Regulation supporting knowledge-based production and employment in sport — 2023
Regulation on supporting knowledge-based production and employment generation in the field of sport and youth, adopted by the Council of Ministers on 5 March 2023 — the framework for state support of the sports economy, in 13 articles.
| Adoption | 5 March 2023 — Council of Ministers |
| Notification | 11 March 2023 — No. 235109/T60786H |
| Constitutional basis | Article 138 of the Constitution |
| Structure | 13 articles — full text below on this page |
What this regulation determines
The instrument was drawn up in implementation of the slogan of the year and the policies supporting knowledge-based production, and determines the framework for cooperation between government bodies for the development of the sports economy. The range of its addressees shows that the subject matter is not purely sporting: the Ministry of Sport and Youth alongside the Ministries of Industry, Mine and Trade, of Economic Affairs and Finance, of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare, of Culture and Islamic Guidance, of Education and of Foreign Affairs, the Plan and Budget Organisation, the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, the national broadcaster, the Central Bank, the Innovation and Prosperity Fund, and the Chamber of Commerce.
Why it matters to clubs and sports companies
The forms of support envisaged in regulations of this kind — facilities, exemptions, priority in transfers of assets and export support — can in practice be claimed only upon satisfaction of the conditions and through the channels laid down in this text.
For companies manufacturing sports equipment and for start-ups in the sports sector, this instrument is the starting point of any assessment: which body is responsible, what conditions are required, and where an application begins.
Who this document matters to
Clubs, manufacturing and knowledge-based companies in the sports sector, and corporate lawyers working on the preparation of applications for support or on challenges to their rejection.
Full text of the regulation
No. 235109/T60786H, 11 March 2023
Ministry of Sport and Youth — Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare
Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade — Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance
Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare — Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance — Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Education — Plan and Budget Organisation of the country
Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology and the Knowledge-Based Economy of the President
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting — Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Innovation and Prosperity Fund — Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture
The Council of Ministers, at its session of 5 March 2023, on the proposal No. 100/1682/S/1401 dated 15 December 2022 of the Ministry of Sport and Youth, and pursuant to Article 138 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, adopted the Regulation on supporting knowledge-based production and employment generation in the field of sport and youth as follows:
Regulation on supporting knowledge-based production and employment generation in the field of sport and youth
#Article 1
In this Regulation, the following terms have the meanings set out below:
1. Ministry: the Ministry of Sport and Youth.
2. Vice-Presidency: the Vice-Presidency for Science, Technology and the Knowledge-Based Economy of the President.
3. Knowledge-based companies: companies falling within the scope of the Law on Support for Knowledge-Based Companies and Institutions and the Commercialisation of Innovations and Inventions — adopted in 2010 — and its subsequent amendments.
4. Technology units: research, technology, engineering and production units located in parks and incubators holding a permit from the relevant authorities.
5. Knowledge-based products: goods and services listed in the list of knowledge-based goods and services under the Law on Support for Knowledge-Based Companies and Institutions and the Commercialisation of Innovations and Inventions — adopted in 2010 — and its subsequent amendments.
6. Technology event: an event held for the purpose of presenting technological needs, identifying the relevant solutions and developing technological and commercial cooperation between organisations, institutions, knowledge-based companies and technology units connected with the field of sport and youth.
#Article 2
The Ministry is required, in cooperation with the Vice-Presidency and the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare, to design and implement capacity-building programmes for knowledge-based companies and technology units in the field of sport and youth, to hold skills-training and employability courses based on knowledge-based services and products, and to hold knowledge-enhancement workshops for non-governmental organisations active in the field of sport and youth and for other stakeholders in this field.
#Article 3
The Ministry is required, in cooperation with the Vice-Presidency and drawing on the capacity of the National Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the sports federations, to identify and present technological needs in the field of sport and youth, to support the production of related knowledge-based products and services by domestic knowledge-based companies and technology units, and to hold national, regional and provincial technology events.
#Article 4
The Ministry is required, in cooperation with the Ministries of Industry, Mine and Trade, of Economic Affairs and Finance and of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare and with the Innovation and Prosperity Fund, and in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations, with the aim of reducing dependence on imports, to identify imported sports products and to support knowledge-based companies and technology units in producing those products.
Note 1. The Ministry is required, with the aim of developing the sports industry, to procure annually at least ten percentage points (10%) of the imported knowledge-based sports products required by its subordinate and related units which have no domestic equivalent, in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations, through domestic knowledge-based companies and technology units.
Note 2. For the purpose of implementing this Article, the Ministry shall, where necessary, amend the relevant instructions and propose amendments to the relevant regulations to the competent authorities.
Note 3. The Ministry is required, in cooperation with the Vice-Presidency, to establish priorities for the manufacture of knowledge-based sports products and products incorporating new technologies.
#Article 5
With a view to fostering a culture of skills training and employability among young people, the Ministry is required, in cooperation with the Ministries of Culture and Islamic Guidance and of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare and with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, to support the production of content in the fields of skills training, employability, business, and familiarity with knowledge-based companies and technology units in the field of sport and youth.
#Article 6
With the aim of securing a place in international chains, increasing the market volume of production and developing exports in the field of sport, the Ministry is required, in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vice-Presidency, the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture and other executive bodies as the case may be, to support, create the groundwork for and develop the export of knowledge-based sports products to neighbouring and target countries, and likewise to support private-sector investment in selected products and driver chains in those countries.
#Article 7
The Ministry is required to make use of the capacity of the services of knowledge-based companies and of youth non-governmental organisations and popular associations for the purpose of equipping and launching rural sports houses and training the specialist personnel required in the field of sport and physical activity.
#Article 8
The Ministry is required, before the end of the year, to send the following year's programmes together with a performance report for the past year concerning support for knowledge-based companies and technology units active in the field of sport and youth, in compliance with the executive regulation of paragraph (b) of Article (1) of the Law on the Leap in Knowledge-Based Production, being the subject of approval No. 160716/T60029H dated 23 November 2022, to the Steering Council for Knowledge-Based Technologies and Products for approval.
#Article 9
The Ministry is required, in compliance with paragraph (b) of Article (1) of the Law on the Leap in Knowledge-Based Production — adopted in 2022 — and with the aim of completing and developing the said value chains, facilitating investment and enhancing the technological and production capabilities for strategic items inside the country, to support the domestic production of installations, systems, networks and imported knowledge-based products related to the field of sport and youth, with priority for the various types of artificial turf, hall flooring, sports balls, bicycles, sports sticks and video assistant referee (VAR) technology.
#Article 10
The Ministry is required, in cooperation with the Vice-Presidency and with the participation and investment of the non-governmental sector, and with the aim of improving the quality of domestically produced knowledge-based products in the field of sport and youth, to take the following measures:
1. Providing evaluation and testing services for domestically manufactured products and services and assisting in obtaining international standards for knowledge-based products and services in the field of sport and youth.
2. Supporting the establishment and launch of at least three evaluation laboratories, with priority for doping testing, product certification and research and development.
Note. The Vice-Presidency is obliged to treat the cost of launching the laboratories under this Article as a tax credit, in accordance with the Law on the Knowledge-Based Leap — adopted in 2022 — and the relevant laws and regulations.
#Article 11
The Ministry is required, in cooperation with the Vice-Presidency, to support businesses active in the field of soft technologies related to the Ministry's areas of activity, with priority for sports law, sports advertising and marketing, related cultural and social matters, and the enhancement of knowledge-based governance.
#Article 12
The Ministry of Education is required, in cooperation with the Ministry and the Vice-Presidency, to take the following measures:
1. To design and put in place, within two years, a system for identifying sporting talent from kindergarten and primary school onwards.
2. To support the establishment of schools and technical colleges connected with knowledge-based products and services in the field of sport and youth, on the basis of the spatial planning agreed between the aforementioned ministries and in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations.
Note. The Ministry is required to nominate world medallists and sporting elites for admission to the relevant technical colleges and schools.
#Article 13
The Ministry is required, in cooperation with the Plan and Budget Organisation of the country, to provide for the credits required for implementation of the Regulation in the annual budget bills, in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations.
First Vice-President — Mohammad Mokhber