Approval for Installment Payments of Military Service Absence Fines in Iran

Mousa Kamali, the deputy head of the Human Resources Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, announced that this staff has agreed to allow installment payments for military service absence fines. In an interview published on Wednesday, March 10, he stated that implementing this plan requires the development of a 'suitable mechanism.' The government of Hassan Rouhani proposed in the 2016 budget bill to allow military service purchase for those who have been absent for five years, but this faced opposition from the General Staff of the Armed Forces. This staff announced that only those who have been absent for eight years this year and are entering their ninth year of absence in 2016 can purchase military service. Mousa al-Reza Sarvati, a member of the Joint Commission reviewing the 2016 budget bill, told the 'House of the Nation' news agency that the members of this commission opposed the government's proposal and approved the General Staff's opinion. Sarvati added that the fines were also supposed to increase by 10 percent, but this was not approved, and only the installment payment of military service fines was approved in this commission. If this decision is finally approved in the public session of the parliament, next year the purchase of military service for those who have been absent for nine years will be in installments. The Iranian parliament determined the amount of fines for exemption from military service for those who have been absent for eight years or more in a resolution last February. The fines are set at 10 million tomans for those without a diploma, 15 million for diploma holders, 20 million for associate degree holders, 25 million for bachelor's degree holders, 30 million for master's degree holders, 35 million for non-medical doctorate holders, 40 million for medical doctorate holders, and 50 million for specialists and above. The military service purchase plan was previously implemented in Iran in 1998 but was ultimately halted in 2000 following opposition from the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Currently, 108 countries around the world have removed compulsory military service from their programs, and 12 countries, including the United States, have a voluntary military service period. According to officials, Iran has more than 1.5 million absent conscripts, of which more than 300,000 are seeking to purchase their military service.