October 18, 2026; Under circumstances where point-to-point inflation for basic goods is reported between 115 and 196 percent, the "Electronic Food Coupon (Kalabarg) Credit Increase Self-Declaration" scheme to receive several hundred thousand Tomans in additional credit has turned into a tool for violating the right to livelihood and fueling public confusion. Citizens are forced to stand in queues using their mobile phones or wait for hours in internet cafes to register; this comes while the portal faces disruptions and the timeframe for issuing the promised credit remains uncertain. Concurrently, anxiety over the revocation of cash subsidies and food coupons under any pretext has compounded the economic pressure on low-income households. On the other hand, with billions of Tomans in merchant claims remaining frozen (up to 18 billion Tomans) and reimbursements paid out in trickle amounts, the government has effectively financed its support programs out of small business owners' pockets—a reality that has compelled vendors to withdraw from accepting food coupons, moving the dining tables of underprivileged classes toward complete paralysis.

A citizen from Saqqez stated regarding the "Kalabarg Credit Increase Self-Declaration Form": "For over a week, the government has kept people occupied registering via their phones or visiting internet cafes just to get 500,000 Tomans added to their food coupons. This scheme, meant specifically for income deciles 1, 2, and 3 as well as the underprivileged strata of society, is being implemented under conditions where internet speeds have been severely throttled and slowed down, causing the process to drag on for people."

The citizen added that the stipends for individuals under the coverage of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee and the State Welfare Organization were applied automatically without requiring registration. In reality, however, many citizens are not eligible for this scheme at all and receive nothing, yet the government uses these registrations to keep people occupied applying via phones and the internet. People are standing in line at internet cafes in the hope that 300,000 to 500,000 Tomans might be added to their account—a figure whose disbursement depends on account balance, employment history, and property ownership. Furthermore, although deciles are designated from 1 to 9, individuals in decile 4 and 5 onward receive nothing, while deciles 1, 2, and 3 are allocated only between 300,000 and 400,000 Tomans.

Amidst this staggering inflation and dire livelihood conditions, these small sums remain mere promises at present, with no clear indication of when they will actually be paid out.

Continuing, the citizen addressed other dimensions of the Kalabarg increase crisis, stating: "However, the primary issue with the food coupon involves the shops that sold food items to people under this scheme, but whose payments and claims remain withheld by the government; so much so that the assets of some of these shops held by the government reach 17 or 18 billion Tomans, unreturned for months. Now, following pressure from these stores on the government, relevant authorities have provided a phone number where vendors are kept waiting on hold for 30 to 40 minutes, and in some cases lines are disrupted so severely that audio does not transmit and calls drop suddenly. Even when reimbursements occur, amounts are deposited in trickle payments and fragmented installments (a few million Tomans). This method has effectively discouraged stores from offering food items via food coupons to the public, as their cash flow remains uncertain for months. This process is precisely equivalent to the government providing livelihood credit to the public out of the pockets and assets of business owners themselves (such as poultry vendors, butchers, and grocery sellers), while delaying the reimbursement of merchants' money for months."

Simultaneously, numerous citizens engaging in the new registration for the "Kalabarg Credit Increase Self-Declaration" have reflected on the challenges and malfunctions of the portal across social media:

  • One citizen wrote that after filling out the self-declaration form, they were told they had to sign a commitment statement; under these terms, if even a single household member owns land, property, a vehicle, or has an income exceeding 40 million Tomans, the entire family's food coupon will be cut off. In the public's view, the primary objective of this portal is gathering precise statistics to eliminate beneficiaries.
  • Another citizen noted that the forms ask about the head of household's skills or education level, stating that their single-mother head of household possesses neither.
  • Many citizens reported failure to receive confirmation codes and text messages, the error message "National ID not authorized," the non-appearance of the Kalabarg increase option, and total system outages. Moreover, those unable to register by the deadline due to these technical glitches have been left in limbo regarding whether the timeframe will be extended.

Regarding cash subsidies, the citizen added that the subsidy amount is approximately 300,000 to 400,000 Tomans, and in many instances, if money is found in individuals' bank accounts, their subsidies are revoked. According to the citizen, there have been cases where individuals were deprived of receiving subsidies on this pretext after selling property or a car, or even after a minor sum was deposited into their bank account.

Electronic Food Coupon (Kalabarg) and the Credit Increase Self-Declaration Form:

The "Self-Declaration Form for Kalabarg Credit Increase," active during October 2026, had its final deadline extended until tonight, Friday, October 16, 2026. Heads of household were required to apply by visiting the "National Smart Government Services Portal" (my.gov.ir website) or through designated state messaging applications (such as the "Bale" app).

The electronic food coupon scheme is a welfare tool designed to offset inflation on basic goods and supply 11 essential food items. A total of 87.5 million people qualify for it in varying degrees, with approximately 44 million people covered under low-income deciles (deciles 1 to 3, beneficiaries of the Relief Committee, and the Welfare Organization), while subsidies for Iranians residing abroad have been cut off. The monthly general base credit is set at 1 million Tomans per person, and under the new "self-declaration" scheme, an option for a 500,000-Toman increase (reaching 1.5 million Tomans) was raised for lower deciles. However, ministers and senior government officials—including Abdolnaser Hemmati, Ahmad Midari, Seyed Hamid Pourmohammadi, and Ministry of Agriculture officials—have acknowledged that full and sustained implementation of this increase depends on an agreement between the government and parliament and securing massive financial resources (exceeding 600 trillion Tomans).

Concurrently with the release of an announcement by the Planning and Budget Organization denying any deferral of the scheme and confirming the continuation of the self-declaration registration process on portals, the crisis at the retail and distribution level has escalated. Provincial officials from the Ministry of Labor and the Tehran Municipality (Fruit and Vegetable Markets Organization) have acknowledged the suspension of food coupon acceptance by stores due to lengthy government delays in settling heavy merchant claims, reporting efforts to reimburse claims over multi-week intervals.

Unbridled Inflation:

While official statistics report year-on-year general point-to-point inflation at 89.8 percent, the inflation crisis in the food sector has been even more severe, with point-to-point inflation for basic items exceeding 121 percent. Essential goods and food items on the public table have faced unprecedented price leaps: the oils and fats category registered nearly 196 percent annual price growth, bread and cereals over 121 percent, milk, cheese, and eggs around 118 percent, and red meat and poultry over 115 percent, imposing the maximum livelihood pressure on low-income deciles and vulnerable groups.