Algeria’s return to importing new vehicles is becoming increasingly evident. The decision to re-authorize the activity of importing new vehicles was made during the Council of Ministers meeting on October 9th.
Two weeks later, the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, issued new instructions to implement the decision.
In the Council of Ministers this Sunday, October 23, the head of state instructed the government to publish the new specifications for the import activity of new vehicles within “a week’s notice”, according to a press release from the Presidium Republic.
The text should therefore be in force early next week and interested operators can start submitting their paperwork to obtain the necessary permits to import and sell new vehicles in Algeria.
The new text will “put an end to past practices that have exhausted citizens and the treasury,” President Tebboune said, according to the press release.
Mr Tebboune also instructed to separate the activities of importers from that of manufacturers while moving towards “a mechanical industry with modern technological standards”.
He also ordered that vehicles imported into Algeria would not be allowed to be exported, “to the detriment of the national market, the needs of the citizens and with the money of the treasury”.
With the publication of the specifications, it is only a matter of a few months until the first imported vehicles hit the Algerian market. Filing the files, studying them, issuing permits, placing orders and the arrival of the first cars will take time.
On October 9, the President of the Republic ordered the re-authorization of the import of new vehicles that have been banned for 4 years and used vehicles less than three years old. At the end of the Council of Ministers this Sunday, no announcement was made regarding this second category.