Theoretical and Operational Study to Allocate Foreign Currency through Exchange

One of the most important policies concerning the adjustment of foreign trade is to allocate foreign currency by establishing an exchange control system. The mechanism of this would be so that the Central Bank operates or supervises all transactions concerning foreign exchange. However, the controlling system, like all other international systems of payment, operates with some adjustments and is therefore not settled in a net manner. It must be noted that although the controlling systems aim to fix the exchange rate, in reality these sanctioned laws are accompanied by different adjustments along with crawling pegged exchange rates and devaluation in the rate of exchange. The existing contradictions amongst the aims of the domestic and foreign economy, enforces us to find a suitable solution. One of the options is to allocate foreign currency by establishing an exchange control system. This system can be a suitable tool for confronting the damageable effects of foreign factors and conditions on the economy of a country. One of the main aims of these controls is to remedy the deficit of balance of payments and to allocate as best as possible the sources of foreign currency to the different economic sectors.
For the past few years in Iran, the control and allocation of foreign currency has been mainly concerned with the import quotas and the issue of import permits together with the allocation of foreign currency. These controls started in 1930 and continued throughout the years. The history of Iran’s experience in this regard, and what followed shows the unsuccessful outcome of these procedures. We must bear in mind that the allocation of foreign currency through establishing an exchange control system should not only be concerned with dealing with the balance of payment deficit, absorbing the revenue from the non-petroleum exports or other economic problems. This should help a correct and timely use of other coordinating economical policies, especially the ones concerning expenditure-changing and expenditure-switching while achieving a synchronized foreign and domestic balance.