India to pay Iran on rupee

NEW DELHI - Reuters

India removed a hefty tax and took other steps to ease payments in its rupee currency for some imports of Iranian oil as it seeks to continue purchases - albeit reduced -- in face of Western sanctions that blocked an earlier payment method.

India, Iran’s second-biggest oil client, won a waiver this month from tough new U.S. sanctions in return for significantly cutting purchases of Iranian oil. After earlier Western measures directed against Iran’s nuclear program hit the then existing payment conduit in December 2010, India has been using Turkey’s Halkbank for its $10 billion plus annual oil import bill with Tehran.