The Iraqi government issues new decisions

The Iraqi government issues new decisions

6-29-2026

The Iraqi government issued a new set of decisions on Monday (June 29, 2026) as part of its efforts to follow up on service, economic and administrative files, and to take the necessary measures regarding a number of issues on its agenda.

The Prime Minister’s Media Office stated in a statement that “Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi chaired yesterday, Sunday, the eighth regular session of the Council of Ministers, in which developments in the country were discussed, and the topics on the agenda were reviewed and the necessary decisions were made regarding them.”

The statement added that “at the beginning of the session, Al-Zaydi stressed that what happened in the crackdown against corruption is a first stage, and the government will continue to fight corruption to recover public funds, and that it is tasked with protecting the interests of the Iraqi people, and there is no leniency in this responsibility,” adding that “the situation has become impossible to remain silent about, and our concern for the state of the Iraqis compels us to assure our people that there are strong guardians of public funds, and we will make better use of them.”

Al-Zadi tasked “the oversight bodies with receiving any indicators about the performance of the government or the performance of the ministries, in order to uncover cases of corruption or negligence,” noting that “Iraq has gone through periods of wars, chaos and fighting terrorism, and today the government’s path is different, through activating procedures to strengthen the power of the Iraqi state, and its monopoly on force and weapons, and not allowing corrupt individuals to be within the body of the state with the aim of stealing public money.”

Al-Zaydi pointed to “proceeding with the preparation of next year’s budget, within the framework of the (program budget) approach, which will allocate more funds to the electricity sector, to contract for (25) thousand megawatts during this year, so that the national grid situation will be much better next year,” indicating that “there is continuous follow-up on the project of one million residential plots, which will be completed and its results will appear as soon as possible.”

The Cabinet approved the “One Million Residential Plots Initiative” as a national and strategic project to provide residential land, with the necessary infrastructure in all governorates (except the Kurdistan Region of Iraq), to be distributed among eligible citizens to provide them with decent housing.

The statement added that “the Council approved the formation of the Higher Committee for the Initiative, chaired by the Prime Minister, with the membership of a number of ministers and heads of relevant bodies and authorities, to undertake the general policy for implementing the initiative, and to approve the strategic work plan and timetable for it according to the main work axes, which are: (determining the eligibility criteria and the database of beneficiaries, inventorying and providing lands, preparing the economic model and financing, and determining the legal frameworks for implementing the initiative), provided that the committee holds its meetings periodically and submits its recommendations to the Council of Ministers.”

The council continued, according to the statement, “considering a number of topics and decisions on its agenda, and made the following decisions regarding them:

As part of the financial reform, the recommendation of the Ministerial Council for the Economy regarding tax accounting was approved, which included subjecting foreign oil companies operating in Iraq, including contractors, to the Income Tax Law on these companies No. (19 of 2010), under which a fixed income tax of (35%) is imposed on the total income realized by these companies in Iraq, provided that the General Authority for Taxes provides the Ministry of Oil with detailed lists of foreign companies, their branches, offices and contractors, who have outstanding income taxes, additional amounts or unpaid tax obligations in order to collect them.

He added that “it was decided to obligate private universities, colleges and institutes subject to tax accounting to pay the original tax due on them for income tax and direct withholding. Private universities, colleges and institutes will be exempt from fines and additional amounts by (100%) if they pay the original tax due and complete the tax accounting within a maximum of 4 working months from the date of issuance of the Cabinet decision. Private educational institutions that pay the original tax and complete the accounting procedures within the four-month period following the first period will be exempt by (50%). No taxpayer who does not complete the tax accounting procedures and payment within the aforementioned periods will benefit from the exemption, and the fines and applicable legal procedures will be applied to him. The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research will also take legal and administrative measures against private universities, colleges and institutes that do not comply with tax accounting.”

The statement noted: “In the energy sector, the Council excluded the preliminary principles agreement signed with ExxonMobil, and the contracts and agreements stemming from it, from Cabinet Resolution No. 48 of 2018, while the Ministry of Oil continues to pursue the arbitration case pending before the international judiciary to ensure the financial rights of the Iraqi state independently of the implementation of the aforementioned agreement.”

He explained that “in the same matter, the recommendation of the Central Review and Approval Committee was approved regarding the referral in Basra Oil Company/Ministry of Oil for the two contracts (Integrated Field Management, and Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management) to Halliburton – Iraq Branch, with a contract period of (5 years + 3 years) optional, provided that the payments are made according to the actual work completed.”

The council also approved, according to the statement, “referring the draft contract for the development of the Hamrin field to HKN Energy, and commencing petroleum operations in accordance with the provisions of the Ministry of Oil.”

The statement added that “in environmental matters, the Cabinet authorized the Ministry of Environment, with the approval of the Cabinet, to propose the exemption of some facilities from the instructions of environmental specifications for the establishment of projects and monitoring the safety of their implementation (3 of 2011), in accordance with standards and specifications adopted by the Ministry.”

The statement confirmed that “in health matters, the council voted to allocate an amount of (30) billion dinars to the Ministry of Health to finance drug contracts.”

He added that “the Ministry of Planning has approved the creation of a component within the school construction project for contracts approved by the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, and the disbursement of the approved entitlements from the surplus amount in the project to build (1000) schools, after deducting 15% of the amount, to be deposited in a special account with the Ministry of Finance.”

According to the statement, the council voted to “approve the issuance of the Maritime Collision Prevention System, which was reviewed by the State Council, based on the provisions of the Constitution and the Iraqi Higher Maritime Authority Law (18 of 2019).”

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