.
In the draft budget bill, average oil prices have been projected at $42 to $50 per barrel, expecting crude to stay in the current trading range.
""In consultation with the Ministry of Petroleum, three price options of 42, 45, and 50 dollars were discussed which are expected to earn 68 trillion tomans (about $22.5 billion),"" oil news agency Shana quoted Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht as saying.