Customs declarations must be made in writing and signed by the declarant, who may be the owner, the customs agent, or the carrier.  The declaration must be submitted to the customs office having jurisdiction over the port of entry, and the submission must be made within 21 days from the date of registration of the document.  In addition to the customs declaration, the customs clearance file must include an invoice with a bank domiciliation, a copy of the company’s trade registration, a copy of the tax card issued by the relevant fiscal authorities, the border inspection document, documentary evidence of origin, an itemized list of contents (i.e., a detail note), certificates of conformity and quality from an independent third party, and the approval mandate of the customs agent.

Additional materials can be required in cases subject to specific administrative procedures.  For example, the Ministry of Health must clear medical products and requires distributors to obtain authorization to import and sell drugs.  Drugs must have been marketed in their country of origin and a third country before importation into Algeria.  Other examples include hunting weapons cleared by the Ministry of Defense and the National Security Directorate and books and magazines cleared by the Ministry of Information and Culture.