The Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) postponed for the second time this year’s seasonal ban on rice imports, which is currently scheduled to come into effect from 22 September 2020, instead of 22 July, as previously announced. In an effort to support local farmers, the Government bans rice imports every year during the harvest season, which usually takes place in September and October. The measure follows two consecutive reductions on the custom duties on rice imports, which were lowered from 25 to 10 percent on 4 June 2020 and then to 4 percent on 2 July on semi milled rice, with the duty on wholly milled rice unchanged at 10 percent. The decline in the import tariffs was implemented in response to the price increases of rice following the Ramadan festive period and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.