--- oa_review_kit: v1 guide_slug: iran-vat guide_version: iran-vat@2026-04-13T17:54:06.142Z archetype: vat_gst --- # Review kit: Iran VAT Thank you for reviewing this Guide. This kit is one file with three parts: how to use it, an interview prompt for your AI, and the Guide itself. ## How to use this kit (3 steps, about 15 minutes) 1. Open the AI you already use (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, anything that reads markdown) and paste in everything from "INTERVIEW PROMPT" below, including the Guide at the end. 2. Your AI interviews you like a colleague, one question at a time. Just talk: war stories, walk-throughs, the mistakes you catch. No writing required. 3. Your AI writes your answers up as a single markdown file. Hand it back at openaccountants.com/skills/iran-vat/handback (also linked from the Guide page: "Hand back your file"). What you added is published under your name and credential. If your AI cannot produce the exact output format, hand back whatever you have: a revised Guide file, a worksheet, or plain notes. We take those too, and a person reviews them by hand. The format below is the one we can apply straight away. --- # INTERVIEW PROMPT (paste from here down into your AI) You are interviewing a practising accountant about how they actually do the work covered by the attached Guide ("Iran VAT", slug `iran-vat`). Interview them like a colleague doing a handover. Do not lecture. Ask ONE question at a time and wait for the answer. Chase war stories and specifics: what kind of client, which portal step, how big the penalty was. The rates, thresholds, and citations are our job; we refresh those from primary sources. Capture ONLY what is NOT derivable from law: - order of operations, and what a wrong order corrupts - what to ask a client before computing anything - what to assume when a fact is unknown, and how it gets flagged - the most-missed traps, with penalty size and who falls in - how the portal or filing channel actually behaves - what has to reconcile before anyone signs - when to refuse the work and hand it to a human specialist If the accountant corrects a rate, threshold, or deadline in the Guide along the way, record it in the FACT CORRECTIONS table, but do not steer the interview toward numbers. ## Questions to work through Ask these in order, one at a time. Skip any the accountant has already covered; follow up where a story has specifics worth pinning down. Each question is tagged with the method slot(s) it feeds. 1. [sequence] Walk me through the last VAT return you prepared, start to finish. What did you open first, and why that order? 2. [intake_questions] [evidence] A new client hands you nothing but a bank statement. What do you do before you'll classify a single line? 3. [pattern_library] Which bank-statement line gets misclassified most often in your experience? What does it look like and where should it actually go? 4. [scope_gate] Tell me about a client you refused or referred out. What about their VAT situation made you stop? 5. [trap] When you review a return someone else drafted, what mistake do you catch most often? 6. [conservative_default] When you can't tell if a sale is domestic or cross-border, what do you assume, and how do you mark it? 7. [cross_check] Before you sign, what has to reconcile with what, and how close is close enough? 8. [filing_mechanics] Walk me through filing on the actual portal. What surprises first-timers: the order of forms, what locks, what you can't undo? 9. [judgment_rule] Ever had a client on a simplified scheme where the "simplification" made things worse? How do you decide who belongs on it? 10. [trap] What's the real penalty story you tell clients, the one that actually happened? 11. [evidence] Which claims will you draft from a bank statement but never file without the underlying paper? 12. [unsettled_law] Anything in VAT right now you deliberately won't finalise because the rules are moving? ## Method slots (for tagging the write-up) - `scope_gate` (Scope gate and refusals): when to stop and send the client to a human - `sequence` (Order of operations): what order to do things in, and what a wrong order corrupts - `intake_questions` (Client intake questions): what to ask a client before computing - `evidence` (Documents and evidence): which documents to insist on, and what is draft-grade vs file-grade - `judgment_rule` (Judgment rules): how a practitioner actually picks when the law allows two routes - `conservative_default` (Conservative defaults): what to assume when a fact is unknowable at draft time - `trap` (Traps and most-missed items): the mistakes everyone makes, what they cost, and who falls in - `filing_mechanics` (Portal and filing mechanics): how submission actually works: channel, order, what locks - `cross_check` (Cross-checks before signing): what has to reconcile with what before delivery, and how close is close enough - `pattern_library` (Pattern library): how messy real-world data (bank lines, payout platforms) maps to tax categories - `edge_case` (Edge-case playbook): the client situations that change the method, not just the numbers - `unsettled_law` (Unsettled-law flags): what not to finalise right now, and why - `handback_protocol` (Hand-back protocol): what the finished working paper contains and who reviews it ## Output format: oa-handback v1 When the interview is done, write the answers up as ONE markdown file in exactly this shape. Fill in the reviewer's real name, credential, and email (ask for them at the end if they have not come up). Every method block gets a `### [method:]` heading where `` is one of the 13 slot ids above. Keep `guide_slug` and `guide_version` exactly as given. Omit any section the interview produced nothing for, but keep the headings that remain exactly as shown. The `fact_key` column may be left blank when unknown. ```markdown --- oa_handback: v1 guide_slug: iran-vat guide_version: iran-vat@2026-04-13T17:54:06.142Z reviewer_name: reviewer_credential: # free text: CPA, EA, ACCA, Steuerberater... reviewer_email: verdict: --- ## METHOD ### [method:filing_mechanics] ### [method:intake_questions] - - ... ## FACT CORRECTIONS | fact_key | current | correct | source | |---|---|---|---| | | | | | ## FLAGS - [unsettled] - [refer] ## NOTES ``` If for any reason you cannot produce this exact format, output the accountant's corrections and methods as clear plain notes instead. The hand-back page accepts plain notes and revised Guide files too; this format is an optimization, never a gate. --- # THE GUIDE UNDER REVIEW --- name: iran-vat description: Use this skill whenever asked to prepare, review, or classify transactions for an Iran VAT return. Trigger on phrases like "Iran VAT", "INTA tax", "Iran value added tax". Iran imposes VAT at 10% (9% VAT + 1% municipal) under the VAT Law of 2008 as amended. Iran uses the Solar Hijri calendar for all tax purposes. ALWAYS read this skill before handling any Iran VAT work. jurisdiction: IR domain: vat-gst tax_year: 2025 --- # iran-vat ## Section 1 -- Quick reference **Quick reference** | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Country | Iran (Islamic Republic) | | Combined rate | 10% (9% VAT + 1% municipal tax) | | Zero rate | 0% (exports) | | Exempt | Unprocessed agricultural, bread/flour, books, medical, education, banking/insurance, public transport, handmade carpets | | Filing portal | https://tax.gov.ir | | Authority | Iranian National Tax Administration (INTA) | | Currency | IRR (Iranian Rial) | | Filing frequency | Quarterly (seasonal, Solar Hijri calendar) | | Primary legislation | VAT Law of 2008; 2025 Budget Act | | Contributor | Open Accounting Skills Registry | | Validated by | Pending | | Last research update | April 2026 | **Conservative defaults** | Ambiguity | Default | | --- | --- | | Unknown rate | 10% (9% + 1%) | | Unknown purchase status | Not deductible | | Unknown counterparty | Domestic Iran | ## Section 2 -- Required inputs and refusal catalogue **Minimum viable** -- bank statement. Acceptable from Bank Melli, Bank Mellat, Bank Saderat, Bank Tejarat, Parsian Bank, or any Iranian bank. - **R-IR-1 -- Free Trade Zone** — Free zone VAT rules vary by zone. Escalate to specialist. (Trigger: operations in Kish, Qeshm, Chabahar, Arvand, Aras zones.) _(R-IR-1)_ - **R-IR-2 -- Oil/gas sector** — Escalate to specialist. _(R-IR-2)_ ### 3.1 Iranian banks (exempt -- exclude) **Iranian banks (exempt -- exclude)** | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | BANK MELLI, MELLI IRAN | EXCLUDE | Exempt financial service | | BANK MELLAT | EXCLUDE | Same | | BANK SADERAT, BANK TEJARAT | EXCLUDE | Same | | PARSIAN BANK, PASARGAD BANK | EXCLUDE | Same | | INTEREST, LOAN | EXCLUDE | Out of scope | ### 3.2 Government **Government** | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | INTA, SAZMAN MALIYATI | EXCLUDE | Tax payment | | CUSTOMS, IRICA | Check for import VAT | Duty exclude; VAT recoverable | | TAMIN EJTEMAEI, SOCIAL SECURITY | EXCLUDE | Social insurance | ### 3.3 Utilities **Utilities** | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | TAVANIR, BARGH | Domestic 10% | Electricity | | MOKHABERAT, MCI, IRANCELL, RIGHTEL | Domestic 10% | Telecoms | ### 3.4 SaaS and digital **SaaS and digital** | Pattern | Treatment | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | Non-resident digital services | Reverse charge 10% | Subject to payment restrictions | ### Example 1 -- Standard domestic sale **Input:** Company sells goods IRR 100,000,000 net. Standard-rated. VAT (9%) = IRR 9,000,000. Municipal (1%) = IRR 1,000,000. Total tax = IRR 10,000,000. Gross = IRR 110,000,000. ### Example 2 -- Free zone to mainland Goods from Kish Free Zone to Tehran. Treated as import. VAT at 10% at customs checkpoint. ### 5.1 Standard rate 10% (9% VAT + 1% municipal) - **Standard rate application** — Single combined rate for all taxable supplies. Both components reported separately on return. _(5.1 Standard rate 10% (9% VAT + 1% municipal))_ ### 5.2 Zero-rated (0%, input recoverable) - **Zero-rated supplies** — Exports of goods/services outside Iran. Goods to Free Trade Zones (conditions). _(5.2 Zero-rated (0%, input recoverable))_ ### 5.3 Exempt (no VAT, no recovery) - **Exempt supplies** — Unprocessed agricultural, livestock, bread/flour, books/newspapers, medical/pharmaceutical, education, banking/insurance, public transport, handmade carpets, gold bullion. _(5.3 Exempt (no VAT, no recovery))_ ### Output **Output section of VAT return** | Section | Description | | --- | --- | | Taxable sales | Sales at 10% combined | | Zero-rated | Exports | | Exempt | Exempt supplies | | VAT component | 9% portion | | Municipal tax | 1% portion | | Reverse charge output | Self-assessed on imported services | ### Input **Input section of VAT return** | Section | Description | | --- | --- | | Input VAT on purchases | 9% component recoverable | | Input municipal on purchases | 1% component recoverable | | Customs VAT | Import VAT | | Reverse charge input | Self-assessed input | ### Net Output minus input. Credit brought forward from prior season. ## Section 7 -- Reverse charge and imports - **Services from non-resident** — Services from non-resident: self-assess at 10% (9% + 1%). Claim input if taxable. Net zero. _(Section 7 -- Reverse charge and imports)_ - **Import of goods** — Import of goods: VAT on CIF plus customs duties plus commercial profit tax. Collected by IRICA. _(Section 7 -- Reverse charge and imports)_ ## Section 8 -- Deductibility and blocked input - **Blocked inputs** — Blocked: personal-use items, purchases for exempt supplies, entertainment (above limits), passenger vehicles for personal use, gifts/donations (above limits). _(Section 8 -- Deductibility and blocked input)_ ## Section 9 -- Filing, deadlines, and penalties **Filing seasons and deadlines** | Season | Months | Deadline (approx. Gregorian) | | --- | --- | --- | | Spring | Farvardin-Khordad | ~July 6 | | Summer | Tir-Shahrivar | ~October 7 | | Autumn | Mehr-Azar | ~January 5 | | Winter | Dey-Esfand | ~April 4 | **Penalties** | Violation | Penalty | | --- | --- | | Late filing | 10% of tax due | | Late payment | 2.5% per month | | Failure to register | Backdated assessment + penalties | ### Edge cases - **EC1 -- VAT/municipal split** — Always report 9% and 1% separately. _(EC1)_ - **EC2 -- Free zone to mainland** — Treated as import. VAT at customs. _(EC2)_ - **EC3 -- Agricultural exemption** — Unprocessed wheat exempt. No output, no input recovery. _(EC3)_ - **EC4 -- Foreign SaaS** — Reverse charge at 10%. Payment restrictions do not change VAT treatment. _(EC4)_ - **EC5 -- Export with docs** — Zero-rated if export documentation exists. _(EC5)_ ### Test suite IRR 100M net. Expected: VAT IRR 9M, municipal IRR 1M, total IRR 10M. IRR equivalent of USD 10,000. Expected: 0%. Input recoverable. Indian consulting USD 5,000. Expected: 10% self-assessed. Net zero. Medicines IRR 500M. Expected: no output. Input IRR 20M not recoverable. CIF IRR 1B + duty IRR 100M. Expected: VAT IRR 99M (9%), municipal IRR 11M. ### Escalation protocol ``` REVIEWER FLAG / ESCALATION REQUIRED [Standard format] ``` ### Out of scope -- direct tax - Corporate income tax: 25% - Personal income tax: progressive - Social security: employer 23%, employee 7% ### Prohibitions - NEVER apply rate other than 10% to standard taxable supplies - NEVER allow input recovery on exempt supplies - NEVER ignore municipal tax (1%) -- always collected with VAT - NEVER issue invoices without Farsi text - NEVER use Gregorian dates on official filings - NEVER compute numbers -- engine handles arithmetic ## Disclaimer This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Open Accountants and its contributors accept no liability for any errors, omissions, or outcomes arising from the use of this skill. All outputs must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified professional before filing or acting upon. The most up-to-date, verified version of this skill is maintained at [openaccountants.com](https://openaccountants.com).