On 2 July 2001 the Research Directorate received a letter from the editorial offices of Chap va Bastebandi, a professional journal of the Iranian printing and packaging industry. The following excerpt from the letter provides information on the regulation of the printing industry in Iran:

Rules and Regulations Regarding the Establishment of a Printing House in Iran is a section of "The collection of printing rules, regulations and guidance" which has been collected in a booklet and will be distributed to the applicants who want to set up a printing house. The Publishing and Printing head office of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance have compiled this booklet.

These are the general regulations and have been approved by the Cabinet Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran. There are other instructions that will be determined by the Director General of the Printing and Publishing, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. These regulations could be changed according to the printing industry condition in the country.

Attention: At present, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance supervises the printing industry in Islamic Republic of Iran.

Below, you'll read a section of this booklet on applicant's qualifications for the establishment of a printing house:

[The following text of the letter consists of excerpts from the Iranian government's booklet on printing regulations]

Item 4: In order to set up a lithography and printing house, one must have the necessary qualifications and obtain the required licence from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

Item 5: Following are the required qualifications for obtaining the licence:

Iranian Citizenship

No bankruptcy due to a fraudulent act.

Not having a reputation of immorality or corruption.

Must have the necessary education, qualifications and be well acquainted with the lithography and printing profession recognized by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

No criminal records.

No member of Freemasons or other organizations which their doctrine would be based on denial of the recognized religions. No membership in illegal, apostate or other groups that combat Islam and any related activities on behalf of those organizations.

Note #1: Prime ministers; ministers; governor generals; military commanders; gendarmerie and police officers; chiefs of the government organizations; director generals and managing directors, chairmen of board of Directors of companies and state banks; all companies and establishments which use their title in the business they do; members of the parliament; ambassadors; governors; mayors; chiefs of the city councils of Tehran, other cities, and provincial centres; members of SAVAK; Chiefs of Rastakhiz party in Tehran and other cities who have been employed in their positions between Khordad 15, 1342 [June 5, 1963] and Bahman 22, 1357 [February 11, 1979], cannot set up a lithography or printing house.

Note #2: Under the same condition, families of the martyrs [Not clear - translator] have priorities.

Note #3: If the applicant is an employee of an organization, the director general or the executive director of the organization should meet the above requirements. In this case, the license will be issued in the name of the director general or the executive director.

Item 6: Prior to the issuance of the license to the applicants who want to establish the lithography and printing house, a letter of agreement will be issued which will be valid for the period of one year. It will be renewed if approved by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.

Item 7: Owner of the license will be responsible for the managing of the printing house and the related units. He/she is responsible for the job to be done according to the regulations and given instructions by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. He/she is also responsible for the quality of the advertisements and printing jobs.

Item 8: At any time, if the owner of the license does not follow the terms and conditions specified in item (5), the licence will be cancelled. [The next line is illegible].

Item 9: If the licence owner dies, until the time that the new heir is identified, a qualified person should be assigned to keep the job going [Illegible - translator].

Note: After the heirs are identified, if any of them meets the requirements of the item (5), upon the agreement of other heirs or their guardians, the license will be issued in his/her name. [Illegible - translator]

Item 10: The printing house or its related units should be located in a non residential building and should meet the safety, public health and other regulations required by the relevant organizations. It should only belong to the printing house and no one but the assigned superintendent can live in the building. Name of the printing house should be printed on a suitable size frame and be posted on the entrance door.

Note: If the administration department of the newspapers and magazines which have their own print shop, are located in the same building, they should be separated from each other so that both parts are recognized as separate units.

Special rules and regulations on the printing houses at present:

- The applicant should have ten years of experience in the field of printing or cultural activities.

- The applicant should, at least, have completed high school (pre university) diploma.

- Each applicant should at least add one printing machine, 25X35 centimeter to the printing machines of the country [The concept is not very clear - translator]. The printing machine could be new or used (maximum 10 years old).

- The printing house owners' union has its own terms and conditions for issuing the license which are related to the legal and technical condition of the printing house location and its owner. Without this license, the printing house is not allowed to operate.

The followings are some of these terms and conditions:

- Approval of the printing house space (at least 50 square meters).

- Acceptance of the technical knowledge of the applicant.

- Proof of payments on property taxes, property insurance, municipality taxes, Ministry of Finance charges, etc.

- Legal documents such as charters and confirmation of the license by Registration Office for the Corporations.

- Personal documents pertinent to the completion of the military service or military exemption; not being addicted; not having criminal records and so on (These items will be checked again by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance at the time of the license request).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Reference

Chap va Bastebandi (Monthly printing and packaging magazine), Tehran, Iran. 2 July 2001. Correspondence [Translated by the Translation Bureau, Multilingual Translation Directorate, Public Works and Government Services Canada]